MoneyWiseWomen

Welcome to Money Wise Women Online Community

I founded Money Wi$e Women almost five years ago to provide women with a safe place to learn about money.

Women who attend Money Wi$e Women Conferences tell us that they’ve learned:

• I’m not alone
• That even small steps can be significant and have an impact
• Finances have been scary to me. I now have the information to make goals and decisions.
• It opened my eyes to know that I can get my finances in order and be confident that I can reach my goals. Be realistic.
• I feel empowered to create positive change in my life and now realize I can’t afford to wait any longer.

A Financial Minute with Jenifer: The Proposal

I've been having a lot of great conversations with couples lately about how to stop fighting over money and get back to a loving relationship, so I thought we'd spend some time sharing the distinctions that are helping them make love--and money--last. (By the way, these principles apply to any partnership, business or personal, where there is money at stake; so don't hesitate to read this through that “lens.”)

What to do with your stimulus package check?

By Karen Ramsey

After much talk and anticipation, here come those stimulus package checks!

Living a Life of Prosperity: Inside & Out

What is prosperity? According to Webster’s dictionary prosperity is the condition of being successful or thriving; or economic well-being. Shakti Gawain, author of Creating True Prosperity describes prosperity as the “experience of having plenty of what we truly need and want in life, material and otherwise.” According to Ellen Peterson, author of Choosing Joy, Creating Abundance “prosperity is not what you have or how much you make; it’s actually how you think.” While Maria Nemeth, author of The Energy of Money says “Prosperity comes when you participate fully in every aspect of your life. It’s state of growth.”

A Financial Minute with Jenifer: Great Expectations

Great Expectations was a video dating service that was popular when I was in the industry. My service promoted a more personalized process. Many clients told me that while physical attraction was necessary, it was more important that they "fit" with their partners on other levels.

Great expectations were also what my clients brought as they searched for the love of their life - greatly unrealistic expectations, in many cases.

An interesting thing happened when these people stood up for what they really wanted. They sometimes forgot about how they needed to change because they were so focused on what should come from the other person. What we learned was, while it's okay to have your eye on the prize, you can't ignore what you bring to the table.

How to Develop Career Resiliency

Abrupt or unexpected changes in your employment can affect your immediate income, and may lead to a negative impact on your overall financial situation. Two keys to developing resilience are being informed and staying connected. Often, people choose one of two reactions to bad news: stick their head in the sand or throw in the towel and say it is out of their hands. Neither of these responses is helpful. In order to plan a defense, a person needs to know as much about their specific sector of the market as possible, at all times. Things to know:

Start Investing – NOW! Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late!

One of the most important things women can do to ensure their financial fitness is to just start investing – now! Don’t wait because time is not in your favor. And, women think we have to be perfect and know everything before we start to do anything. Many people think you need a lot to start investing, but you can invest as a little as $10.00 per week.

Marrying for Love or Money

According to a blog by Robert Frank on Yahoo! Finance, "In an infamous personal ad posted on Craigslist this summer, a twenty-something New Yorker who described herself as 'spectacularly beautiful' wrote that she was looking for a man who made at least $500,000 a year."

As you can imagine, the ad inspired a great deal of response, including one by an investment banker, who replied that "since his money would grow over time but her beauty would fade, the offer didn't make good business sense.  She was, he said, a 'depreciating asset.'"  In the quest to live "happily ever after", would you marry for love or money?

Saving for College

Since State Farm* has entered into the field of financial services, I'm talking with more families about planning for the future. While families almost always want to talk about retirement, their most immediate concern is saving for their children's college education.

This is wise. College education will, in most cases, be a family's second largest expense after home ownership, so it deserves careful planning. rising college costs make saving even more important.

What Kind of An Investor Are You?

If you are investing money or planning on doing so, there is one very important question you should ask yourself--what kind of investor am I? Knowing if you are an aggressive or conservative investor is the first step to knowing how you should invest your money.

Networking Through Professional Organizations

A key reason for involvement with organizations or community groups is for networking opportunities. Participation provides the opportunity to be recognized in your field and noted for your skills, or it may provide the opportunity to get connected with decision-makers of companies. An additional benefit of participation on projects is the potential for learning and the opportunity to expand your skill sets. Improvement in written and oral communication skills, negotiation, collaboration, leadership, assertiveness, conflict resolution and problem solving are likely outcomes from participation, in addition to the development of new relationships, establishment of new networks and education received from membership.