It’s been a memorable decade. And certainly, the last year has been interesting.

We’ve gone from worrying that Y2K would cause our computers to melt down to wishing that something, anything, would cause our blackberries to stop delivering incoming messages at dizzying speed.

As much as some things have changed, others stay the same; we still take time at the end of the year to make resolutions for the year ahead.

As a chronic resolution maker ─ and breaker, this year, I’m going to take a different approach.

You may be familiar with the acronym S.M.A.R.T. as it relates to setting business goals? I think the process works equally well with personal goals, which is exactly what resolutions are.

1. Specific: Clear goals about what you want to change, learn, do differently, etc. makes it more likely that you will be able to accomplish it.
2. Measurable: How will you know when you have been successful?If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, the scale is a good way to measure success.  If, however, your objective is to build a better relationship with your significant other, think about how you will access your progress.  Perhaps you can institute regular checkpoints where you discuss how things are going.  Or perhaps you keep a journal to track how many times you disagree with one another and rate yourself regarding how well you handle these difficult situations.
3. Achievable: Goals should be stretch but not completely out of reach.  If you set your sights too high, you will be setting yourself up for failure. Too low and it’s not worth worrying about.Another issue is that if you can’t control the progress toward the goal yourself, then revise the goal to one that you can control.  For example, if your resolution is to pay down your credit card debt but your husband keeps charging, then perhaps you need to decide how much of your current, collective debt each of you will be responsible for and then negotiate with one another how to manage making the payments.
4. Results- Oriented: It’s the result that counts, not the intent.  This will keep you from making excuses to yourself about why keeping your resolution was too difficult and to award yourself points just for effort.
5. Timebound: There has to be an end in sight.  Be realistic about the right time frame to assign to any resolution

My plan is to use S.M.A.R.T. criteria to evaluate any of my resolutions. If the resolution doesn’t pass muster with each,  I’m moving on.

Hope this process helps you too; please let me know if you use it.

All the best in 2010.

TAGS: achieving goals, LinkedIn, resolutions

A reader writes:

I am a woman working with a big male-dominated team (30+ members) in an IT company. Only four in the entire team are women. The male colleagues often hang out together, have Friday parties and often short picnics. When any new male member joins the team, he is invited to the parties immediately. Once, a female colleague tried joining them, but she was immensely discouraged.

I understand that they discuss team politics and issues in these parties, and often make comments about the female colleagues. Often, they share their opinions about others in the team and “office news” too. This leads to a huge informal information flow between the males from which the females have been kept out.

This has led to a situation where I and my female colleagues are feeling quite left out. The male colleagues feel like they are buddies, and I am fairly sure their interaction is influencing some important decisions within the team on work sharing, appraisals and promotions.

I would like to hear your advice on how to deal with such a situation.

You sound frustrated and I can certainly empathize. The men in your office certainly do seem to be excluding women from their informal gatherings and, if that is the case, it is insensitive at best and potentially illegal at worst.  So, what to do?

Because I don’t know enough about the company culture, the personalities or the history about how and why this situation evolved, I can offer only some general advice:

1. Don’t over-exaggerate the value of these “boys’ nights”. They may be a lot less worth attending than they seem and it’s hard to know what really goes on since you’re not there. The true impact may only be a hang-over.
2. It’s hard to be comfortable in a group when you know you’re not wanted so don’t push too hard to be invited to the informal gatherings the guys organize. Imagine how you and the women with whom you work will feel even if you do get invited ─ just because you are in the room doesn’t mean you’ll be welcome. Nor does it mean that your male colleagues will share information with you. In fact, trying to push your way in (even if you were successful somehow, which is highly unlikely) could result in increased tension.
3. For the reason explained in #2, a sincere invitation is the only one worth anything. If you are convinced that you and the women with whom you work are missing out on important information, how can you wrangle a sincere invitation? Is there one man who is the leader, either officially or unofficially? If so, perhaps you or one of your female colleagues who has a good relationship with him could have a conversation with him about the situation to better understand what’s going on, why and what to do about it. Perhaps other women can also reach out to other men they think they can influence.
4. If you are convinced you will be retired before you receive a sincere invitation to “boys’ night”, why not organize your own gathering but invite your male colleagues? Be sure to approach your male colleagues as individuals, leaning on existing relationships to improve the chances that they’ll attend.
5. I’m not sure how their interaction is influencing appraisals and promotions unless management is also attending these gatherings; in that case, you and your female colleagues may want to have a conversation with the boss to apprise him of your collective concerns. If things continue as they are after that conversation, you may want to alert your HR department.

Readers, any other ideas?

TAGS: excluded, inclusion, LinkedIn, tough situation

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

Knowing the score – my credit score that is – has always been important to me.  It was one of the silver linings I found many years ago in the dark cloud of post divorce in a community property state.  Having been a young married woman in the early 70s, my idea of good money habits was:  “What’s mine is his.  What’s his is mine.  And we and our money would live happily ever after.”

Boy did I get a reality wake up call.  When I initiated divorce proceedings nearly 18 years later – figuring out the mine and the his of our money – came down to attitude.  As the obvious breadwinner (a calculation reached by an angry female judge who was herself the product of a divorced family and still dealing with her own issues of abandonment) – I got nailed.  I was to be responsible for paying all the outstanding bills, providing all the education expenses for my children and writing the checks for any other family matters yet to be named or known.

I had two choices:  I could get mad or I could get even.  I chose the latter – and I don’t mean getting even by retaliation.  Even though my ex said he didn’t care about the bills or lines of credit in our name and would do nothing to pay them off – I did.  I cared very much.  In fact, I cared so much about what creditors would say about my name that I set my sites, goals and checkbook on paying off all the family debt.  Month by month.  Chunk by chunk.  And when that I was done, I regaled in the satisfaction of never having to see his name and mine together on any bill or document that represented my new life. 

It took a few years of deliberate, consistent, always on time payments.  But finally I was at a place where I understood the importance of and the need to know the score – my very own, just me, individual, earned it myself, pristine credit score.  There is big bold numbers was my answer:  793.   I love the number.  I guard the number.  I’ve kept it there even though I’ve had to handle my share of disappointments in this crazy money time called a recession.

The new (I)deal when it comes to credit worthiness isn’t about how much money you have, it’s about how you handle what you have.

The recession is touching everyone.  What can you do to make the best out of these troublesome financial times?

First and foremost – don’t panic.  It’s true that many people have chosen to pull their money out of the market.  But strategists like Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com says – unless you absolutely need cash in the short term – meaning between right now and the next couple of years – remember that historically the market has recouped all of its losses.

Tip number two:  Don’t put all of your money in one place.  It’s never a good idea – even during the best of times.  If you don’t diversify your portfolio, you leave yourself open to owning too much of one kind of asset and too little of another kind.

Tip number three:  I know this may sound contrary to what you feel like doing right now in the midst of the market’s gyrations – but don’t let the state of the economy drive your investing.  Market declines offer many opportunities.  So now is the time to look for strong companies whose shares are down.  There are a lot of them.  Buy them if you can.  Add them to your long term portfolio.  Money specialists say people in their 20s and 30s should have roughly 80-90% of their assets in stocks.  People in their 60s – approaching retirement – may keep up to 50% of their assets in stocks.

Finally, Bankrate.com’s McBride says:  “Recessions are a time to build an emergency fund – a savings account that will cover three to six months of basic living expenses.”  Make this a goal.  Even now when money is – for most people – extremely tight, starting a modest but dedicated emergency fund can be the silver lining in this and future financial storms.

The current economic crisis and its fallout’s going to be with us for years.  How each person prepares to take a more active role in managing their personal money needs is critical to our collective recovery.  There must be a consistency of thought that every one of us will have - from cradle to grave meaning lifelong -  a solid, basic money knowledge and the skills to manage it.  

Spending less than you earn is the way to accumulate wealth.  Education increases your earning potential.  Saving during good times and bad is a huge accomplishment and should be your “look what I can do” goal.  Talk about debt with your spouse and know where you both stand when it comes to being responsible for managing it.  Set goals because they’re key to your financial success and they’re habit forming.  Nothing like meeting one money goal successfully to make you want to set another one.  

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: buying opportunities, diversification, emergency fund, long-term portfolio goals, Recession tips

Women are more vulnerable financially as we age.  Why?  Because we have very unique money issues:

• lower earnings
• work patterns
• health status
• life expectancy
• marital status

We have lower earnings because we work in different and often less lucrative occupations and sectors.  Two-thirds of us earn less than $30,000 a year – a number that has been diminished even more by the ongoing downturn in the overall economy.  U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says the recession is especially hard on women because we earn less money than men for the same work.  Women earn from 78-cents to 52-cents for every dollar men receive.  (Source: The Womens’ Data Center, Institute for Women’s Policy Research,  http://www.iwpr.org/femstats/wocdata.htm - Asian 78-cents, White 73-cents, African-American 63-cents, Native American almost 60-cents and Latinas 52-cents).  The average 25-year old woman with a college degree earns $500,000 less in her lifetime than a man.  While women are in the workforce in greater numbers, we are often part-time or work for an employer offering few or no benefits. 

Women’s work patterns are different.   Women on average work 13 years less than men.  During our time away – most often to care for children or frail parents or other family members – we’re not increasing our earning power, not vesting in pensions and our lifetime earnings for Social Security income is lower.   Most defined pension plans vest at 5 years.  Women average 4.7 years in a job while men average 5.1 years.  Half of working women have no pension. 

Women spend more on out-of-pocket health care expenses than men.  The system sees our health status differently.  Men have more acute illnesses and die sooner but  their medical needs are covered under insurance and Medicare.  Women at midlife have more chronic illnesses, require specialists and leading edge medicine.  Our illnesses frequently result in the need for long term care – and other needs often not covered by many insurances or Medicare.

We live longer than men – on average about 5 years longer but a woman’s income at age 65 is half that of men.  Women must factor in longer life expectancy as they plan for retirement and should work with a  financial specialist to accurately figure out the rate at which they spend their retirement savings.

90% of women will live alone – by choice or circumstances – at some point in their life.  29% of single, older women are poor or near poor.  Widowed and divorced women are three to four times more likely to be poor than women in couples.  For many older women, Social Security is their only source of income in retirement.

Women deserve economic security.  In order to attain it, we must not allow ourselves to become the victims of this recession.  See and seize the opportunity to become better stewards of our personal money.

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: benefits, caregiving, chronic illness, earnings, health status, life expectancy, Lower earnings, marital status, pension plans, widowed and divorced women, work patterns

It works my very last nerve when I hear people say:  “I let my financial advisor figure out what to do with my money.  They’re much better at it!”  Guess what?  It’s your money, so I think there’s something a little scary about just turning your money over to someone else to manage. 

Always remember – it’s YOUR money and always take it personally. 

In order to make money grow and for you to sustain your financial independence – it’s critical for you to build a financial team – if only of one:  a financial advisor.  This is the person who can help you reach your personal money goals by working with you to create a financial plan and put it into practice.

How do you find a financial advisor?  Ask around.  Check with family, friends, attorney and accountant for referrals.  Be sure to check the financial services that your bank provides, too.  

When choosing a financial advisor, what you’re looking for is someone with whom you feel comfortable.  Someone who makes you feel that he or she is taking your money needs personally – professionally.  Look for a person who has been in the field five years or more and can tell you their code of ethics.  Make sure to check their background (www.sec.gov click on “Check Out Brokers and Advisors” for more information).  Also confirm their credentials with one of several accrediting organizations such as the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors ( http://www.napfa.org/). 

There are many professional designations out there among money specialists – but only a few deserve your consideration.

• There are CFPs – certified financial planners who are trained in risk management, investments and tax, retirement and estate planning. 
• There are PFSs – personal financial specialists who are certified financial accountants who specialize in financial planning. 
• There are chartered financial analysts (CFAs) who must pass a three level test on investment analysis, economics, portfolio theory, accounting and corporate finance. 
• There are chartered financial consultants who are insurance agents who’ve passed college courses in financial planning.

Regardless the designation of the financial specialist – be sure you know how they get paid.  There are several compensation models.  Some are strictly fee only (like the members of NAPFA).  I prefer fee only advisors since they sell no products and therefore have fewer potential conflicts of interest.  Other financial advisors are paid by commission and take a percentage of your assets plus a fee.  There are some who charge an hourly rate of $120-$300 per hour.  And still others who charge you an annual retainer.  You can find good advisors in any of these compensation models.  Then schedule what should be a free consultation with several the advisor so you can get a one-on-one sense of your comfort level with this person.

When choosing the best person to help you manage this important area of your life, what should you expect them to do?  The advisor should:

• know and focus on your risk tolerance in selecting your portfolio and provide you a performance review of at least 5 years
• work with you to set target rates of return meaning the returns you will need to achieve your objectives
• show you different models and mixes of investments that have the highest probability of achieving your goals
• write an investment policy statement for you (or you request one) that provides specific instructions such as target return, risk tolerance, time horizon, anticipated withdrawals or contributions, tax constraints and regulatory issues, if any
• rebalance your portfolio periodically and make suggested adjustments as needed
• provide you with a quarterly assessment of the portfolio’s performance and market values. 

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: brokes and advisors, consultation, fee only advisors, Financial advisors, financial independence, National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, Securities and Exchange Commission

I feel better.  A lot better than I did on Thursday.  Why?  I was good to myself this weekend. 

Reading the economic news every day in the newspaper, seeing it on TV, and watching your 401(k) shrink to simply a “k” can be depressing.  The antidote?  Give yourself a break – do something that makes you happy.  Some ideas:

• Take a walk or exercise in some other way
• Eat some ice cream
• Get some more sleep
• Read a good book
• Have coffee with a friend
• See a funny movie
• Do something nice for someone

As you can see, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to be good to yourself – little things can do a lot of good.  Have you been good to yourself lately?

TAGS: difficult economy, Economy, small things

I had all sorts of kind words and compliments lined up to congratulate and celebrate you youngish Baby Boomers.  10,000 of you a day are turning 50 for the next ten to twelve years or so.  Then I reminded myself that I’m your financial cheerleader – and since you can’t take kind words and compliments to the bank – let me provide some loose change ideas instead because as I like to say – “Lose change adds up to folding money.”  You can bank on that.

If you’re in your 50s – when it comes to personal money matters – welcome to crunch time! 

In the fifth decade of life you need to do with your money what you’re hopefully doing with your mind and body:  firming it up in general but your retirement options specifically.  Here’s the reason why.  Although the whole idea of what retirement is is being re-thought by the 79 million of us who are known as Baby Boomers (”Encore: Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life ” by Marc Freedman), at this age, you’re actually thinking about doing it one of these days!  So now really is the time to decide what kind of retirement lifestyle you want – and plan accordingly.

Here’s how.  The closer you get to this thing called “retirement”, the more you need to scale back on doing anything too risky with your money.  Your asset allocation should be 50% stock and 50% fixed income.  This mix let’s your retirement savings grow in the market but with a safety net of sorts with fixed income.  If, however, you’re behind in your savings, you may need to be a more aggressive investor – in other words, take more risk even in your mid-50s in order to make up for lost time and the more recent losses due to the state of our economy.  Crunch the numbers – from social security, pension and all your other income streams – to determine how to best allocate your assets.  Look for online calculators to help you do this (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/retirement.asp).

Since women still on average live longer than men and will therefore need money for a longer period of time, it’s very important to remember to actively continue saving for retirement.  Your money mantra should be – save as much as you can and be sure to track your assets more closely the closer you get to retirement. 

Many of us age 55 and older are taking care of aging parents, dealing with their end-of-life issues and what may be required of us emotionally and financially to help them.  So it’s easy to let our own future money needs get side tracked.

Get back on track by downsizing your housing costs – possibly relocating to a smaller home.  Get back on track by buying long term care insurance if you haven’t already because if you purchase it in you 50s, it’s still affordable. 

And finally, get back on track by downsizing your generosity.  Despite what your heart might say, this is the time in life where you must stop giving money to relatives and children.  I know – that’s a tough one.  But unless you’re independently wealthy – you’ve reached a point where you can no longer afford to lend a “money helping hand” because you’ll have little time to recoup any loses for loans that become gifts.

Next Thursday:  Women over age 55 control 65% of the country’s wealth (http://www.silvervixens.com/node/92) but often don’t give themselves credit for being able to make good money choices.  I’ll have some specific money moves for women of a certain age – 55 and older. 

Here’s to your health and wealth.

February is Black History Month.  Did you know that …  In the early 1900’s a woman named Madam C.J. Walker was considered by some to be the first self-made American woman millionaire?  Madam Walker was an African-American businesswoman – the wealthiest African-American woman in America in the early 20th century.  She revolutionized the hair care and cosmetics industry for African American women.  Madam Walker fully recognized the power of her wealth and success.  She promoted her business by speaking to women’s groups which empowered other women in business.  Her story is inspiration to women entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds.  http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/MadameWalker.htm

TAGS: aging parents, bankrate, black history, downsizing, encore careers, future money needs, loaning money, longevity, madam cj walker, Money in Your 50s, retirememt, women entrepreneurs

When you’re 30-something, your money goal should be getting life together and getting serious about saving for retirement.  Think about it.  The last ten years or so, you’ve spent time working and may have reached the conclusion that you really don’t want to work for the rest of your life.

If that’s where you are, do a reality check.  Ask yourself:  “What do I need to do differently money wise?”  At this age, it’s time to get greater clarity about your goals based on your current income and the assets you’ve accumulated.  If you’re married, be sure your spouse is on the same financial page as you.  If you’re getting married, be sure to talk openly – before you walk down the aisle – about how you’ll manage the money:  separately, joint account or a combination of the two.  Remember, just because you choose to co-habitate in marriage, doesn’t mean your money has to do the same.

In your 30s is a good time to start catching up on savings and set new spending controls.  You have a lot of major life changes going on – marriage, births, layoffs – that may set you back financially.

If you started your own business, now’s the time to establish a retirement plan in order to set aside tax-deduxtible, tax-deferred monies.  Start with an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).  Build and maintain an emergency fund of 12 months (rather than 3 to 6 months) worth of living expenses since you’re self-employed.

It’s especially critical that you protect your assets and growing family at this point in your life – so set up and maintain adequate life insurance and disability income insurance.  Carefully consider consolidating various accounts so you have greater control over your money.

There’s something to be said about making and managing money after you turn 30.  Most people get quite serious abut it.  And with good reason.  Just a decade ago, when you were in your 20s, the first priority to building a financial life was getting your financial house in order by setting boundaries on your spending.  You did that by creating a simple budget and sticking to it.   The second was to pay down your debt.  The third was to start an emergency fund.

Now at age 30-something, your financial plan should be to protect your assets and growing family.  Now’s the time to have a family spending plan and be comitted to it.  If you have children, be especially careful about over spending on them.  The heart often wants to do that which the mind knows isn’t a healthy money decision.  And when it comes to your goal of setting money aside for your child’s college or trade school education - don’t put your child’s future education ahead of your retirement savings.  Think of it this way:  you can get a loan to pay for college but no one gives you a loan to pay for your retirement needs.

If you’re considering changing employers – check your current company’s “vesting” schedule before making any moves.  You may find that waiting a few extra months to leave the current job means you walk away with more of your retirement plan earnings.

It’s never too late to get a solid financial life – but the sooner you begin doing it – the better.  The magic of compounding will work well for you since, at 30-something, you still have a lifetime of work and earning potential ahead of you.  Be deliberate, consistent and determined when it comes to growing your money and your growing family.  And be as consistent and deliberate on your own behalf if you choose not to have children.

Next Thursday – money tips for women in their fourth decade of life – where urgency about getting a plan comes into play. 

If you want more daily money tips that will help you spend, save, manage and invest your money, go to Valuable Money Tips with Valerie Coleman Morris @ http:/www.napw.com/valuable_money.cfm .

Here’s to your health and wealth.

TAGS: 30-39-year old women, 30-something, business owner, disability insurance, income and assets, IRA, life insurance, Marriage