Others have put aside a little in a savings account which is fine for short term savings but doesn't really offer a chance for the money to grow into a worthwhile sum. Many who have saved watched the demand of the early years of marriage swallow up their nest egg and never had enough incentive to replace it later on, thinking that everything would be provided for. On average a woman can expect to live longer than a man. For a married woman the implications are obvious but a single woman will also face the possibility that later in life she will have fewer friends and relatives around. In neither case is this a time for financial hardship.
Some women manage to lead active and fulfilling lives in their later years even when living alone.
But in the majority of cases these are women who have made, or made for them, provision for their financial security. Make a commitment to save something out of your paycheck each month. But it can never come as anything but a tragedy if the separation means a lowering of standards, having to refuse the family little pleasures they have grown used to. The woman who starts out to plan her own future is not only able to cope if something should happen, but is less likely to have it happen. We don't want to think about it.