PPP's Tip of the Week

As women our financial needs can be very different from men. The following article courtesy of LendersMark.org By Sharon Secor, LendersMark.org Staff Writer talks about financial tips specifically for women.

Thinking About Money: Financial Tips For Women

Different Financial Needs
Women, as a statistical group, have different financial needs than men do. Women, on average, live longer than men do. Therefore, it is essential that women plan financially for their elder years, as the odds are that they will outlive their spouse or partner. The number of widows living in poverty is astounding, but smart, forward-looking financial planning can help to avoid this.

Another significant difference in financial needs has to do with the rearing of children. With the rate of divorce being what it is, many mothers find themselves raising their children on their own. After divorce, it is still the woman that typically experiences a decline in lifestyle and a decrease in financial stability.

Women raising children alone make up a huge percentage of the nation’s poor. Even with child support payments from fathers – something a large number of women do not have the benefit of – the real life, day-to-day expenses involved in rearing children can be overwhelming. For women, particularly mothers, financial planning should take into account this potential. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and if the marriage survives and single parenthood doesn’t happen, then there’s a tidy little nest egg for college, retirement, or a celebration of making it through the good times and the bad times successfully and together.

Financial Tips For Women
Those are just a few of the issues that can make women’s financial planning needs differ from those of men. Here are some tips that take those differences into account:

1. Take the steps to become educated about money and finance in both the broad sense and within your personal life. Be an informed and active part of your family’s finances and fiscal decisions.

2. Invest in yourself. Too often, women don’t make real investments – buy a house, start retirement accounts, engage in serious financial planning and investing – during their 20’s and 30’s or while they are single.

3. Question your spending motives. Don’t fall prey to emotional spending, to using shopping as a means of feeling better when experiencing a period of stress or of feeling down, or something more serious, such as depression. If there is an underlying issue, address it. You and your bank account will be better off.

4. Budget like you really mean it.

5. Recognize that the odds are that, as a woman, your overall earnings are likely to be less. Increase the percentage of your income that you save to offset that difference.

6. Prepare for potentials that are unpleasant to consider, such as marital breakup and single parenthood. Do your best to have separate, private just in case savings.

7. As a woman, you are likely to live longer than your spouse or partner. Be sure that your retirement planning reflects that likelihood.

If you would like to read the full article click here.

Here's to your finances!

Pumps, Purses & Positivity
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

Look Around

Look beyond yourself to help someone else
If you look long enough, the person that you see can be your future or your past.
Volunteer your time, volunteer your talent
Our future depends on it!

Mary Jane
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

PPP's Tip of the Week

12 New Rules For Your Money
by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine courtesy of Yahoo!Finance

In this era of high unemployment, flat home prices and do-it-yourself retirement savings, some traditional rules of saving and investing are due for an overhaul.

1. Renting may beat buying.
Buying wins hands down when home prices are rising. But when they're flat or falling, it makes sense only if you get a great deal, your monthly payment won't exceed rent on a comparable home by much, and you'll own the home long enough to recoup your costs for both buying and later selling your home.

2. Consider a Roth.
Although the traditional rule of tax planning is never to pay a tax bill today that you can put off until tomorrow, Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k) plans stand that rule on its head. With a traditional IRA or work-based retirement plan, you get an upfront tax deduction, but every dime you withdraw in retirement is taxed at your ordinary income-tax rate. With a Roth, you forgo the upfront tax break, but all withdrawals — including decades of earnings — can be withdrawn tax-free. If income-tax rates rise, a pot of tax-free retirement income could be a financial lifesaver. To contribute to a Roth IRA, your income in 2010 can't top $120,000 if you're single or $177,000 if you're married. Anyone, regardless of income, can now convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, but you'll owe taxes on the entire amount. There are no income-eligibility limits to contribute to a Roth 401(k), but not all employers offer them.

3. Focus on dividends.
Invest in stocks that pay dividends. Your options should continue to expand — more companies are paying dividends, and many of the elite dividend-paying members of Standard & Poor's 500- stock index are upping their payouts to shareholders. True, dividends do not guarantee that a stock will be a winner. Some failed big banks used to pay high dividends, while highfliers Apple and Google don't pay a penny. But during periods of market volatility, when stock prices tend to bounce around in reaction to political and economic gyrations rather than accurately reflect corporate fundamentals, dividends can provide a predictable income stream. That's not going to make you rich, but it is a comfort when other traditional sources of income have slowed to a trickle.

4. Personalize your emergency fund.
The standard advice is to keep enough in savings to cover three to six months' worth of expenses. But a lot depends on the stability of your job and the predictability of your income. The greater the risk your income could drop, the larger your emergency fund should be. If you think your job is in jeopardy, aim to save at least a year's worth of expenses; ditto for individuals with erratic incomes, such as those who work on commission. Retirees should keep two to three years' worth of expenses in money-market funds, short-term CDs or other liquid investments. The goal is to keep enough cash on hand so that you don't have to sell stocks or rack up expensive credit-card debt if you have an emergency, but not so much that you miss out on the higher returns you can earn on longer-term investments.

To read the other 8 money rules, please click here.

Here's to your finances!!

Pumps, Purses & Positivity
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

Hobo’s Question of the Day:

Hobo is asking when it is time to move on from a job or career that no longer seems satisfactory and given the current state of the job market how possible is it to change current career choices?

Hobo is asking this question because some time ago I found myself dissatisfied with my current job despite the fact that it has reasonable pay and benefits. I found myself not feeling appreciated or encouraged to challenge myself. I went back to school and completed a degree thinking that it would give me better insight or help me make a decision about changing my career or finding another job. But months later I am still complacent about the entire matter and still confused about what will be the better decision.

So, Hobo is asking is it best to stay in a job that seems empty and lacks challenge because it is the safer decision: or should one take a chance and venture into a new career or job despite the risk and state of the economy?

Looking for answers,

Hobo
Real Life, Real talk, Real Women

REGRETS

Don't waste time regretting the past.

Learn the lesson and look forward to the future!

Mary Jane
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR FUTURE

I often think when I hear people complaining about things at work, JUST STOP IT. Do you think that there is a whole lot to complain about during these economics times?

I guess it blows my mind because early in my life I learned, especially, when it came to jobs/career, I would not just settle. When I say settle, I mean stay somewhere I was unhappy. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the opportunities that I have had throughout my life.

I wonder why these people stay. Is it because they are truly being treated so unfairly that they have to prove a point…not. Do they receive some pleasure of making others around them unhappy…maybe? Or it is possible they have no options because they have burned too many bridges to go anywhere else…think so.

Think about it. If you truly hated your environment whether professional or personal, you would get out. I believe that the majority would if it was a drain on your being. While I did enjoy places I have worked, there have been times I made a conscious choice to move on because of the vibes that I was surrounded by.

Did I learn from those places…sure. It contributed to the person I am today. When you find yourself being negative about your work environment, stop for a moment and think. Could it be worse, of course? Am I being totally truthful in my involvement in my own situation? If you honestly look into that mirror, most likely you would see that your actions and behaviors have is some way contributed to the environment you are in.

Lets look deep and examine. Let me know your thoughts.

Much Love

Chanel

Real Life Real Talk Real Women

Launch Out!

Similarly to other posts stating that everyone should break out of their shell. Or try something new. Or do that thing that you always wanted to do. Or even take the first step toward your purpose…etc. No song is more inspiring than Launch Out by Alvin Slaughter. Here are the lyrics and a video of a live recording. If you’re not familiar with this song, listen first, and then sing along until it is in your spirit. Then LAUNCH OUT!



Sometimes we hold on a little longer than we should.
Letting go can be hard, but it’s sometimes for our good.
The fear of what’s ahead sometimes makes us fall behind.
You can see the times are changing, but pretend that we’re so blind.
You never really know just what the future holds, but we know God holds us in His hand.
So now by faith, we must climb into the boat, and follow His command.

Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith take you somewhere, that you’ve never been before.
Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith make you fly, let your faith make you soar.
Launch out, launch out, into the deep.

It’s time to wake up, and make our dreams come true.
You see, time is always moving, and it will not wait for you.
The fear inside your mind can quench the fire in your heart.
Sometimes where you end is where God wants to start.
It’s never easy when you’re walking out by faith.
Everything seems so different and new.
But if we only learn to see through eyes of faith, we would see life in a different view.

Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith take you somewhere, that you’ve never been before.
Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith make you fly, let your faith make you soar.
Launch out, launch out.

Launch out.

So much for you awaiting, so stop procrastinating.
Close your eyes, just take a leap.

Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith take you somewhere, that you’ve never been before.
Launch out into the deep.
Let your faith make you fly, let your faith make you soar.
Launch out, launch out, into the deep.

Launch out into the deep.


Kitten Heels

Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women