Better late than never…

That common phrase only applies to this blog post. When it comes to women, money and saving so that they can get the things they want it’s better now than later.

Every second Thursday of the month in our local office my business partners and I sponsor a seminar strictly for women to educate them on financial topics of an assorted variety. It’s known as Wine, Women & Wealth. The first one of 2016 focused on What Women Want.

At some point in their lives, 95% of women become the deciders for household spending either by being the sole income earner or outliving the men in their lives.* This places women in control of trillions of dollars of assets  despite earning only $0.78 for each $1 men earn. As a woman, that isn’t right and what I want is a bigger chunk now so I won’t become part of the nearly 50% of  women who fear outliving money. So how do you make sure that happens?

I (and also my business partners) look at six key areas and create financial plans for women (and also men). And as this blog started off it’s better to do it now rather than later. Here’s a slide shared at the first event this year that highlights the high cost of waiting to save for retirement, but it applies to any financial goal, which is why figuring out what you want first is very important.

After you figure out what you want, then you can set your goal whether it’s $1 million like the example above or something else. But then a lot of questions start to arise that were mentioned at our first event, some from our speakers and some from our guests, like:

• Where to place your money to make it grow & work for you?
• When can you open an IRA?
• What’s the difference between Roth & traditional IRA?
• Do I have enough of an emergency fund?
• What would happen if I lost my job tomorrow and couldn’t get another quickly?
• What if your spouse died or was unable to work?
• What if it happens to you? How will that affect your family’s lifestyle?
• What happens to your employer-sponsored life-insurance if you’re unable to work?

While the budget-based questions may be answered with the help of some of the sites listed below, if you’d like professional help addressing some of the finer details feel free to request a free financial consultation.

Budget help websites
Studentloanhero.com – creates a student loan repayment plan
Mint.com – an all-in-one money management tool
Readyforzero.com – creates a debt repayment plan