Episode 123: How the Pandemic is Disproportionately Impacting Women

Episode 123: How the Pandemic is Disproportionately Impacting Women

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 123: How the Pandemic is Disproportionately Impacting Women
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HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • The issues women have been facing over the past 18 months
  • Examples of how women have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic
  • Where women started in the labor force compared to where we are today
  • The impact of the 19th amendment on women in the workforce
  • The long-term impact of the gender wage gap
  • Comparing the changes men and women have faced as a result of COVID-19
  • The pressure that we perceived and now is being voiced by society due to the pandemic
  • The average cost for childcare and how it relates to other expenses
  • How the pandemic impacted accessibility and feasibility of childcare for many families
  • How women of color have faced even more challenges through the pandemic
  • Long-term financial impacts that these changes are going to have on women
  • Small steps you can take to make that financial progress
  • How Social Security is affected when women have to leave the workforce
  • Why the savings gap is exacerbated by women’s longevity
  • A few ideas on how to make progress for women
  • A few financial considerations as we move forward with the pandemic

 

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

LET’S CONNECT!

Episode 111: College Planning for Your Kids with Beth Greulich

Episode 111: College Planning for Your Kids with Beth Greulich

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 111: College Planning for Your Kids with Beth Greulich
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This week I sat down again with Beth Greulich, CFP® to talk through how to financially plan for your kids to go to college and some tricks along the way.

Beth is a Certified Financial Planner™, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and Partner at Abacus.  After a career in market research, she took some time off to raise a family. As she considered what to do next, she was driven by the memory of her grandmother and her desire to help others who lacked confidence with their money management skills.

As a financial advisor, she works closely with her clients, many of whom are women, to develop a unique and personalized financial plan that solves their specific needs. It’s extremely important to her that each of her clients clearly understand and can visualize the different paths/options that lead them to their financial independence. There are many forks in the road of life, so it’s important and extremely empowering to understand the long-term impact of each decision along the way.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • The main concern people have around funding education for their children
  • The first step in planning for college for your kids
  • When to start exploring college campuses
  • The importance of exploring college interests early
  • The best time to open a 529 plan
  • What it looks like to set up a 529 plan before your child is born
  • Where a college fund should rank on your financial priorities
  • What should be funded before the college savings account
  •  Considerations when thinking about college financial aid
  • The most important things for kids to keep in mind while in college
  • When to speak to your kid about financial aid available for college
  • How subsidized and unsubsidized loans can come into play
  • The amount of loan a student can take before having a cosigner
  • How to help your children feel empowered when making college decisions
  • Shop around and negotiate! Here’s how
  • How to financially plan for college if you’re unsure if you child will even attend
  • What to do if you have a surplus in your 529 plan

GET SOCIAL WITH BETH AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

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Episode 109: Giving Yourself Permission in Your Career with Wende Headley

Episode 109: Giving Yourself Permission in Your Career with Wende Headley

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 109: Giving Yourself Permission in Your Career with Wende Headley
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This week I sat down again with Wende Headley, CFP® to talk about how to align your career with your values by giving yourself permission to make the pivots and changes you want to make. 

Wende is a Certified Financial Planner™,  Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and Partner at Abacus.  She leads the firm-wide Women & Money initiative, which provides resources and education about the broad range of financial issues faced by women. In addition to her primary role as wealth manager for her clients, she regularly speaks at local women’s and professional organizations, hosts investment discussion circles with women in Pasadena, and serves as an AARP Tax Aide volunteer for low-income seniors.

She earned an MBA from Harvard University, a BA in Economics and French from the University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Financial Planning from UCLA.

She enjoys spending quality time with her husband and children. Whenever possible, you might find her skiing, running, doing a triathlon, volunteering at her kids’ school, or attempting to get that next book read for her Book Club.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • Challenges that dual career couples face
  • The career and family decisions that led Wende to becoming a financial planner
  • The transitional challenges of full time employee to full time stay-at-home parent and then back to full time employee again
  • An insight into discussions Wende had with her husband before the transition
  • How communication played a critical role in each career shift
  • What it took to become comfortable with all of the changes
  • The best way to view your life and career to allow yourself to breathe
  • Wende does this to reduce the “noise” in her life
  • A great place to start if you’re struggling to give yourself permission in your life and career
  • What a values conversation with yourself or your spouse can do for your life
  • How often you should check in with life goals for you and your spouse
  • What conversations to have with little ones while going through career transitions
  • Why it’s important for you and your partner to support each other when discussing career moves to your children
  • The most impactful way to create empowerment around your money
  • The benefits of understanding your own risk factor
  • The comfort of having a financial plan B or plan C

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

GET SOCIAL WITH WENDE AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Episode 105: Managing the Unprecedented

Episode 105: Managing the Unprecedented

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 105: Managing the Unprecedented
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One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to discuss some of the money moves we’ve made in our household knowing clients and readers are going through similar things. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I’ll be taking time to address how we approached the different money situations and the results of our decisions. Today I’m talking about the what we are doing as we stay home due to COVID-19 and how we are still managing self-care and family time.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • What the headlines around COVID-19 are doing to your fears and anxiety
  • Great resources on COVID-19, benefits to be aware of, etc.
  • How we are handling the next several weeks in our household
  • If you have little ones at home, the importance of sticking to a schedule
  • Ideas for the little ones to keep them occupied while they are at home
  • Why you should have on hand some creature comforts
  • The important financial things you should be doing as COVID-19 spreads and the market reacts
  • At a time like this, why you should be reviewing your current expenses
  • Adjustments you could make to your personal and retirement accounts
  • The importance of staying physically active during a “stay-at-home” mandate
  • How to continue to show gratitude in this challenging time
  • A few books you could pick up while staying at home
  • How to teach your little ones about purchasing power and make it fun
  • Things you should focus on during over the next several weeks and months
  • Some of the ways the employees at Abacus are practicing self-care
  • Ideas on how to serve others, even from home

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

LET’S CONNECT!

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Episode 102: How to Know if You Can Afford for One Parent to Stay Home

Episode 102: How to Know if You Can Afford for One Parent to Stay Home

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 102: How to Know if You Can Afford for One Parent to Stay Home
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This week I sat down again with Ariel Ward, CFP® to talk about how to know if you can afford for one parent to stay home.

Ariel Ward, CFP® joined Workable Wealth in 2018 as a Financial Planner and in March of this year, made the move to Abacus Wealth Partners with me as a Financial Planner. She and I work closely together on our clients. She has 11 years of experience in the field of personal financial services and in helping clients develop financial clarity. She is passionate about helping professionals understand their financial lives and make better decisions with their money. Ariel is married to a pilot and spends as much time as possible exploring the US with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys working with clients in the aviation industry to make the most of their employee benefits and map out a plan for personal financial strength. She is a member of NAPFA, the XY Planning Network and the Financial Planners Association.

Ariel works virtually out of Charlotte, NC. She enjoys North Carolina’s mountains, beaches and everything in between. In her free time you can catch her walking to one of Charlotte’s excellent breweries, playing Scrabble or building Lego houses with her kids.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • How to financially navigate having one parent stay at home with the kids
  • The significance of knowing what your family expenses are
  • A few things people tend to forget when looking at monthly expenses
  • Expenses that might go away with one spouse at home
  • The budgets we establish for our clients when one person stays home
  • Why you should discuss how long the spouse will stay at home before returning to the workforce, if ever
  • Ideas for the working parent to increase income or flexibility
  • Options for the stay-at-home parent to still bring in an income
  • What to consider when it comes to employee benefits for the parent staying at home
  • How staying at home might change what you need for disability or life insurance
  • Changes that could take place with your investments by having one parent stay home
  • The conversations we have with clients when considering one parent staying at home
  • The most important question to consider when making the change
  • A couple of red flags we’ve seen when looking at cash flow
  • The unique story Brian and I have about having one parent stay home
  • The agreement Ariel worked out with her employer to allow her to stay at home
  • What happens when the at-home parent is trying to do too much

GET SOCIAL WITH ARIEL AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

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Episode 92: Finding Balance as an Entrepreneur with Sarah Peck

Episode 92: Finding Balance as an Entrepreneur with Sarah Peck

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 92: Finding Balance as an Entrepreneur with Sarah Peck
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This week I sat down with Sarah Peck to discuss the work life balance, especially as a female in the entrepreneur world.

Sarah is a writer, startup advisor, and yoga teacher based in New York City. She’s the founder and executive director of Startup Pregnant, a media company documenting the stories of women’s leadership across work and family. She hosts the weekly Startup Pregnant podcast, and she and her partner in life and work are the instigators behind More Women’s Voices, a website that promotes women speakers and entrepreneurs. Previously, she worked at Y Combinator backed One Month, Inc, a company that teaches people to code in 30 days, and prior, as a writing and communications consultant.

She’s a 20-time All-American swimmer who successfully swam the Escape from Alcatraz nine separate times, once wearing only a swim cap and goggles to raise $33k for charity: water. To date, she’s written for more than 75 different web publications and and has delivered speeches and workshops at Penn, UVA, Berkeley, Harvard, Year of the X, Craft & Commerce, WDS, and more. One recent viral essay, The Art of Asking, has been used across tech companies and product teams to train teams in clear communications. She’s currently writing a memoir of her experience working in the tech startup world while she was pregnant with her first kid.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • How Sarah got into the startup world and what drives her
  • A big issue women run into when getting ahead in their careers
  • The common thread Sarah sees throughout her audience
  • If it’s possible to balance all that life throws at you
  • The connection between being a mess and a masterpiece
  • The naked truth about how Sarah raised $30K for charity
  • Going from scraping by to feeling financially secure
  • The real questions to ask yourself when evaluating the type of work you are doing
  • Where the idea for Startup Pregnant came from
  • The financial agreement Sarah and her partner made while navigating startups
  • How to enjoy parental leave for beyond the infant stage
  • The importance of being intentional when crafting and building a business
  • A big research mistake people make when starting a business
  • How growing slow can be a really good thing for your business

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

GET SOCIAL WITH SARAH AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

ENJOY THE SHOW?

Episode 105: Managing the Unprecedented

Episode 83: The 5 Best Money Moves We’ve Made in 2019

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 83: The 5 Best Money Moves We've Made in 2019
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What money moves have we made so far this year?

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to discuss some of the money moves we’ve made in our household knowing clients and readers are going through similar things. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I’ll be taking time to address how we approached the different money situations and the results of our decisions. Today I’m talking about the 5 money moves we’ve made so far in 2019.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • Some money moves we are facing in our family that are common among clients too
  • Figuring out what to do once you’ve surpassed savings goals
  • Stop the over planning and constantly playing the “what if” game
  • The importance of setting dollar amounts for your goals
  • A better way to approach your money goals
  • A different way to approach your charitable giving
  • Utilizing a donor advised fund for your charitable contributions
  • The advantages of using a donor advised fund
  • The tax benefits through the use of a donor advised fund
  • Why we offloaded our tax projections to our CPA
  • Why you should lean on financial professionals when changes arise
  • How to avoid underfunding and overspending
  • How to remove some of the guilt around spending money
  • What aligning your money with your goals can do for your life
  • The significance of writing out your ideal day, month and year
  • Three questions to really evaluate what’s important to you
  • What is getting in your way of living the life you want or love?
  • The biggest thing I want for you around your finances

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

LET’S CONNECT!

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Episode 79: Teaching Your Kids About Money with John Lanza

Episode 79: Teaching Your Kids About Money with John Lanza

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 79: Teaching Your Kids About Money with John Lanza
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This week I sat down with author and Chief Mammal, John Lanza to discuss how to teach your kids about money.

John is the Chief Mammal of The Money Mammals and author of the new book for parents, The Art of Allowance: A Short, Practical Guide to Raising Money-Smart, Money-Empowered Kids. A pioneer in youth money-smarts, John created the original Money Mammals DVD and has written three children’s picture books to help kids learn to “Share & Save & Spend Smart.” He is recognized nationally as a youth financial literacy expert and the Money Mammals have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The LA Times.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • How John became an expert in youth financial literacy
  • Some of the building blocks to teaching kids about money
  • The three core money smart skills for kids to learn
  • The importance of establishing a financial literacy foundation
  • Teaching your children the Three Jar method
  • The real purpose behind an allowance
  • Why chores and allowance shouldn’t always be linked
  • A recommended amount to give for allowance
  • The best age to start with an allowance for your child
  • How to approach the share jar with your child and at what age
  • Some common mistakes parents make when teaching kids about money
  • When to let your kids “borrow” money from you
  • The right circumstances to give your kids a loan
  • How to talk to your kids about investments (even if you’re not an investment guru)

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

GET SOCIAL WITH JOHN AND LET HIM KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM HERE

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Episode 77: Planning For the Unexpected with Nikki Semanchik

Episode 77: Planning For the Unexpected with Nikki Semanchik

Work Your Wealth
Work Your Wealth
Episode 77: Planning For the Unexpected with Nikki Semanchik
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This week I sat down with estate planning attorney, Nikki Semanchik to discuss what estate planning documents are a must and who should have them.

Nikki is the Founding Attorney of Semanchik Law Group (SLG), a business, nonprofit and estate planning firm located in San Diego. Nikki started SLG because she wanted to create a modern law firm that felt accessible to clients. As an entrepreneur herself, Nikki has a real passion for helping other business owners realize their dreams. Nikki truly believes that a huge part of her job as a business attorney is teaching, motivating and inspiring her clients to dream big.

Nikki is also passionate about helping families protect their assets and plan for their futures through estate planning. As a parent herself, Nikki understands how having a proper estate plan in place can give you peace of mind knowing that your children are taken care of it the unthinkable happens.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • Why you should care about estate planning & the reasons people avoid it
  • Why the amount money you have doesn’t matter when it comes to this kind of planning
  • What it means to have an estate plan in place and who it’s actually for
  • The items that should be included in your trust and why they should be in there
  • The differenced between wills and trusts
  • Mary Beth’s favorite aspect of having a trust
  • The document you need to have if you can’t make your own medical decisions
  • Understanding why your trustee might not be the best person to execute your health care directive
  • Why everyone over 18 years old should have a HIPAA document
  • The purpose of having a Pour-Over Will
  • How to handle determining and designating guardians for your children
  • The importance of informing those you designate in your estate planning documents
  • When and why you would need a durable power of attorney
  • When to work with an attorney vs. creating your documents online
  • How frequently you should be reviewing and updating your documents

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

GET SOCIAL WITH NIKKI AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

ENJOY THE SHOW?