More Women Are Taking Responsibility For Their Financial Future

Women make up half of America's workforce. Yet only 60 percent of them have retirement accounts, compared to 74 percent of men.

"We're in and out of the workforce more often than men. We stay home with kids," says investment strategist Tracy Eichler. "We're not staying in jobs as long as men are, and we're losing out when it comes to pension benefits. It's planning. It's all about planning."

Eichler is teaching women how to be good investors. She says the key is a balanced portfolio, meaning stocks, bonds and a cash reserve. However, she recommends that to get started, you should get some advice.

"Find a great financial advisor. They can separate the noise from the reality," she says. "They can help you with your long-term planning and goals.

Unfortunately, many women do not start investing until they are forced to.

"I was one of those ladies who wound up finding herself divorced and on a single income unexpectedly," says investor Colleen Waffer. "I wasn't really prepared for that so it was an eye opener."

Waffer says she now keeps up with the stock market and watches her money grow. She hopes her 19-year-old daughter, Meagan, soaks up Eichler's advice.

"If it could give me an edge for when I do graduate, then I have that money, and I can maybe do it then," Meagan says.

When it comes to investing in stocks, Eichler says women actually outperform men. She says it is because women have a buy and hold strategy, they trade less often.