A $17b penalty: How to stop menopause from derailing your finances

March 18, 2026 — 5:01am

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I went through menopause in my 40s and didn’t know any friends who were at that stage too. What I know in hindsight was that many of my girlfriends were in their own silent battle, too embarrassed to talk about their symptoms.

Menopause felt like a flashing neon sign that declared we were “middle-aged”, and with that came all the connotations and judgments we had quietly absorbed over the years.

There certainly wasn’t as much public discussion about hormones as there is today. I wasn’t even aware until I was almost through it that there was a stage called perimenopause.

What I didn’t understand as a result, was that so much of how I was behaving wasn’t a personality flaw or sudden incompetence. It was hormones. And I know I’m not alone.

Today, menopause is a multibillion-dollar industry. That’s because millions of women are spending serious money trying to manage symptoms, from brain fog, anxiety and insomnia to hot flushes, mood swings, joint pain and sheer exhaustion. And there are plenty of snake oil salesman ready to sell miracle solutions.

I would know. I spent thousands of dollars over the years trying to manage many of these symptoms. On supplements, specialists, creams, tests, pills and treatments. Eventually, after much research and swapping stories with girlfriends, I realised menopausal hormone therapy........

© The Sydney Morning Herald