Women & Wealth Blog
Getting Engaged in Investing
Women have broken down plenty of barriers over the years, in everything from the professional world to the political arena.
But there's one line that many women are still reluctant to cross: Becoming investors. Women's lack of engagement in investing really came through at Northstar's Successful Investing for Women workshop last month. Please join us in our next workshop "Money Fears and What to do About Them" on Wednesday, May 15.
Participants shared with us that in many cases, investing had been the province of their husbands. Not surprisingly, these women said they lacked a clear understanding of their financial picture—where all of their investments are, how they are invested, even how much they are worth.
The Big Retirement Question: What Now?
Retirement can be a strange thing. Many of us eagerly look forward to it, expecting that it will be a time of freedom and new possibilities. But many recently retired women find themselves yearning, on some level, for what they've left behind.
Now, they may not want all their old responsibilities back, mind you. But in stepping away from a career, many women find that they've lost more than a job.They've lost a community of colleagues. They've left the structure of the workday, work week, work year. More broadly, they've left behind an identity—the professional role that they had filled for years. And they typically have left behind an income, which cannot help but trigger conscious or unconscious financial anxiety.
Women's Reinvention Workshop
Our Reinvention workshop proved to be lively with many stories and an exploration into our own true self – the attributes that make us who we are in this world. We discussed the difference between who you want to be versus what you want to be in creating your new story. We learned that the process of reinvention can be lengthy, especially if you have endured a sudden transition such as death or divorce, and it's important to give yourself compassion and time. Stabilizing your personal and financial currency and making sure that you are safe and secure is the first step in the reinvention process. It is hard to imagine changing your life when your foundation is shaky. Building a strong foundation includes nurturing yourself, finding your resilience, understanding your financial situation and creating a support system. We provided worksheets for use in creating a plan at home that are available upon request.
SAVE THE DATE –– Wiser Women Workshop on Wednesday, April 3 from 6pm to 8pm
Recognizing and Managing Transition Fatigue
Occasionally, each of us has a day when we feel "off," when our capable, confident, focused and decisive selves seem to go AWOL.
Usually we can chalk these episodes up to something specific—a cold, a bad night of sleep or some other temporary issue. But what about when that off day turns into an off week? Or an off month? Or even an off year? We may start to wonder—with understandable anxiety—what ever happened to the person we used to be.
Raising Financially Responsible Children
In our recent Wiser Women workshops, there was a high degree of interest from the women attendees on how to raise financially responsible children. We will be offering a fall session that includes this topic. In the meantime, here is a link to a great article - Helping Clients Talk to Children (and Grandchildren) About Money.