3 Important Facts Every Woman Needs to Know About Investing, as Told by Sallie Krawcheck

Sallie Krawcheck is on a mission to redefine how women invest.

ByABC News
August 11, 2016, 2:04 PM

— -- Sallie Krawcheck is a Wall Street legend on a mission to redefine how women invest to help them achieve their financial and professional goals.

The founder and CEO of Ellevest, a digital investment platform for women, got her start working for some of the biggest banks in the U.S., including running wealth management at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

In a recent interview on "Real Biz With Rebecca Jarvis," Krawcheck shared the most important facts that every woman needs to know to manage her money wisely.

1. Time is money

Every day that goes by without investing costs you money. How much?

“On average, $100” a day, said Krawcheck. “If you were to pick up your purse, go down the hall, and $100 were to fall out ... and the next day, another $100, and the next day ... how long would it take you to fix your purse?”

Krawcheck said this is why you just can’t put off investing, because under no other circumstances would you stand by and do nothing while losing that kind of money.

2. Retirement ultimately costs women more than men

The average woman will outlive her male counterpart by more than five years, but her salary will peak before his.

“The retirement savings crisis is really a woman’s crisis,” Krawcheck said. “We don’t invest to the same extent that men do, and it costs us.”

All the more reason to start early and have a plan.

3. Beware all the misinformation

“There is no regulation of financial knowledge,” warned Krawcheck. “Some of the advice that’s given almost causes my head to explode!”

Case in point, Krawcheck shared the worst piece of financial advice she’s ever heard: to put money into a savings account before paying off outstanding credit cards. “To me, that’s almost the litmus test -- if a financial adviser is giving that advice, just run!” she said.

So who can you trust? Krawcheck advised to do your homework.

“Look at the backgrounds of these individuals -- what have they been doing, where have they been doing it, how long have they been doing it?”

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