Are You On Sale?

In Women & Money, Suze Orman says women walk around as if they are “on sale.” Not for sale, because everyone gets paid to do something or has a monetary value applied to what they do, but on sale.

 As in Clearance: 50% off!

 This is wrong, Orman says, because if we don’t value what we do enough to charge full price then no one else will and that’s why we’re behind the game when it comes to money.

Clearance Prices

1. You accept the 3% cost of living raise your boss offers every January. Women could earn $1 million a year by telling their boss they won’t settle for this meager increase. This could be why men make $1 to our 75 cents.

2. You have a business and though the price of materials increase, say due to a war and increased gas prices, you still charge the same. You’re afraid your clients will leave you if you stay profitable.

3. You’re a stay-at-home mom and since you’re not working you don’t feel entitled to having money of your own. To avoid humiliation and tension you don’t ask and he doesn’t offer.

I would add that your money comes last on the list because the kids need this or that or you forgot to buy this or that with the grocery money, so your blow money gets spent for family purposes and never on yourself. Misguided selflessness. This is my personal experience.

4. You always barter services, even for stuff you don’t need. Say you’re a photographer and your friend is a hairdresser – she does your hair and you take pictures of her kids. If your regular fees are equal and you need your hair done – great.  If you charge $300 and she $75, this is a bad deal for you. Stop losing $225.

5. Volunteer work. Orman says we just don’t know where to draw the line with volunteering. She says men don’t volunteer to the extent we do and they get paid for much of the “charity” work we do for free. Men don’t seem to have a problem with getting paid for their good deeds, while women tend to think it doesn’t qualify as a good deed if they get paid for it.

I know of lots of men who have very profitable ministries, Dave Ramsey is a millionaire for his ministry of teaching people how to handle money. Many women don’t feel right about making money off a good deed. Due to this fact, many women are over-stressed and under-valued, suffering from a lack of time AND a lack of money because not only do we have a zero-profit ministry but we also have jobs and families to attend to.

I have issues with the volunteering myself. I feel terrible guilt about not teaching my daughter’s Sunday school class, even though I participate in other ministries. Also, I feel guilty when I don’t sign up for every dinner for a sick person, every sorting through crap for a garage sale, every teaching at vacation Bible school, etc. Yet, I’ve noticed my husband feels no guilt whatsoever at ignoring the call for help and passing the sign up sheet on.

I’ve also notice that the Church I attend has a gigantic budget and lots of people get paid for what they do. Not only men, but women too. So, it’s unclear to me why I feel such a terrible guilt when I pass the sign up sheet on. I do lots of volunteering and mentoring, but I hear every sermon or lecture about volunteering or giving to charity as a personal indictment. It’s one of the issues I’m working on.

Which of these issues are you working on? I’m dying to hear how other women feel like they might be on the clearance rack. Please comment. And check out So Sioux Me where I explore other financial issues and the lessons I teach my daughter through my relationship with money.