Women can function the same way as their male counterparts, even exceed them in some instances, yet it is common knowledge that men often get paid more for their efforts. According to a The Huffington Post survey, women own only 1% of the world’s property. That’s a dismal number, but the gender wage gap is only one of the reasons why women usually have worse finances than men. Some predisposing financial factors are actually beyond our control.

Women typically live longer than males, so we end up drying out our retirement savings. A lot of married women also get divorced sometime in their future, turning them into single mothers who have to provide for their children. Women often take on the responsibility of taking care of our parents when they can’t afford to put them in elderly homes.

Still, there are many money mistakes women shouldn’t be making. Here are some of them.

The 3 Biggest Financial Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

1. Putting other people’s needs before your own.

One of my best friends is sending her boyfriend to college while letting him stay rent-free in her apartment. Another workmate is paying for her Filipino grandfather’s weekly hemodialysis sessions. Sometimes in our effort to help others, we forget to help ourselves. When the time is right, step out of your giving role and train those who are dependent on you so that they can begin to learn to fend for themselves.

2. Not taking enough risk.

As far as investment is concerned, females wait to invest. Women will go through stock market websites, investment books, and financial documentaries to make themselves self-proclaimed experts first before buying stocks and shares. Whereas, men will take more risk a lot quicker without doing all the research. The thing is, the ups and downs of the stock market are difficult to predict, even for people who have been in the business for a long time. So why wait? Take the plunge now.

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3. Not setting aside enough cash.

Imagine The Great Depression falling upon us once more. Would a “Jane Doe” have enough money to put food on her table, send her kids to school, pay for electricity bills and fuel? The rain will always come. Maybe sooner. Maybe later. But it will. Car accidents, losing your job, broken faucets–these situations could throw us off our budget. That’s why it’s always important to set aside a rainy day fund. We never know in advance what could go wrong tomorrow.

The sad truth is that despite our occasional slips, the cost of living is the same for men and women. If you don’t want your gender to define who you are financially, make an effort to avoid committing the above-mentioned mistakes.

What financial mistakes have you made? Any regrets?