Why Women Prefers Immediate Needs Over Long-term Actions and Goals

According to a new survey from Edward Jones, "Women's Empowerment," while women have made great strides in gender and employment equity in the workplace, one of the biggest challenges they continue to face is the tendency to "put family needs first" to save their future.

That really helps to explain what the financial services company admits is a real contradiction in terms of findings: Although seven out of ten women voted to say they feel "honest" in their financial knowledge, most of them actually do little to make their own long-term fortune.

"Only 25 percent of women interviewed consider retirement savings to be their most important goal in the next three to five years," said Nela Richardson, an investment strategist at Edward Jones. "That tells us that financial provision for women should be next on the list of barriers women have broken in the last few decades."

Two other major challenges women need to overcome, according to a national sample of 1,004 older women 18 years of age and older, are waiting for the “right” time to invest (something men do too), or something else that motivates them.

Other examples: High altitude or other incense (49 percent). Financial emergency (20 percent). An important life event (20 percent). Market adjustment (12 percent).

"Waiting for a promotion or an important event in life, by definition, is not a financial strategy," says Richardson, "and they will always have a competitive value.

Edward Jones sets out a women's approach to managing your finances on its website. But here's a quick cheat sheet to get you started:

• Put yourself first by investing now to give your money time to grow - never underestimate the power of the amazing thing called compound interest.

• Start small with a small investment.

• Develop a goal-oriented financial strategy.

In terms of how well women are doing financially, here is one noteworthy feature: Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest men produced only four women in 2000 compared to 10 this year. The richest woman - and 15th overall - is L'Oréal's heir, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($ 49.3 billion), who is the female chairman of the family company.

But he inherited his wealth, you say? Yes, the youngest billionaire, according to Forbes, is 21-year-old makeup artist Kylie Jenner ($ 1 billion).