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
Showing posts with label retirement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retirement. Show all posts
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Are you ready to retire?
Although I'm not ready to retire in terms of age, I think about it often. Probably due to our unstable economy or because I always stumble across articles that remind me there will be no social security by the time I retire. So what should we be doing to make sure that transition goes smoothly when we are ready???
10 Signs You're Not Ready to Retire by Althea Chang
Sponsored by Fidelity Investments
Hopes for an economic upswing may rekindle ideas of a blissful retirement, but when will you really be ready?
Nearly a third of working people aged 55 or older have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, according to a 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey. But even if you’ve saved more than that, deciding when to retire has gotten more tricky.
Our financial futures are uncertain, 65 is no longer the default retirement age and it can be difficult to determine how much you’ll need in order to really enjoy retirement (or at the very least live comfortably).
So if you’re approaching your twilight years, here are some signs that you might not be ready to retire just yet.
You Haven’t Done the Math
Scenario: If you haven’t made lists or done any calculations to figure out just how you’ll cover day-to-day expenses, travel and holidays, you’ll have to give more thought to how much savings you’ll need to make it through retirement.
What you can do: If you’re among this group, or you just want to get a handle on what you’ll need to retire, there are plenty of online tools you can use to figure out how much you’ll need and what kind of lifestyle your money will afford you when you do decide to retire.
You Need to Play Catch-Up
Scenario: If you haven’t socked enough away in your 401(k), don’t panic. You have some options.
What you can do: If you’re 50 or older, you can make catch-up contributions of an additional $5,500 – that’s on top of the maximum of $16,500 if you’re under 50 - to your 401(k) or IRA to make sure you’re on track to retire when you want to, notes Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Recession Killed Your Retirement Funds
Scenario: Your retirement savings were cut nearly in half during the recession. The market seems to be improving, but you’re still uncertain.
What you can do: If you’re considering retirement and you’ve lost close to a third or more of your retirement savings, you may have taken on much more risk than you can handle. Find out whether you’re too old to be mostly invested in stocks or other high risk investments and adjust the way your retirement funds are allocated. You’ll want to minimize risk by investing conservatively. If you need help, find a certified financial planner.
You’ve Lost Your Pension
Scenario: Your pension plan has been discontinued and you’re worried that, without it, you may not have enough money to retire when you want to.
What you can do: First, find out whether your pension plan has been terminated or frozen.
It may seem counter intuitive, but you may be better off if your employer goes bankrupt than if your pension is just frozen or shrunk. That’s because employee pensions with companies filing for bankruptcy are covered by the government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, notes The Motley Fool. That means you should still be able to receive some if not all of what you’re due.
You Have Too Much Debt
Scenario: You have a substantial amount of mortgage or credit card debt which you’ll have to continue to pay off for the next several years.
What you can do: First, cut down on unnecessary spending to free up cash to pay the bills. Consider downsizing to a smaller home that’s cheaper to maintain. Next, use a debt reduction calculator to find out how long it will take you to pay off your debts. If paying down your debts seems impossible, get help from a reputable credit counseling agency via the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Out of Hand Expenses
Scenario: You’re concerned about covering all of your day-to-day expenses.
What you can do: Use an online calculator to determine how much you might be spending on utilities, health care, travel, meals, hobbies, gifts and other expenses. Next, identify what you’re willing to cut down on. For instance, if you still own the home that your children grew up in, you may be spending too much just for heating and cooling and could save money and energy just focusing on the rooms you usually occupy.
Drastic Measures to Pay the Bills
Scenario: You’re not a big spender, but in order to pay your bills during retirement, you might have to sell your home, get a reverse mortgage or take other drastic measures to get by.
What you can do: Downsizing your home might not be a bad idea and a reverse mortgage might give you an income in retirement if you’re not planning to leave your home to your heirs, but if you may end up struggling to make ends meet, you may want to reconsider retirement.
But that doesn’t mean work stress has to continue to wear you down. It’s never too late to consider a career change that could lead to more gratifying and enjoyable work. Plus, older people who have switched careers tend to have more flexible work schedules than in their previous jobs, according to AARP, meaning you could still have time to enjoy semi-retirement.
You Have Health Coverage Concerns
Scenario: You’ve got Medicare or you qualify for it when you retire, but you’re not sure if you can cover prescription drug costs.
What you can do: The easiest thing you can do to cut your prescription drug costs is to switch to generics. Beyond that, you can consider Medicare Part D, a prescription drug plan for which you’ll have to pay a monthly premium, but it could save you substantial amounts of money.
And if you’re on a limited income, drug companies may even provide you with free or cheap medications via the Partnership for Prescription Assistance.
You Like to Spend
Scenario: You see retirement as your time to live the good life, but you’re not sure if you’ll have enough to cover all of the cruises, early-bird specials and other outings you envision for your life after work.
What you can do: If you’re in relatively good health now, you may want to work a bit beyond 65 to help you afford little luxuries – and actually be able to enjoy them - when you finally do retire. Or consider part-time work. Online job search sites like RetirementJobs.com specialize in jobs for people over age 50.
You Need to Keep Busy
Scenario: You’re considering retirement, but you’re the type of person who needs to stay busy and feel productive.
What you can do: If you’re not as concerned about being able to afford retirement as you are about keeping yourself sharp and spry in your later years, volunteering is a great way to stay productive and social while still maintaining an easy and flexible schedule. AARP has a Web site where the retirement-aged can search for worthwhile volunteering opportunities.
Here's to your financial well being,
Stiletto
Real Talk, Real Life, Real Women
10 Signs You're Not Ready to Retire by Althea Chang
Sponsored by Fidelity Investments
Hopes for an economic upswing may rekindle ideas of a blissful retirement, but when will you really be ready?
Nearly a third of working people aged 55 or older have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, according to a 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey. But even if you’ve saved more than that, deciding when to retire has gotten more tricky.
Our financial futures are uncertain, 65 is no longer the default retirement age and it can be difficult to determine how much you’ll need in order to really enjoy retirement (or at the very least live comfortably).
So if you’re approaching your twilight years, here are some signs that you might not be ready to retire just yet.
You Haven’t Done the Math
Scenario: If you haven’t made lists or done any calculations to figure out just how you’ll cover day-to-day expenses, travel and holidays, you’ll have to give more thought to how much savings you’ll need to make it through retirement.
What you can do: If you’re among this group, or you just want to get a handle on what you’ll need to retire, there are plenty of online tools you can use to figure out how much you’ll need and what kind of lifestyle your money will afford you when you do decide to retire.
You Need to Play Catch-Up
Scenario: If you haven’t socked enough away in your 401(k), don’t panic. You have some options.
What you can do: If you’re 50 or older, you can make catch-up contributions of an additional $5,500 – that’s on top of the maximum of $16,500 if you’re under 50 - to your 401(k) or IRA to make sure you’re on track to retire when you want to, notes Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Recession Killed Your Retirement Funds
Scenario: Your retirement savings were cut nearly in half during the recession. The market seems to be improving, but you’re still uncertain.
What you can do: If you’re considering retirement and you’ve lost close to a third or more of your retirement savings, you may have taken on much more risk than you can handle. Find out whether you’re too old to be mostly invested in stocks or other high risk investments and adjust the way your retirement funds are allocated. You’ll want to minimize risk by investing conservatively. If you need help, find a certified financial planner.
You’ve Lost Your Pension
Scenario: Your pension plan has been discontinued and you’re worried that, without it, you may not have enough money to retire when you want to.
What you can do: First, find out whether your pension plan has been terminated or frozen.
It may seem counter intuitive, but you may be better off if your employer goes bankrupt than if your pension is just frozen or shrunk. That’s because employee pensions with companies filing for bankruptcy are covered by the government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, notes The Motley Fool. That means you should still be able to receive some if not all of what you’re due.
You Have Too Much Debt
Scenario: You have a substantial amount of mortgage or credit card debt which you’ll have to continue to pay off for the next several years.
What you can do: First, cut down on unnecessary spending to free up cash to pay the bills. Consider downsizing to a smaller home that’s cheaper to maintain. Next, use a debt reduction calculator to find out how long it will take you to pay off your debts. If paying down your debts seems impossible, get help from a reputable credit counseling agency via the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Out of Hand Expenses
Scenario: You’re concerned about covering all of your day-to-day expenses.
What you can do: Use an online calculator to determine how much you might be spending on utilities, health care, travel, meals, hobbies, gifts and other expenses. Next, identify what you’re willing to cut down on. For instance, if you still own the home that your children grew up in, you may be spending too much just for heating and cooling and could save money and energy just focusing on the rooms you usually occupy.
Drastic Measures to Pay the Bills
Scenario: You’re not a big spender, but in order to pay your bills during retirement, you might have to sell your home, get a reverse mortgage or take other drastic measures to get by.
What you can do: Downsizing your home might not be a bad idea and a reverse mortgage might give you an income in retirement if you’re not planning to leave your home to your heirs, but if you may end up struggling to make ends meet, you may want to reconsider retirement.
But that doesn’t mean work stress has to continue to wear you down. It’s never too late to consider a career change that could lead to more gratifying and enjoyable work. Plus, older people who have switched careers tend to have more flexible work schedules than in their previous jobs, according to AARP, meaning you could still have time to enjoy semi-retirement.
You Have Health Coverage Concerns
Scenario: You’ve got Medicare or you qualify for it when you retire, but you’re not sure if you can cover prescription drug costs.
What you can do: The easiest thing you can do to cut your prescription drug costs is to switch to generics. Beyond that, you can consider Medicare Part D, a prescription drug plan for which you’ll have to pay a monthly premium, but it could save you substantial amounts of money.
And if you’re on a limited income, drug companies may even provide you with free or cheap medications via the Partnership for Prescription Assistance.
You Like to Spend
Scenario: You see retirement as your time to live the good life, but you’re not sure if you’ll have enough to cover all of the cruises, early-bird specials and other outings you envision for your life after work.
What you can do: If you’re in relatively good health now, you may want to work a bit beyond 65 to help you afford little luxuries – and actually be able to enjoy them - when you finally do retire. Or consider part-time work. Online job search sites like RetirementJobs.com specialize in jobs for people over age 50.
You Need to Keep Busy
Scenario: You’re considering retirement, but you’re the type of person who needs to stay busy and feel productive.
What you can do: If you’re not as concerned about being able to afford retirement as you are about keeping yourself sharp and spry in your later years, volunteering is a great way to stay productive and social while still maintaining an easy and flexible schedule. AARP has a Web site where the retirement-aged can search for worthwhile volunteering opportunities.
Here's to your financial well being,
Stiletto
Real Talk, Real Life, Real Women
Monday, March 1, 2010
Women and Finances
Ladies it is so important that we are on our A Game when it comes to our finances especially as we get older. There are so many things that we should have in place that are not really that difficult but we don’t think about until it’s too late.
I found a website that is all about women and finances as well as other critical things that we should either be doing or thinking about when it comes to our well being. Now the website does require a fee to join but I found that you can surf this website and get really good information w/o joining.
Here are a couple of subjects that are discussed:
Credit
Financial Planning
Estate & Legacy
Family & Money
Life Stages & Planning
Retirement
The list goes on….I have added this website to my “favorites” section because I have found the information to be very helpful. So much so that I am finally getting my Will together!! So when you have a second please check out Women & Co and don’t get put off by the membership fee because as I said there are plenty of areas on the website that are open for you to view at your leisure w/o membership.
To your financial health!!
Pumps, Purses, & Positivity
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women
I found a website that is all about women and finances as well as other critical things that we should either be doing or thinking about when it comes to our well being. Now the website does require a fee to join but I found that you can surf this website and get really good information w/o joining.
Here are a couple of subjects that are discussed:
Credit
Financial Planning
Estate & Legacy
Family & Money
Life Stages & Planning
Retirement
The list goes on….I have added this website to my “favorites” section because I have found the information to be very helpful. So much so that I am finally getting my Will together!! So when you have a second please check out Women & Co and don’t get put off by the membership fee because as I said there are plenty of areas on the website that are open for you to view at your leisure w/o membership.
To your financial health!!
Pumps, Purses, & Positivity
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
