Susan Edmunds can still remember the day she decided to get her finances under control.
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She was a 20-something who had just been declined a credit card for not having a good enough count conduct.
No one had ever told her that going into unapproved overdraft would be held against her, especially when it was only ever $30 or so.
It was a that moment that she decided to "stick it" to the bank teller who had delivered the news and stay on the right side of zero.
Edmunds' story is not an uncommon one. But it's also not the only time that people can get stuck with their finances. And when it comes to women in particular, issues such as gender pay gaps can leave females vulnerable to extra financial pressure.
"We are generally paid less and we tend to live longer, so we have less coming in and from that, we need to make it last longer over our life," Edmunds says.
"There also seems to be some indication that these women are not prepared to negotiate for salaries as men, so sometimes they start on a back foot and it kind of compounds over their lives as they take out for kids or whatever and so they never really catch up.
"Even when you go back to work after having kids, it's quite common - I've seen - that women go for the jobs where you get flexibility or you get to work from home or something, rather than the ones which pay really well or have good career prospects just because they have to juggle things.
"I think that if we start advocating for ourselves a bit more, and earlier, then maybe we can get on the front foot of that kind of thing."
The business journalist's recently released book, Starting Out Starting Over - A single woman's guide to money in Australia, dives into the hurdles which women have to face financially throughout different stages of their lives, the first of which comes from society's stereotypes.
We are generally paid less and we tend to live longer, so we have less coming in and from that, we need to make it last longer over our life.
- Susan Edmunds
Through romantic comedies about shopaholics who are 'rescued' by their male love interest, and novelty items such as doormats which say 'Please don't leave the packages where my husband can see them', women and their spending habits have become a joke, and it's having a lasting impression.
"You get women who say 'I'm bad at math' and it starts pretty young," Edmunds says.
"And there's research that shows that people talk to their sons differently to the way that they talk to their daughters."
Edmunds says it's a confidence issue, not an intelligence one and it's part of the reason she wrote Starting Out Starting Over.
At its core, the book is a practical money guide, which covers everything you would expect from a finance book, while acknowledging that there are some extra challenges women need to plan for as well.
"It's not some sort of secret club that only some people can get into to," Edmunds says.
"Obviously I'm generalising horribly, but I don't think women don't necessarily don't back themselves sometimes as much as men.
"So if they doubt themselves and you talk to the bank or something and come away thinking: 'Oh I don't really know', women think that it's their failure that they don't know but actually it's the person who should have explained it better to you.
"Women just need a bit more confidence to know that it's not scary and it makes such a big difference to your life when you get it right."
While Starting Out Starting Over covers what you need to know to counteract the financial challenges thrown at women - and not men - it doesn't change the fact that the challenges still exist.
Nationally, Australia women still earn 14.1 per cent less than men. Female graduates, on average, are still employed at $5000 less than their male counterparts. And 40 per cent of women do not have superannuation.
All of these factors - and others - put extra financial pressures on women which then can go on to have heartbreaking results, such as becoming homeless.
"Where we see this particularly in Canberra and in relation to the programs that we deliver are when women are close to retirement age and also through divorce, separation, domestic and family violence, women and their children can't afford to get into the market rent for example," YWCA Canberra chief executive officer Frances Crimmins says.
"So we see this play out in the support services that we provide, particularly around housing and emergency services like our food hub."
According to an Australian Human Rights Commission report, older women - aged 55 and over - were the fastest crowing cohort of homeless people between 2011 and 2016, increasing by 31 per cent.
While these women have varying circumstances, this demographic is considered to be vulnerable as they are more likely to be forced out of the workforce early, may have insufficient superannuation, and can face discrimination in the housing market. Many have also found themselves single due to divorce.
"They've got that real crunch where they have to get their money sorted and they have to get ready for retirement and it's all kind of imploding a little bit," Edmunds says.
"I've heard from a lot of people that is a very scary experience so I've tried to touch on that as well.
"I think, as well, people feel like they have to support their kids or other family members before themselves and that really doesn't do anyone a great favour because then at some point you start suffering and someone is going to have to help you and it probably would have been better to put your own oxygen mask on first."
According to Crimmins what a lot of these women have in common is that they have led conventional lives.
They have possibly been married, raised children and been the stay at home caregiver before possibly going back to work part time. They're also the cohort where superannuation was not in place.
"We need to realise that when we're talking about being financially independent, I don't think it's so much financial literacy these days but there is still the structural gender inequality," Crimmins said.
"So the superannuation system still only works for people if you have a working pattern of a man. It was designed by men for people who worked like a man.
"In other words, you never take time out of the workforce particularly around the time when you are potentially able to earn the most money. And that's when women are taking time out of the workplace to have children."
The YWCA chief says until society changes its view about women being the sole caregiver, it's an issue which won't be rectified.
"We need to see more policies that encourage the other parent, who in that case also needs to have the same time out, the same carer's responsibilities," she says.
"The Nordic countries are doing this brilliantly where their paid parental leave, if the other parent does not take off the same amount of time to care then it is forfeit.
"We have some really good examples internationally where we can make sure that women's financial independence is maintained throughout all stages of your life."
Looking internationally, Australia ranks "embarrassingly low" when it comes to gender equality.
A World Economic Forum report benchmarked 144 countries and their progress towards gender parity. Australia is ranked 46, and has been consistently dropping in recent years.
Meanwhile Iceland, Norway, Finland, Rwanda and Sweden are ranked as the top five.
"We always love a good competition with New Zealand, well they're ninth," Crimmins says.
"We really are falling behind and in particular when you're comparing - and I think this is a key indicator - graduates coming out of universities we still see the data on the same qualifications, same industry, female graduates are still employed at $5000 less than their male graduate in the same role.
"So for people to say that it's women not taking control, not getting an education, that's simply not true.
"Whether it's unconscious gender bias - I think some times it's conscious - at that entry level that shows there is still a gender bias to men receiving higher pay with the same qualifications, in the same job."
What you can do now
Have a clear idea of your finances
"I think not a lot of people have much of an insight of what's going on," Edmunds says.
"They just know whether they have enough [week to week], but if you start looking into it, it could be a good surprise or it could be a not so good surprise.
"You need a goal to aim for because otherwise, you might as well just travel along as you are."
Plot out a strategy to tackle debt
"There seems to be two ways of doing it," Edmunds says.
"You can plot them out and then pay off the highest interest one first which makes sense because it saves you the most money. Or if you are the kind of person who really likes to succeed and see that you are achieving things then you can pay off the smallest ones and there are more wins that way."
Reassess your long-term savings
"With those long term savings things [such as super], the more money you put in the better," Edmunds says.
"The more money that you save when you are 25, it attracts compounding things over your life, so it is good to start early.
"But then when you're young so you don't want to be focusing on your super savings and never having an overseas holiday or anything so I think it is important to also live your life or you know, save for a house.
"As long as you come back to it eventually."