Interview met Carina Benninga en Mariëtte Balder

Every woman has her own relationship with finances. Some want to know exactly how much is coming in and what's going out; others want to have as little to do with it as possible. Two women who won’t shy away from their finances share how they deal with money.

As the main provider for her family, former top hockey player Carina Benninga certainly feels the pressure to make money. “But to me personally, my work is not about the money at all”, she explains.

“I have come to realise that I am most definitely not a finance expert. At 46, I lost all my retirement savings in one go—a wrong investment. I even consulted a medium. A silly move on my part." Making the counter switch back to zero. Carina: "I had two options: cry hard or work hard. It became the latter.”

After her professional sports career, she focused on coaching professionals and teams—first on the hockey field, then in business. For 30 years now, she has been fully self-employed. She specializes in life, executive, team, and career coaching, in which she coaches people at all different life stages. She is also a member of the Advisory Board at ProActief, the career counselling agency for the University of Amsterdam.

Carina: “My work is so personal that money is the last thing on my mind”, she says. “But I do want my finances to be properly managed. I have a partner and 2 college-aged children for which I am the breadwinner. That comes with a certain pressure, which I feel too.“ 

“That is why I must work, but I also want to. I do have people around me who advise me on what to do with my savings. This is why I have a bookkeeper, an accountant, and sometimes someone from the bank with whom I discuss my finances. What about her retirement savings? Things picked up. Carina: “I now own a house with a lot of equity and have both saved and invested.”

The fact that she earns a good income for her family as a self-employed small business owner makes her feel good. Carina: “I think it is fantastic that I can manage to do all that. It allows me to put all my energy into my clients every day and not worry about income.” But what if the roles were reversed and she was financially dependent on her partner? Carina says she would have no issue with that. “I could be comfortable with that. Even then, I wouldn't worry too much about money. But I wouldn't sit still either. That's just part of my nature."

Mariëtte Balder (32) bought herself a flat in Amsterdam a year ago after a long relationship had ended. She now makes all the financial decisions herself. “That gave me a much better overview.”

“It is exciting to take such a big step, she explains. “But it’s also good fun. As a couple, we were looking to buy our own house because it's a good long-term investment. However, when the relationship ended, I still wanted to go ahead with it. Which all panned out with some help from my parents.”

For 6 years, Mariëtte has been working as a creative producer at Intermission Film, a company that makes trailers for films and series for Netflix and others. Mariëtte: “Apart from that, I also have time for fun things. I like to go to concerts, for example.” But living in Amsterdam is not cheap. Mariëtte: “I have quite an expensive lifestyle, partly because I spend a lot on all kinds of subscriptions. I don't put myself on a budget, but I try to keep a close eye on what comes in and goes out. That said, I do mostly act on my intuition.”

Mariëtte secretly likes the fact that she makes all her own financial decisions. “I think it's great that I manage everything on my own. I'm glad to be independent. I have so much more understanding now than I used to have about what I earn and what I spend. It is actually pretty straightforward. I own everything. Moreover, I can now exercise more control over my spending and adjust my monthly costs accordingly. For example, if I want to save up for a trip, I hold off buying clothes for a little while or go out for dinner less frequently.”

She has also been investing some of her savings for over a year now. Mariëtte: “It is great fun to do so. Also, the interest rate on savings accounts are quite low. That is why I use Female Invest, an investment platform for women. I also follow seminars about investing, for example.” With investing, she hopes to make greater returns. Mariëtte: “It is something I do for later. I would rather not touch the money I invest as I hope the amount will increase yearly. So that besides the pension I accrue through my employer, there can be an extra reserve for later.”

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