The significant other of an acquaintance passed away and while I sent my condolences I couldn’t help but wonder how she would move through financially this year.  I kept thinking did he have life insurance?  Were they a two income household?  Did she depend on him to help her with paying the bills?  Of course these things run trough MY mind right?  I am praying that in this economy that she will be OK.

I turned to hubby and asked about our life insurance and I feel we should have more.  We don’t have children or any significant responsibilities so it’s not something I’ve ever really felt compelled to look into outside of what we have now.  But with talks of babies on the horizon and owning a home I want to make sure that we have everything in place.

So what do we get?  Term?  Whole? Universal?  How about the kind where we get some of our money back after a certain time?  Hubby has a medical condition, how will that factor into the monthly cost?  What policy gives us the maximum benefit with minimum monthly installment?  Can life insurance be used for retirement as the policy builds cash value?

Bankrate gives us the rundown here:

Term insurance – The simplest form of insurance. You purchase coverage for a specific price for a specified period. If you die during that time, your beneficiary receives the value of the policy. There is no investment component.

Whole life — Similar to term, but you purchase the policy to cover your “whole life” not just a set period. Premiums remain level throughout the life of the policy, and the company invests at least a portion of your premiums. Some firms share investment proceeds with policyholders in the form of a dividend. Many companies will offer “a relatively low guaranteed rate of return,” but in reality pay at a rate in excess of the guarantee.

Universal life — You decide how much you want to put in over and above a minimum premium. The company chooses the investment vehicle, which is generally restricted to bonds and mortgages. The investment and the returns go into a cash-value account, which you can use against premiums or allow to build. With some policies, sometimes called Type I or Type A, the cash account goes toward the face value of the policy on the death of the policyholder. With a second variety, sometimes called Type II or Type B, the beneficiary receives the face value of the policy plus all or most of the cash account. While Type II is meant to provide a partial hedge against inflation, it demands higher premiums as you get older than Type I.

A variation of a universal policy, often called universal variable life, allows policyholders to choose investment vehicles.

Variable life — With a variable policy, there is usually a wider selection of investment products, including stock funds. As with a universal policy, returns on investments can offset the cost of premiums or build in the account. And depending on the type of policy, the beneficiaries will either receive the face value of the policy or the face value plus all or part of the cash account.

Why should women be concerned?

From New York Life: Many women have either no or too little life insurance. Historically, women were almost never adequately insured. We all have different life situations so what does it mean to us?

• If you’re part of a two-income family: Today, 61 percent of married women bring home a paycheck (compared to just 23 percent in 1950). Husbands and wives are economic partners. Today’s two-income families depend on both pay checks to make ends meet.(Figures for 1995. Source: Washington Post 1/22/97) If anything happened to you — and the income you generate — would your family be able remain in their home? Would your children be able to achieve their education goals? Would your family suffer a severe financial loss? Adequate life insurance can replace your income, remove uncertainty and help guarantee your family’s financial security.
• If you’re a single woman heading a house-hold: Chances are that you have little if any life insurance, according to industry studies — in spite of the fact that you have major financial responsibilities. Of all life insurance policies sold in 1997, only 4 percent were purchased by divorced or widowed women.(”The Women’s Market: Myth & Reality,” LIMRA International, 1999) As a single parent, you may be the sole breadwinner, responsible for the support and care of your children. Your need for life insurance is even more crucial than in dual-parent households, which will have another source of income if one parent dies.
• If you’re a full-time home maker: Far from a dying breed, nearly two out of every five married women are full-time mothers and home makers. This is just as much a partnership as the two-income family in that it takes the efforts of both to make the household function. Your services, while in many respects beyond value, are worth tens of thousands of dollars a year. How would your husband and children manage without you?
• If you’re a single woman: Whether you’re single-never-married or divorced-no-kids-at-home, your need for life insurance may be even greater than for married women. That is because being single isn’t always the same as being without responsibilities. You may have loans. Plus, should anything happen to you, there will be final expenses, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. These obligations — which could fall on parents and other loved ones — can be met with life insurance. Just as important, life insurance purchased today can protect your future insurability as you get older. If you eventually marry, your coverage will help protect your husband and, possibly, children. If you choose to remain single, your life insurance can accumulate cash value to help provide a secure retirement for yourself. A cash value life insurance policy can help you accumulate funds on a tax-advantaged basis to supplement your other retirement income.

I’m sure the woman I spoke of at the beginning of this post didn’t think the death of her loved one would happen so soon or suddenly.  Death is never something we want to think about happening to those we love but in our wisdom we should make sure that we’re prepared for it nonetheless.

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How likely are you to leave a bad marriage if you have no education or poor career prospects? I realize there may be other factors such as children, years put into the marriage and each party’s willingness to work things out.

But let’s put that aside for the moment.

I have always always said that I wouldn’t want a lack of education or financial viability without my husband to stop me from leaving should things go sour.  While I value the sanctity of marriage, my sanity comes above all else and if it’s bad, I have to go.  God forbid I ever get to a point where I want out, I don’t want my future to be dependent on a random divorce settlement arbitrarily determined by a judge.

If you’ve been keeping up with me on Twitter, then you know I watched the movie This Christmas at least 3 times this weekend LOL  I had no idea it was that good!  But a few scenes caught my eye and I immediately thought of this post because this is a message I want to drive home to women.  Do not let your lack of career prospects or financial viability without your husband stop you from leaving a bad situation.  If this is the case then get in a position where you have options.  This also happens to be the central message of this blog, teaching women how to take charge of their finances so they are able to make decisions not bound by  financial limitations.

Please dont stay in a bad situation because you feel that you can’t make it on your own.

But I realize there are women who feel this way and I’d like to hear from you.  If you are or were in this situation, what drives your decision outside of love and children to stay?  We are having a discussion about this on Twitter so feel free to jump in:

How likely are you to leave a bad marriage if you have no education or poor career prospects? (Read from the bottom up)

	sundaycosmetics @gingerlatte@adonyaWong I have 0 tolerance for anyone who “assumes” I won’t make it. Oh NO The devil is a liar. Feel a sermon comin’ 13 minutes ago from web in reply to Gingerlatte
	sundaycosmetics @Gingerlatte @AdonyaWong That’s right! I learned to pray and STEP real quick. As an entrepreneur/person - I BLOCK the negativity 16 minutes ago from web in reply to Gingerlatte

AdonyaWong @gingerlatte I have friends who stay in unhealthy spots because they think they can’t do any better. Me? Scared or not, I wouldn’t stay. 25 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to Gingerlatte

	tjonsek @gingerlatte i think it does make a diff. espec if they haven’t had a job in awhile. could be terrifying. 32 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to Gingerlatte
	glennette @Gingerlatte Chances r slim 2 none, unless spouse is physical. 33 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to Gingerlatte

	tjonsek @gingerlatte yep. i remember at 1st before education & good job I was married & 2 scared 2 leave. thought i couldn’t take care of myself. 35 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to Gingerlatte
	AdonyaWong @Gingerlatte I’ll take the leap of faith for a thousand, Alex! Staying in a crappy marriage/relationship is not an option. 35 minutes ago from web in reply to Gingerlatte

Question?  What advice do you have for women in this predicament?

Check the video. Disclaimer: By the way I do not advocate violence or destruction of property. But it is rather funny! LOL This is for all the Jazmine Sullivans out there:

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The DC Chapter of Girls Just Wanna Have Funds is having their first meetup of 2009!  Check it out:

2009 is upon us and we’ve talked about goal setting being an integral part of achieving financial success. Specifically SMART goals:

Specific

WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.

Measurable

Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! “I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday” shows the specific target to be measure. “I want to be a good reader” is not as measurable.

Attainable

A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you aim to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn’t achievable. But setting a goal to loose 1lb and when you’ve achieved that, aiming to lose a further 1lb, will keep it achievable for you.

Realistic

For instance, it may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you.

Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren’t very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!

Timely

Set a time frame for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.

If you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.

Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.

Now it’s time to set those goals into action and the first step is to create a visual board with your top 5 financial goals for the year. Write down 5 financial and career goals you want to achieve this year. We will then discuss our goals and give each other advice and encouragement on how to achieve them.

We will make this meetup QUARTERLY (January, April, August, December) to assess progress towards our individual goals. So please commit to coming to future meetups under this topic to update us on your progress. In 2009 we’re all about accountability!

You can bring your own poster board, tapes, magazines.. I will have sheets available and glue, magazines.. However, please feel free to bring your own and if you have something to share.

If you’d like to join us, please check out our Meetup site here:  http://www.meetup.com/GirlsJustWannaHaveFunds/

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photo credit: ginnerobot

Well December 17th 2007 marked the day I got started with this blog as a personal finance blog for women but I wanted to celebrate it today.  I purchased this domain back in 2003 after reading the book Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, and, inspired by my own need to address personal finance issues from a woman’s perspective, this blog was born.

Many have asked what’s the point of such a blog, doesn’t money mean the same thing to everyone?  After all, it isn’t green to men and pink to women.  Tis true, but understanding and taking charge of your finances often has different implications for women and men.  I don’t write articles that are just laser analysis of current financial news but I try to broach it from the perspective of a woman who needs to know what this means to me, as a woman.

Some of us are single, married, divorced, single with children, divorced with children and depending on what category you fit in, personal finance means something different for you.  I want each reader to leave here empowered and educated about personal finance issues that relate to women.  Sure, we’re seeing bailout after bailout but what does that mean for you on a personal level?  Will your taxes go up?  Do you or your partner work in an industry that may be affected by the economic crisis looming?  How will you reinvent yourself?  Will you be paid on par with the other men in your field/workplace?  Will your position/job be there once you leave for maternity leave?  Can you afford to take care of yourself should you and your partner not work out while on maternity leave?

These are issues that uniquely affect women and why I started a blog that approaches personal finance from this angle.  As a young college grad that moved to DC I was intimately aware of these issues seeing my mom save every penny once my father died suddenly at age 12.  I guess you could say my love for personal finance from a woman’s perspective came about during my formative years seeing and understanding how it affected my mom.  So this is something I have always carried with me because I believe that with money comes the ability to live life on your terms and not be limited by circumstance.  When my father died my mom had to do something she hadn’t been forced to do before, become a sole parent taking care of everything on her own.

That’s this year’s motto is Challenge Yourself To Do Something You Haven’t Done Before.  If you weren’t a saver in 2008, then you open up an ING account TODAY and start saving even if it’s $5 a week.  If you didn’t pay your bills in 2008 then you call up your creditors one at a time and ask how you can be brought current on all accounts.  Just do it!  There are no excuses, you have one life and one chance to make it right!

Happy New Year!

Question: What financial changes will you be making this year?  What are your top 3-5 personal finance concerns at this time?  How can I make this blog better and relate more to your needs?

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First I’d like to thank all of you for reading over the last year.  2008 took this blog and our goal to bring personal finance from a woman’s perspective to new heights.  I am thankful for “meeting” you all because you’ve broadened my horizons on this topic.  If 2008 is any indicator of what 2009 will bring then I eagerly await the challenge.  As we approach our first blogaversary, know that 2009 will up the ante for Girls Just Wanna Have Funds.  Thanks for reading, commenting, sending me articles, sharing your lives, trials, triumphs and attending our meetups here in DC, Atlanta, NY and in Chicago.

I will be traveling through the new year so I will be back during the first week of the year.  In the mean time feel free to comment and/or email me with any questions.

Ginger

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(image: pro.corbis.com)

Who’s career is more important in your household?   Is it yours?  Significant other’s?  Well, according to this CNN article: Career couples fight over who’s the ‘trailing spouse’, more emphasis is usually placed on the man’s career.

What do you think about that?  Why does the woman’s career take the back seat?

Blame it on socialization, says Noonan.

While it may not be true for every relationship, more often than not, she says, “men and women are taught to play very different roles within marriage. Women are socialized to play a homemaking role within the family, whereas men are encouraged to focus on their careers and breadwinning.”

I broach this topic after being finished with graduate school this month and my husband and I initiate talks about moving back to NYC.  We are both from NYC and have had plans for some time now to move back there after we were both done with our studies here in DC.  But, I am falling in love with the DC area and have both personal and professional reasons for not moving back to NYC.   But for the purposes of this blog let’s go with the professional. 

I like my job.

No, really I love my job.  While I am still getting used to the freedom and keeping myself accountable, I have unrivaled flexibility when compared to other jobs I’ve had in the past.  In the mornings I get up, early/late drive hubby into work and hit the gym a few blocks away.  Then I do some blog related work and then see my clients in the early afternoon through the evenings.  I provide counseling and psychotherapy to children in the foster care system, children who have been the victims of crime or who have generally experienced trauma.  That also includes working with the families and I can’t think of a better job right now.

I’ve never liked the idea of being tied to a desk or 8 hours a day and I type this blog post as I sit in my gym’s wifi lounge.  I also earn a FT salary for working less than 20 hours a week.  So I have more time to do work around the blog workout, hang out and focus on the things that are important to me.

My husband also loves his job, he really likes his company, the people, the work and it’s been a real blessing as far as his career trajectory.  He’s well respected there for his brains and work ethic.   But eventually he’d like to move back to NYC to be closer to family when we have children and possibly pursue other interests within the realm of project management.  :-/

So do we stay or do we go?  I know that I do not want to work in a case management setting in NYC if we move back there; a forensic setting is always an option but until that materializes I’m just not all that excited about moving back.  And the reality is, while I wouldn’t mind being a SAHW/M I like our set up now.

Am I being selfish?

This article listed the following solutions to our dilemma:

Trade places. “It takes some heartfelt conversations to begin balancing the career scales in a marriage,” says Les Parrott, a clinical psychologist and faculty member at Seattle Pacific University. “It requires both spouses to be honest with their feelings.”

Parrott asks clients to list what’s important to them about their careers, assigning each element a value from 1 to 10. After each spouse makes a list, they try to guess how much their partner values each item.

“It’s almost always an eye-opener,” says Parrott. “It helps them empathize. It helps them trade places. And with that new perspective, they are ready for a more honest and grace-filled exploration of their options together.”

Try the “package deal” approach. When a couple is considering relocating, Buccino says, one spouse should see what the new company can do for the other.

Switch off. Buccino says the fluidity of today’s job market gives couples “opportunities to evaluate and re-evaluate and hopefully switch off between whose career takes priority at various phases along the marital life cycle.”

When neither is willing to budge, there’s always the long-distance marriage.  “I have seen two-career couples that live in two different cities,” Buccino says, “because neither is willing to pass up great career opportunities.”

Im not sure that any of the above options really work for us right now.  He will undoubtedly earn more than I will if we go back to New York so obviously money will be a huge factor, I just don’t want to feel like I spent the last 3 years in graduate school only to give up a job doing what I love.  Hey, can you blame me?  I want to feel important too! 

So what do you think?  What would you suggest for our dilemma?  Do you think a woman’s career should take a backseat to a man’s?  Share in the comments section.

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This is a guest post by Beverly Davis,  Founder of SundayCosmetics.com

I’m a home-based entrepreneur with a clear vision of stable, multiple income streams. It sounds savvy, but the truth is, I learned from sudden unemployment. I’ll never again rely on one employer (or client) as my only source of income. It is my mission to share my personal revelation with anyone who wants to succeed financially.

I’ve always heard “live beneath your means, don’t spend all you make, don’t use credit cards. Pay your tithes, give offerings” Good advice. Teachings should also include suggestions for increasing income with examples of people who did. It opens up creative thinking. Times have changed. Today, most companies are quick to downsize, cut pay and lay off employees. It’s ruthless.

After two consecutive jobs working in a toxic work environment, I couldn’t take it anymore.  I reached my limit. I had spent a almost 25 years working hard to succeed with no financial security to show for it. It was a disguised blessing.

In October 2007, with a small savings and a new mortgage, I launched out to work for myself. Friends, family and colleagues laughed. They expected me to fail and some were bold enough to tell me. I immediately let them go. I cleaned my life of all negative people and kept my faith in God.  I struggled intensely, but I made it.

In this economic recession, there are people surviving and thriving because they had a Plan B. When their company cut their pay or laid them off, they were able to still take care of themselves and their families. They didn’t end up starving or living in a homeless shelter.

The only way to recession proof our income is to have more than one source.

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This is a guest post by By Jeffrey Strain of Mainstreet.com via DivineCaroline.com

For most economists it is no longer whether there is going to be a recession, but what type of recession it is going to be—short recessions like the one from 1990 to 1991 and the one from March to November 2001, or something like the Great Depression.

No matter which it ends up being, one of the best places to look for sound advice is from those people who have survived the worst of economic times—namely your grandparents.

Here are ten ideas you may want to take from them:

1. Frugality Is Not a Bad Word
There was a time when a person who was frugal was looked upon with esteem rather than someone without the means to buy more. Many people seem to equate frugality with “cheapness,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Being frugal is simply getting the most out of what you have and purchase, and not purchasing things that you really don’t need.

While your grandparents learned frugality during the hard times, many of them continued to practice it even when times got better, which helped them build wealth. Learning to be frugal could help a lot of people who haven’t learned to live within their means.

2. Use What You Have
In a consumer society, whatever problem you may have can always be solved by buying something else. If something breaks, go out and buy a new one. If something isn’t exactly right, go buy something that is. In your grandparents’ time, when something broke, they first took a look to see if it could be fixed.

If it couldn’t be fixed, before it ended up in the trash can, they would consider whether it could still be useful for something else. There is no reason to go out and spend money on something new if you can get the same thing accomplished with the things that you already have.

3. Doing It Yourself Is the Way to Go
When it comes to fixing things, the first people that your grandparents looked at were themselves. Instead of calling someone to fix something that broke, they fixed it on their own most of the time.

In a society where we now hire people to do most basic repair and maintenance, it’s important to remember that most repairs aren’t nearly as difficult as they may appear and that you can do much of it on your own with a how-to book and patience.

4. Things Have More Than One Use
People tend to buy stuff with a specific purpose in mind and use it exclusively for that intended purpose. What your grandparents knew is that most things can have multiple uses throughout their useful life. That T-shirt can become a night shirt when the collar gets worn and can’t be worn outside, and then a painting shirt when it starts to get holes and eventually rags when the holes get too big.

5. Debt Is to Be Avoided
In the age of credit cards, where spending what you don’t have now is encouraged left and right, it’s hard to believe there was a time when people actually believed that debt was to be avoided, but those are the words that your grandparents lived by. If they didn’t have the money, then they would simply need to figure out a different plan on how to get what they needed. It might be borrowing it from a friend, saving up money or finding something that could be used instead. Going into debt to get it accomplished was not an option.

6. Save for Rainy Days
As many people are finding out, rainy days eventually come. Your grandparents were well aware of this and specifically put aside money for these rainy days. It’s now what is commonly referred to as an emergency fund and something that comes in quite handy when your financial plans don’t go exactly as you imagined they would.

7. Used Can Be Just as Good as New
This concept isn’t completely foreign even to today’s generation. The notion that buying a quality two- to three-year-old car has become basic mainstream financial advice when it comes to car ownership. Your grandparents knew that just because something happened to be pre-owned doesn’t make it something to be dismissed as unworthy. They also know that this concept doesn’t stop with cars and can be expanded to almost any other area where a second-hand market is available.

8. Functional Trumps Fashion
When it comes to making purchases, your grandparents knew that it wasn’t what the device looked like, but what it could do that mattered. It was much more important to buy something that did what needed to be done regardless of what it actually looked like. That Rolex may look great, but it doesn’t tell time any better than a standard watch bought at the local discount store. Learning to buy for function rather than looks is a great way to save money.

9. Bargains Are to Be Sought-After
When it was time to purchase something, your grandparents didn’t just go out an get it that day. They took the time to look for a bargain. That meant doing research and waiting until the price was right rather than pulling out a credit card and buying it even when they didn’t have the money. Bargains take planning and time to find, but when they are found, you know you have gotten a great deal.

10. Homemade Cookies Are Delicious
In a society where everything is pre-made and sold for convenience, it may be hard to remember the last time you had a meal made from scratch. What your grandparents knew was that not only is it less expensive to cook this way, the resulting meal is also a lot more delicious. Think of it this way: would you ever consider trading in a plate of your grandmother’s homemade cookies for any store-bought brand?

While the way that your grandparents handled money may seem unsophisticated with all the financial tools that are available today, the basics of living below their means, saving for a rainy day, getting an education, and investing in their future are values that a lot of people could financially benefit from today.

Question:  What lessons have you learned so far from this year’s recession? What do you think you will do different in 2009

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