photo credit: Alex E. Proimos

I came across this article about women and retirement, so of course I had to read it, and then needed to vent a little.

It is still men’s world out there… women came a long way, but not far enough…yet!

I commend young ladies who value education, go on to college and become professionals, and are easily self supporting, if needed to, then also start families and continue the traditional life cycle.

It is not easy to be a woman these days, since besides having a full time professional job, she still has to be the glue that holds the family together, the organizer, the planner, the wife and mother, the cook, the chauffeur,  the teacher, and so on, and on, and on.

I know that more and more men share the household chores with their wives, but there still is the reality of the ever so famous quote “go ask Mom”, just to pass yet another responsibility to mom.

I really did not plan to talk about family life, but rather about women and finances. Even though women are very engaging in so many aspects of the daily routine, many of them are not interested enough in financial matters of the family.  Most women still feel that this is a job for their husband, and there is nothing wrong with that, until that husband is not there to carry on.

This scenario may happen sooner than any woman may dream of, since it could be spurred by various factors, such as a temporary employment assignment away from home and family, serious illness, separation or divorce, or even a premature death.

At any rate, life must go on, and the financial responsibility requires the woman’s involvement, thus one has to be ready to carry on.  Even if you think you would hire a professional to do it for you, your still should understand what is going on.  I can’t believe how many women out there are still not interested in knowing how to balance a checkbook, how to pay bills, who is their insurance carrier or investment broker, plus so many other things of this nature.

To prevent unnecessary stress and disaster, women should be equally involved with their husbands in financial planning and decision making process throughout their life, just to be ready in time of need.

I was always told that “it is good to know everything, but not always good to do everything”, and this could not be more true about finances and decision making.  Not that I totally practice what I preach, but I am trying to know and do as much as I am able to, so if life draws me a short straw, I am not stuck in such a situation.

There are so many websites on this topic, community colleges are always offering non–credit courses on various money matters, and what better way to learn than by sitting down with your husband while he is involved with this task on regular basis, and offer your assistance, thus learn by doing.

If you still are not convinced that you should get involved, please click on the highlighted words, to expand your knowledge on the subject of money and finances for women, and let me know if you found these posts helpful and encouraging.

Also, tell us that you decided to get more involved in your family’s finances and financial planning.

The same suggestion goes to the husbands, to encourage their wives to be involved in family financial management, rather than being distanced from it.

If you are just like the rest of us, you are dreaming of financial success, and you want it to happen ASAP, or at least for it to start in 2010.

I have some ideas for you, which I found on Getting Rich Slowly, and will give you a short outline to refresh your memory about your plan (maybe), but if you are interested in expanding your knowledge further, please follow the link for more details.

These are their 10 suggestions to get you started, plus my 2 cents of advice:

• Track every penny you spend - nothing better than being aware where your money if going

• Develop a budget - best way to keep track of your cash flow

• Review your accounts (and ask for discounts) - that would be all accounts, incoming and outgoing of your funds

• Optimize your accounts – always a wise idea to analyze your financial position on regular basis

• Start an emergency fund – one should always be ready to survive for a 6 months period during those “rainy days”

• Get out of debt – it is best to consolidate your debt as much as possible, and look for best rates

• Fund your retirement – we all will need this one some day (sooner than you think)

• Automate your finances – not very difficult with all the nowadays technology

• Earn extra money – if there is a will there is a way

• Educate yourself – knowledge is power

All of the above are very valid, and common sense points, wouldn’t you agree?

Nobody said it will be easy, but you have to start somewhere.

One thing you have to remember, is that you can’t spend more than you make (many do just that), so you have to really watch where your money is going, and there is no better way to keep track of this than writing it all down, and review it weekly, or at least monthly (hopefully my children are reading this and taking my advice).

You must be very diligent about it, so no slacking off, even if you spend 75 cents in the vending machine for your daily snack, this will amount to $3.75 per work week, or $180 per work year.

Pennies make dollars, so every penny counts, if you really want to be accurate and learn where to cut corners.

Another important point is to educate yourself about finances, so even if you don’t make or have lots of money, you learn to use it wisely, to stay out of debt, and perhaps even start building up your savings or a retirement fund.

If you have other ideas for financial success, please share them with all of us.