2009 was a whirlwind for most of us, but it never ceases to amaze me when I meet women who are totally clueless about their household finances until an emergency has arisen.
While everyone should view this recession as a "time to re-engage"; women have a much stronger obligation to take control of their own financial destiny.
As if we are not already overburdened with balancing a career and family life; understanding the financial industry and how it affects our daily lives is a necessity for all women.
When we sit idle and put our financial lives on automatic, it's equivalent to financial suicide.
Case in point, one of my clients had no idea her husband had been paying their mortgage for the past three years with credit cards.
He never told her he was laid off from work and accepted a new job earning only half of his previous corporate salary.
He was responsible for paying all of the household necessities and her salary was designated for the "household luxury items".
Not knowing about their financial position, she continued to spend her salary without putting any savings away.
She was devastated when process servers rang her doorbell to serve them both with a foreclosure complaint.
I'm sure many women would proclaim that this could never happen to them, but it's far too common.
The next situation demonstrates another widespread problem women are faced with today.
Mrs.
Anderson decided to retire after thirty years as an elementary school teacher.
She planned to travel and enjoy a leisure life.
Unfortunately, Mrs.
Anderson's monthly retirement check wasn't enough to cover her bare necessities.
Her retirement account was slaughtered by the financial markets.
After reviewing her retirement account, it was heartbreaking to know that this could have been avoided.
Mrs.
Anderson's retirement account was depleted because no one was managing her account.
Yes, she had an advisor, but Mrs.
Anderson's account wasn't monitored or invested to match her goals and objectives since her husband's death ten years prior.
Mr.
Anderson was the Financial Manager of the household and Mrs.
Anderson had no interest in financial matters.
Again I ask, what is wrong with this picture? After spending her entire life being everything to everybody, Mrs.
Anderson's quality of life has been altered because of lack of knowledge.
I can present endless scenarios, but my goal is to shine a light on the solutions.
Moving forward, all women must have a stronghold on their financial future.
The American financial system as we knew it, no longer exists.
Personal Financial Management should be the job of both heads of household.
Think about it, what happens if there's an emergency, and the co-pilot can't fly the plane? If you're the sole head of household, the responsibility is even greater.
It's impossible to effectively operate your household, and raise financially astute children if you have no knowledge yourself.
Take charge of your financial destiny by equipping yourself with the proper tools.
Seek out financial literacy training that leads to Financial Aptitude.
Financial Aptitude will enable you to take personal responsibility for managing your finances, make investment decisions that match your short and long-term needs, select the right financial consultants and effectively plan for retirement.
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