Do you handle your money or does your money handle you? 

There are basic financial fundamentals that we all need to address every year.  It’s a New Year and time for all of us to get a financial grip! 

The timing couldn’t be better.    

Everybody’s still in that “clean slate” state of mind, right?  After all it is a new year.  But what I’m talking about aren’t resolutions.  These are doable, incremental, achievable money management goals that will alleviate a lot of your/our money anxieties.  And more importantly, your money mindset need only be:  once a month is all it takes.

If you agree to that simple stipulation, by year’s end, you’ll have done at least a dozen things to take care of your money and improve your money knowledge.  Have I peaked your interest?  Perfect. 

Here’s a calendar of suggestions for what to do financially each month this year.      

January:  Get your free annual credit reports.

• Only from the government mandated site https://www.annualcreditreport.com/.
• Read them, challenge in writing anything that’s incorrect or not yours.
• It’s important that you know what’s being said about you and your money.

February:  Organize your documents in preparation for doing your taxes.

• Use folders and label (Receipts 2010, insurance, investments, etc).
• Create a safe place to store the documents.
• Shred old or no longer needed documents.

March:  Review all your insurances.

• Life, health, disability, long-term care and casualty.
• http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/calcs/n_life/main.asp has a calculator to help figure out how much insurance you need.

April:  Review all your debts.

• Credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, any long-term obligations.
• Check to see if rates and/or terms have changed.

May:  Review your will and update it.

• Especially if major life changes such as births, deaths, divorce, marriage, job loss or relocation.
• 66% of Americans do not have a will.
• If you have children and no will, the state will decide their guardianship if both parents are deceased.

June:  Find a certified financial planner.

• The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors http://www.napfa.org/.
• Be sure to know how they get paid (fee only, hourly, % of assets).

July:  Review employer matched savings programs.

• Make sure you’re contributing the % necessary to qualify.
• Check the diversity of your investment portfolio. 

August:  Determine your net worth.

• List the value of all your assets and possessions.
• List the amount of your liabilities and debt.
• Helps accurately determine the level of home/renters insurance you need.

September:  Go paperless with bills.

• Every account that’s paperless can be retrieved online 24 hours a day.
• Saves time and money – no stamps needed.
• Convert to online banking and bill paying.

October:  Create an automatic savings contribution.

• Easy to set up an automatic, recurring transfer with your bank to move money from checking to savings.
• The easiest money saved is money you never see.

November:  Check your retirement contribution.

• Set up contribution that coincides with your pay day.
• The best time to start saving for your retirement is in your 20s.

December:  Analyze your auto insurance coverage.

• Make sure you’re getting the best deal and are adequately covered.

Remember that mind over money matters.  If you want to jumpstart your financial education, make a decision to read the first paragraph of stories on the front page and Marketplace page of the Wall Street Journal, for example, and see how your interest and your money knowledge will grow.  It’s your money, so take it personally.

Here’s to your health and wealth!

TAGS: credit reports, debt, finding a CPA, insurance, Monthly tips for managing your money, net worth, paperless bills, retirement contributions, wills

It was 6:01 PM, April 2^nd, 1968.  

Just about everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior had been shot and killed – assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. 

I was a senior journalism student at San Jose State University in northern California.  I got the news as I walked back across campus from the J-School radio and television studios to my apartment. Only hours earlier, I had done two reports about Dr. King’s trip to Memphis to support the city garbage workers who were on strike.  I remember using video of the signs the strikers carried and wore that declared:  “I am a Man”.  Dr. King, the 39-year old man known as the prophet for racial justice in America had finished what was to be his last speech with the words: “I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”  

The question now 42 years later is:  “When?” 

The Memphis garbage workers strike for economic security is widely remembered as when Dr. King began contesting financial privileges and organized a mass, multi-racial protest called the Poor People’s Campaign.  The campaign’s goal was to help poor people by uniting all races through their common hardship of financial desperation and provide a plan to start a solution. 

Dr. King’s solution was a $30-billion anti-poverty package called the “Economic Bill of Rights” asking the federal government to make helping poor Americans a priority.  The package included a commitment to full employment, a guaranteed annual income measure and more low-income housing.  It truly was Phase Two of the Civil Rights Movement.  Phase One had been exposing the problem/inequities of segregation.  Phase Two was going to be about the money.  It was going to focus on the inequities of money and the solution:  increasing earning power and financial self-reliance. 

That’s what Dr. King was doing in Memphis April 2^nd, 1968.   He was at the turning point of the civil rights movement. Despite efforts to continue after his death, the earnest proposition for creating jobs, income and housing as contained in the “Economic Bill of Rights” was never passed.  

The recession has emphasized that now 42 years after his death, on the eve of what would have been his 81^st birthday – Dr. King’s dream of racial and economic equality – remains unfinished business.  Needing jobs, healthcare and homes are still the concerns and sorrows today’s poor and newly poor are facing.  

Martin Luther King, Jr., was president of the Southern Leadership Conference.  He directed the 1963 March on Washington.  He received 5 honorary degrees.  He was Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year”.  He was the youngest recipient of the Noble Peace Prize.   He fought for equal rights for African Americans.  He fought for improving the lives of all poor.   He had an unfinished agenda:” The problem indicates that our emphasis must be two-fold. We must create full employment or we must create incomes. People must be made consumers by one method or the other.”  – Martin Luther King, Jr., from his book “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or  Community?”  http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

As the nation pauses to honor him on Monday, remember that he lived and died for his belief in the importance of social and economic power as the tools people needed to seek self-improvement.  Both were needed then – and now. 

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: economic civil rights movment, Jr., Martin Luther King

It’s no surprise that financial issues can cause depression.  But a new study by researchers at Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center found that money-related stress had a stronger link to depression symptoms among breast cancer patients than even stress related to the recent death or illness of a loved one (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/depcanc.htm).

This study is important to me.  It has been 27 years since breast cancer claimed my Aunt Erleen – my mother’s eldest and only sister and yet I am still drawn to information/studies that address what other issues play into this disease and how we can better understand and support loved ones dealing with it.

My Aunt Erleen always did memorable things – like the time she strolled down the center aisle at my high school graduation so that she could be up close to snap the moment I received my diploma – and caught everyone on the dais like deer in the headlights from the blinding flashes of her camera and new fangled movie camera draped around her neck.

Or, the time she said she was ready to “have a California experience” – and declared since she’d never had a massage or been in a hot tub in her life – could I, her then-San Francisco resident niece – arrange it for her.  I did.  It was memorable.  It was memorable because the setting was so lovely.  It was memorable because my Mom, my young daughters and two of my best friends were part of Aunt Erleen’s California moment.

It was also memorable because that’s the night she told us she had breast cancer.  In the midst of this loving coven of women – young and old, blood ties and heart ties – my Aunt Erleen was, as usual, very clear.  “This,” she said, “is how we’re going to handle this.”

As the months passed and her condition worsened, Aunt Erleen’s resolve became our family’s culture.  Though she had relocated from Virginia and lived in southern California with my parents and grandmother, she would buy a plane ticket to come see me and my family in San Francisco, take it with her to her chemo treatment and – more often than not – get on the hour-long flight to northern California right after.

She said that ritual helped her “win a few battles with feeling unwell“.  How’s that for a memorable understatement?  She said that keeping her spirits up despite the cancer was best done in the company of pure love:  kids.  Mine. 

I rarely saw my Aunt Erleen depressed even though I know other worries played heavily on her mind.  But my Mom later told me that money matters and huge mounting medical bills were what most debilitated her sister’s stamina.  While the Ohio State University study cannot prove that money concerns are a cause of depression among breast cancer patients, researchers say the link suggests that financial difficulties appear to be related to higher levels of symptoms of depression.

At the National Breast Cancer Month website (http://www.nbcam.org/patient_questions_answers.cfm) – there’s extensive, good information provided to what are considered the most asked questions about this disease (including the fact that while breast cancer occurs primarily in women, men can also develop breast disease; and while male breast cancers tend to be smaller than female breast cancers when they are found, they have more often spread beyond the breast).

But the website’s first mention of financial information and breast cancer is listed as other risk factors and presented at the end of the Q&A:

• Q:  Will health insurance pay for screening mammograms?
  A: Regular screening mammograms are covered by the U.S. government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs and other private health insurance plans (women should check their own insurance plans for individual details). Free or low-cost mammograms are available for women without health insurance in many locations. For a program near you, contact the CDC at  (888) 842-6355 .
• Q: Will Medicare pay for screening mammograms?
  A: Yes. Medicare covers mammography screening every year for women age 40 and older who are Medicare recipients. Yet, eligible women and their doctors may not know about this important benefit. A series of publications regarding this benefit are available in English and Spanish. For more information about Medicare coverage, contact the Medicare toll-free hotline at (800) MEDICARE or the Medicare Web site, www.medicare.gov.
• Q: How can women get low-cost or free mammograms?
  A: For information on low- or no cost mammography screening, contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at  (888) 842-6355  or visit their Web site at www.cdc.gov. Women seeking mammograms at a reduced rate are urged to make their appointment early in the year, as space may be limited. To find a breast-imaging facility, contact the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER.

Perhaps the Ohio State University study will help move the correlation between breast cancer, money-related stress and depression to a bit of a higher profile.

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: Breast cancer, depression, money-related concerns, Ohio State University study, stress

Studying in Australia still ranks as one of the best experiences of my life. I’d also credit it as an early indicator that I wanted to work for myself: While I was abroad I discovered that I loved building my own schedule, meeting new people and constantly adapting to changing circumstances.

If you are considering studying abroad, check out this new video I recorded for FNC iMag on the campus of Columbia University. If you haven’t considered studying abroad, I hope it inspires some wanderlust!

TAGS: Education, travel

Are debt collectors calling?  Are their threatening letters jamming your mailbox?  Are you being harrassed into just paying whatever it is they say you owe because the collection notices and tactics are wearing you out?

If you get a notice of debt collection in the mail don’t rush to pay it!  If you pay the bill too soon, you could actually lower your credit score because when you pay a debt to a collections agency it becomes “updated activity”.   That debt can then be reported to the credit bureaus, which can, in turn, knock down your credit score.

Another reason not to rush to pay it:  the collection notice could be illegitimate.

One of my favorite financial services resources is Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com ( www.bankrate.com ).  He says if you get a collection notice, the first thing you should do is pull up your credit report from all three credit bureaus to see if the alleged debt was reported.

The three credit reporting bureaus are:

• Equifax P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374    1-800-685-1111  
• Experian P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013    1-888-397-3742  
• TransUnion P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022    1-800-8884213  

If you find the debt listed on any of your three credit reports and know or believe it’s not yours, you should dispute it through those agencies.  It’s never a good idea to dispute directly with the actual creditor or collections agency.

Once you’ve sumitted a dispute or request, the credit bureau will contact the creditor or collections agency and they have 30 days to validate what they’re reporting about you.  If it is not validated or if there is no response, the debt will be removed from your credit report.

If after receiving a collections notice, you don’t find it on any of your credit reports, you should request that the collections agency proves you actually owe this debt.  According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you have the right to dispute a debt notice and to request proof that the obligation is legitimate.

You can request:

• the name and address of the original creditor
• verification of the original debt amount
• to be told whether the collections agency was assigned the debt or if they own it (in many cases, if the collections agency does not own the debt they cannot prove that you owe it to them)

If the collections agency can’t furnish proof – according to the FDCPA – they must  cease collection of the debt until they provide you the proper verification.

Proving validity of a debt could be a complicated process, and many consumers dig themselves into a deeper credit hole by trying to handle collection agencies on their own.  If faced with this dilemma, you could use the services of an accredited credit repair agency to help get creditors off your back.  An excellent resource for what you need to know about finding one, is The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm) which says while there is no federal license or registration required for collections agencies, in some states debt collectors must register or apply for a state license. 

 Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: collection notices, credit bureaus, Debt collectors

I am the very proud grandmother of two. I’ve told you about my grandlittles before.  My granddaughter Savannah will be 3 next week.  My grandson Morgan turns 7 in December.  But more importantly, he started first grade yesterday.  The day before that, he and his Mom and I did back-to-school shopping.

The big event was to purchase the high top basketball shoes he’d had his eye on and had worked to earn money for all summer.  My daughter and her husband had told Morgan if he wanted those particular shoes then he needed to be able to help purchase them.  It was a new lesson about need versus want.  His wallet was bulging with 39 one dollar bills.  The shoes of choice cost $60. 

He led us from the parking lot into the mall and directly to the shoe store.  He knew the way.  It was a ritual of familiarity developed over the summer months whenever the family made a trip to the local mall.

The moment was here.  His foot was measured.  His toes stretched well beyond the kids’ size 12, even beyond the size 12-1/2.  A look of sheer joy and amazement crossed his face when the salesman said:  “You need a big boy’s size 1!”

He laced and relaced the shoes.  He walked in circles.  He cruised by the full length mirror.  He jumped.  He hopped.  He declared them “just right”. 

Now came the math lesson from me – Grandma GoGo. 

I explained that his hard earned $39 meant he was more than half way to being able to buy the shoes.  I went on to say that while he wanted these particular shoes he also needed new shoes for school because his foot had outgrown the ones in his closet.  I reminded him of our many conversations about the difference between needs and wants.  If he just wanted something, he’d have to go to his piggy bank to pay for it.  But if he really needed something, I’d always try to help him get it.

My final question to him as we sat together on the bench in the middle of the shoe store with the coveted high top sneakers still on his feet:  “How much of the money you’ve saved are you going to give the salesman for these shoes? He said:  “All of it, GoGo.”  It was both a statement and a question.

I told him I knew he had also been saving the money he’d earned so he could buy a new skateboard.  I told him that I’d like to help him stretch the money he had saved so that he wasn’t broke.  A short conversation then followed as I explained the new meaning of the word “broke” as it applies to money. 

Then I told him that I thought he should pay for the toe space that came with his new, big boy size 1 shoes.  “One dollar per toe, “I told him, “and I’ll pay for the rest of the shoe.”

He thought for a moment:  “You mean I give 10 of my dollars and you give 50 of your dollars, GoGo?”  I smiled, nodded my head and watched my grandson carefully and deliberately peel off his contribution and give it to the salesman.  He stood and watched me pay the rest, said “thanks, GoGo” – not once but twice, and asked if he could “break them in and wear them out of the store.”

As he led the way to our next stop which was the store that had back-to-school supplies - Morgan hopped, skipped, walked in circles and declared that his new shoes were “pretty cool” and that his toes were really happy. 

Ah yes, the price is definitely right when it brings such a sense of ownership.

Here’s to your health and wealth!

TAGS: Kids and money

We either toss them out or put them in a “to read” stack that never gets touched. 

I’m talking about those bulk mail, bar code addressed, multi-folded, innocuous-looking pieces of correspondence  from your bank.  My bank highlights these flyer-like items with a bright red stripe above which is typed:  “Important change in terms notice enclosed – please read”.

Do you know what not reading those “important change in terms” from your bank can cost you? 

I always open them.  I usually scan the topic of the notice that’s across the top in bold capitol letters and then put it in my ever growing “to-do” file to (eventually) read on some flight somewhere when I have time to take the few minutes to actually read all the fine print.

I opened the most recent one.  I scanned the topic:  “Important notice regarding changes to your account and your right to cancel your account”.  The words changes to your account got my attention.  Instead of filing it – I  immediately sat down and read the 6 narrow, printed panels of mostly miniscule font because the words changes to your account have new meaning these days as banks and other financial institutions are trying to make money and fatten badly depleted bottom lines.

The single-spaced fine print  first paragraph of the notice said there would be changes to my account in response to market conditions, new federal laws and regulations, and our increasing costs.  OK.  If the bank is openly declaring it’s going to charge me more for services (in order to cover their costs) – I need to know the specifics.  So do you.

I read on.  My notice switched to tiny font bold to make it clear(er):  “Please read below about your right to choose not to accept certain changes by cancelling your account.”  Did you know that?  You can say “yes” to the bank’s new rules or say “no” and close your account.  Somehow I didn’t feel like I’d been given a choice – as much as the lesser of two evils. 

These days, it’s about really reading the fine print.

A somewhat pleasant surprise from my other credit card company regarding “important account price change notification”.   First it was in absolutely readable font size.  The notice was to inform me that they were :

•  raising the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on cash advances (to the prime rate plus 21.99%)
• raising the APR on any balances that have a penalty rate because of a late payment (to 27.24%) and
• increasing the late fee (to $19 for previous balances of less than $250 and to $39 if the previous balance is $250 or more)

The somewhat pleasant surprise in the notice – a giveback!  Well, at least it made me feel a little love from my plastic:  “We are pleased to let you know that we will not charge you a fee if you go over your credit limit.”

That’s not really a gift or giveback, I know.  Credit card issuers are making changes to accommodate the fact that people are accessing and needing money in different ways these days.  Dropping one of the  many  fees they charge us isn’t as much the point to me as that they added a basic but often forgotten reminder:  “Don’t forget, it’s still important to keep your balance under your credit limit.” 

I consider that, the somewhat ”pleasant surprise”.  Lenders in a recession recovery environment acting in the spirit of educating customers.

Here’s to your health and wealth!

TAGS: APR, bank change notifications, Bank notices

Thinking about an MBA?

The Forté Foundation, one of my favorite organizations, invites women to attend a Forté Forum event to learn, network and discover what an MBA can do for future career success. Forums are held in September and October in cities throughout the U.S. Meet with admissions representatives from over 35 top business schools across the country and talk to GMAT test-preparation companies. Learn from the experiences of MBA alumnae and current employees at prestigious companies.

Admission is $10. For a schedule of dates and locations, and to register, visit www.fortefoundation.org/forum.

TAGS: business school, Forte Foundation

The comment below came from Matt regarding my July 23rd post “The Dollars and Sense of Caregiving and Self-Caring” which talked about becoming a parent to your parent(s) and handling their financial needs while trying to keep your own financial goals on track: 

“Great article…very helpful…even for us guys:)  I agree that children need to know their parents’ financial resources, as you say. What’s the best way to start the conversation about it, if your parents are reluctant?” -Matt

The reality is that most everyone’s reluctant to talk about money – so why should our elders be any different? 

Adult children are reluctant to bring up the subject.   “I don’t want my parents to think we’re counting the inheritance before their gone,” 55-year old Olivia, the eldest of four adult children told me.  “We don’t want their money.  We’re all doing OK for ourselves.  We just need to know what preparations they’ve made and how to help their Golden Years be just that.”    

It’s hard to face the fact that our parents, the people who took care of us, are getting old and may now need assistance in decision making and caring for themselves.  Discussing money with aging parents can be difficult.   And when they push back (act reluctant) about the forward progress you’re trying to make on their behalf (show you the money/their financial situation) – what’s an adult kid to do? 

Delaying conversations about their estate planning and retirement isn’t the answer.   Perhaps the best way to get them to show you their money is to show your hand.

I broached the subject with my parents by telling them I was getting all of my important personal papers updated and that I might need some help from them regarding dates, childhood illnesses, family health history and so forth.  I first assured them that I was very healthy, that there were no health issues that were causing me to prepare my will but since I had moved to a new state I wanted to be sure my legal papers were all in order.  They were immediately engaged because they perceived it to be about me and for me.  That was the first of many incremental chats that ultimately became conversations about their health, money and end of life wishes.

In the years leading up to their deaths six years ago at ages 78 and 84, my Mother was willing to keep me up-to-date on all their affairs.  Dad wasn’t.  He was still in charge.  The old soldier, retired Air Force Lt. Colonel that he was, told me he had all the necessary paperwork “signed, sealed and in a three-ring notebook” and that it would be given to me “when the time is right.” 

This plan didn’t give me a sense of well-being but I didn’t want to be confrontational.  I knew that Dad’s “when the time is right” could be when they found themselves in the midst of an illness and that the well-spouse would present me with the binder that would help me help the well-spouse carryout decisions they’d made.  It was Mom who, just a few days after that conversation, without ceremony or much comment – presented me with their three-ring notebook, told me to go make a copy of everything in it and return it before Dad got back from errands. 

Less than a year later, my father had a silent heart attack, was hospitalized and in grave condition.  Three days after Dad, my mother suffered an acute gall bladder attack, had emergency surgery and her previously slight confusion became full blown Alzheimer’s post surgery.  I was emotionally devastated.  Both parents down at the same time.  But at least I had a plan.  Their plan.  I had the contents of their three ring binder which my Mom had “gifted” to me months earlier with all their major decisions and documents.  (I was doubly blessed.  I found Dad’s original binder under lock and key in their small safe.)

Convincing your aging parents to show you their financial papers and documents is a conversation that needs to happen.  And according to MetLife Mature Market Institute’s ”Ten Tips for Talking to Your Aging Parents” (www.metlife.com) – the conversations should begin while your parents are still in good health. 

In addition to Tip #1 which is starting discussions early, MetLife suggests that you:

• Include other family members:  Get all the issues on the table and gather support from siblings and other relatives.
• Explain the purpose of your conversation:  That you want to be able to do the right thing for them as they age.
• Understand your parents’ need to control their own lives:  Remember they have a right to make their own decisions even if, at some point, you may need to balance their independence with their safety.
• Agree to disagree:  Don’t try to bully your way through.  Their wishes should prevail unless their health or safety is in question.
• Use good communication skills:  It’s more effective if you offer options rather than advice.  Express concerns, listen, don’t be afraid of silence, use open-ended questions that foster discussion rather than ones answered with “yes” or “no”.
• Ask about records and documentation:  Know where your parents’ insurance policies, wills, health care proxies, living wills, trust documents, tax returns, and investment and banking records are located.  Start this discussion by asking where they keep their papers and whom you should contact in case they’re incapacitated.
• Provide information:  Be a resource for information for your parents.  They may need information about legal and financial options available to them, so provide materials for them to read and look for opportunities to talk with them about the information.
• Re-evaluate if things aren’t working well:  The best approach is always to be willing to assess why things aren’t going well.  You might need to suggest that your parents talk to a third party – such as a geriatric care manager or financial planner.
• Treat your parents with respect:  While old age can be a rewarding time, it’s also often a time of loss of loved ones, of health, and of independence – so reassure your parents that you will be there for them as they age.

So Matt, I hope these thoughts and the specific information from experts at MetLife will help you figure out how to get a conversation going with your Mom and Dad.  Just know that it will take patience and repeated/ongoing conversations to get them to trust revealing their financial issues to you.  Remember many of our parents are of a generation that considers financial matters – private.  Don’t get frustrated.

 Here’s to your health and wealth.

(MetLife Mature Market Institute is MetLife’s informational and policy resource center on issues related to aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature market and is staffed by gerontologists.  “Ten Tips for Talking to Your Aging Parents” http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/consumer/.)

TAGS: aging parents, documents, Elder caregiving, elder financial needs, end of life issues, records

I am enamored by the concept and the term of “paying it forward“.  It was popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his book Between Planets, published in 1951.  The expression is used to describe the idea of asking that a good deed be repaid by having it done to others instead of you.  When it comes to money – the expression specifically means the creditor offers the debtor the option of  “paying” the debt (forward) by lending the amount to a third person instead of paying it (back) to the original creditor.

So, in the spirit of this concept, I invite you to share your financial knowledge, what worked and didn’t work for you, and how you’ve successfully managed your personal finances in order to provide some money management principles to which younger women can aspire.  And as you do this – remember the person who gave you an early loan in the spirit of providing financial guidelines. 

Since 90% of all women – married or single - will be responsible for their own financial future, young women must get the education needed to take control of personal money management reins for whatever reason. The reasons are far reaching, they’re global and almost always accompanied by daunting – if not massive – financial dilemmas (divorce, downsizing, stepfamilies, birth, death, aging or frail parents, career changes, children, career ceilings) that compromise women attaining and maintaining their lifestyle.

I have a serious commitment to teaching financial independence to young women.  My husband and I have four daughters – his two and my two – between the ages of 31 to 36.  We’re working to change their psychological approach and attitudes about money – from the traditional and loving but misguided idea that they don’t really need to know – to encouraging them and impressing upon them the importance of becoming educated about how to take care of themselves financially independently.

Their financial plans and ours share some vital components that go into the paying it forward category.  Women should:

• Show proactive leadership in early investing through such vehicles as investment clubs and scheduled gatherings in order to share information (and build momentum for understanding) about wealth building.
• Make a commitment to identify and partner women and wealth as a means of fostering entrepreneurship.
• Understand that financial independence and romance can peacefully co-exist.
• Use extreme care regarding co-mingling money, assess your own risk tolerance and know the risk tolerance of your spouse or partner.
• Actively support and continue building wealth while integrating work and family life – remembering that time away from work (as women bear children or take leaves of absence to care for elderly parents) means an interruption in the accumulation of pension funds.
• Give the children in our lives an early lesson about investing and the magic of compounding by giving them stock as gifts (a share in a company whose products they use and know gives them a real sense of ownership early) and/or a 529 Plan that pays for continuing education in the future at today’s prices.
• Work toward improving the sad equation of lower salaries for women for comparable work.

We’re living longer and will be able to afford it if we make a plan, get educated, stay educated and truly know that it’s never too late (and certainly never too early) to get started securing a financial future.  We can do this. 

My generation got used to the idea of being “superwomen”.  We raised children while simultaneously nurturing a career and keeping romance alive with a long-time or second chance spouse or partner.  We even began accepting the fact that it was okay to be good to ourselves!  That concept was – and still is – a tough one.  Most of us then and now were/are conditioned to just keep going and going and going.  We need to believe and pass along to younger women as Emerson wrote:  “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Within each of you is the ability to create wealth for our financial futures.  We have successfully run the home and workplace infrastructures simultaneously. We function in chaos sometimes but tend to finish in style.  Being persistent on behalf of our families (while still being good to ourselves) is key.  It will help you get a plan, get a financial life and make long term contingencies.  The ability to be pro-active instead of reactive is the foundation for financial staying power.

Pay forward the idea of getting an authentic financial life.  Find other women with similar needs and the desire to secure their financial future and pool the resources of your collective wealth of knowledge.  Make that commitment today.

Here’s to your health and wealth!

TAGS: creating wealth, daughters, entrepreneurship, financial dilemmas, financial independence, financial knowledge, Paying it forward, risk tolerance, superwomen, work and life integration