Nearly 2-in-3 women have a plan in place to reach their financial goals

Despite progress, 1-in-5 women still have no emergency fund or cash savings

Cynthia Erivo and Brooke Shields join Fidelity’s Women Talk Money Fall Event Series

New research from Fidelity Investments^® reveals women are setting their sights on future financial wellness and adopting frugal money habits to help them get there. According to the 2025 Women & Money Study, nearly half of women (42%) cut down their spending on non-essential activities over the past year, with more than 3-in-4 women attributing this to economic uncertainties. In the year ahead, women are committed to saving more (47%) and reducing or paying off their debt (35%), and the majority are confident in their ability to do so.

"We're seeing women prioritize long-term security over short-term gratification, and that level-headed approach to finance is so important in any economic environment," said Alex Roca, Host of Women Talk Money at Fidelity Investments. "This generally aligns with what we’re hearing in client conversations as well – people want actionable plans that fit their personal goals and life stage. Taking simple, thoughtful steps today can make a significant impact in the future."

Budgeting and Spending Cuts Top Financial Priorities for Women in the Year Ahead

All four generations identified saving more as one of the top financial actions they plan to take in the next year. Gen Z women are especially focused on creating a budget – a behavior that is significantly higher than older generations. In contrast, Gen X and Boomer women are more focused on reducing everyday expenses, including non-essential activities, as well as groceries and travel. Notably, Millennials show similar patterns to Gen X and Boomers in most spending categories. Economic uncertainty continues to be a factor impacting women’s decision making across all generations, with nearly 80% of women saying they took some sort of financial action in the past year due to factors like inflation, tariff-related price increases, and changing interest rates.

Though many women prioritized building their savings this year, they fell behind their male counterparts when it comes to setting aside emergency funds. Nearly a quarter of women say they have less than $1,000 saved for emergencies, and 1-in-5 don’t have an emergency fund at all, compared to just 1-in-10 men. Women’s financial stresses reflect that, with a third of the 81% who say their financial situation keeps them up at night attributing that worry to having to pay for an emergency.

Women Prioritizing Career Stability

Job consistency and security is a priority for many women; just 15% anticipate looking for a new job in the coming year. Among women who do plan to make a switch, top reasons why include:

• More money (54%)
• Better benefits (24%)
• More meaningful work (19%)
• Feeling overworked (16%)
• More flexibility on hours worked (14%)

More than half (56%) of women say their current job meets most of their requirements or is their dream job. Still, opportunities remain to help women cultivate more meaningful careers. Fewer than 1-in-3 women say they have an advocate/mentor in the workplace, compared to 44% of men. Similarly, just 46% of women say their contributions at work are recognized and valued.

Potential and Past Inheritances Open Financial Possibilities

With the Great Wealth Transfer – when an estimated $124 trillion in wealth is expected to pass from older to younger generations¹ – on the horizon, many women see this possible influx of money as a potential game changer. Among those who expect to receive an inheritance, nearly half (45%) say they wouldn’t worry as much about how to pay their bills after they receive the money, and 41% say they’d be able to think about changing careers, save less for retirement, and possibly even retire earlier than previously thought.

Regardless of inheritance expectations, planning remains essential. Thankfully, 2-in-3 women report having a plan to reach their financial goals, though most haven’t taken the additional steps to plan for their needs later in life:

• 30% have created a will and/or estate plan
• 30% have documented their healthcare wishes
• 27% have assigned a healthcare power of attorney
• 24% have assigned a financial power of attorney
• 16% have planned for their future care needs

While Boomer women are more likely to say they’ve completed these tasks, more than half have yet to assign a healthcare or financial power of attorney, and just 2-in-10 have planned for their future care needs. Encouragingly, 3-in-4 women currently in a relationship and living with their partner say they feel confident they could manage financial decisions were their partner to pass before them, and that number is even higher among Boomer women (87%).

Fidelity Tools for Women Looking to Make the Most of Their Money

Fidelity offers free and accessible resources and education to help women learn more about how to grow their money and their financial confidence no matter their life stage.

• Women Talk Money Fall Event Series: Fidelity brings together celebrity guests and Fidelity leaders for a free event series focused on planning for your future. Earlier this month, the community was joined by GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony^®-award-winning and three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo to discuss the power of betting on yourself. In November, actor, model, author, and entrepreneur Brooke Shields joins a conversation about making career and financial choices that can help you thrive at any age. For more information and to sign up for free, head to https://fidelityevents.com/women-talk-money-events.
• Women Talk Money: Fidelity’s Women Talk Money community offers practical guidance for women at every financial stage and is free to join for everyone. From those just starting to save and invest to those planning for retirement, Fidelity knows that financial confidence grows through education, practice and community support.
• Year-Round Support Built for Women: Fidelity’s website experience provides insights on the unique factors women often need to plan for, and now features a new, streamlined tool to help women choose the right account to help achieve their goals.
• 24/7 Access to Live Help: Fidelity also offers free 1:1 consultations with financial professionals who are specifically trained to aid women in the unique money challenges they encounter. This guidance is available virtually 24/7 at 1-800-FIDELITY, or online at Fidelity.com.

About Fidelity’s 2025 Women & Money Study

This study presents the findings of a national online survey, among 3,000 adults, 18 years of age and older, with a gender breakdown of 1,500 women and 1,500 men. Interviewing was conducted August 27-September 10, 2025, by an independent research firm. The results of this survey may not be representative of all adults meeting the same criteria as those surveyed for this study.

The generations are defined as: Boomers (born 1946 - 1964), Gen X (born 1965 - 1980), Millennials (born 1981 - 1996), and Gen Z (born 1997-2012; only those ages 18+ were considered for this study).

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity’s mission is to strengthen the financial well-being of our customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve. Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of our diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions. With assets under administration of $16.4 trillion, including discretionary assets of $6.4 trillion as of June 30, 2025, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base. Privately held for 79 years, Fidelity employs more than 78,000 associates across the United States, Ireland, and India. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/our-company.

Fidelity Investments and Fidelity are registered service marks of FMR LLC.

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Views expressed are as of the date indicated, based on the information available at that time, and may change based on market or other conditions. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions provided are those of the speaker or author and not necessarily those of Fidelity Investments or its affiliates. Fidelity does not assume any duty to update any of the information.

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