Financially Empowering Women

Last year President Obama remarked on equal pay for equal work, which got people talking.  He said that “Today, the average full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns He went on to say that “in 2014, that’s an embarrassment.”  We know this data is correct and no one is  disputing that there is a wage gap, but some want to debate that the  difference is due to women’s life choices — such as women choosing to leave the workforce when they have children or take care of parents or simply provide support for their husbands to enable them to make a better salary.

The pay gap of 23 cents is only part of the story.  Maybe you say to yourself that the gap does not matter since your husband is making a good salary.  That is fine for now.  But what about when you are in retirement?  Women receive smaller pensions and less social security than men because of this pay gap.  So it is important to understand that many decisions that we make throughout our life don’t just effect today, but have cumulative long-term consequences that become evident later in our lives.

For those women who want to be financially independent, regardless of marital status, the ability to land a good job when you need it can go a long way.  Although we know the unemployment numbers are difficult to untangle, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 15% more unemployed married women looking for jobs last month than married men.  If you are among the unemployed, looking for a job, our guest today can help with some pointers. 

Janet Ritt Chocky, MA has been successfully assisting people with their job search needs for over 20 years.  She has a background in human resources, particularly in the recruitment and employment genre.  She is an experienced career counselor and resume writer and has helped thousands of people obtain employment, return to work, acquire new job skills, prepare for employment, and essentially get the job they want! Janet published a book titled “100, (Yes, 100!) Job Search Tips.”  The book is available as hard copy or eBook on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. She is currently a career counselor and resume writer, as well as an adjunct professor.  Janet volunteers as an Alumni Mentor for Monmouth University, as well as resume writing and career counseling for some local non-profit organizations.  She can be reached at [email protected].

Over the past eight years of financial turmoil, more Americans from all different backgrounds have suffered from shocks to their wages and benefits.    Some people are still out of work.  In addition, home values and personal saving have also taken a hit.  Another disruption to many Americans, something many people don’t consider, has come in the form of disabilities.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 57 million people had a disability in 2010.  And on top of all that we know that half of all marriages in America end in divorce.   What is my point in stating all these facts?  Clearly in life the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  So why do we have the hubris to think that we don’t need a plan?  No plan B, no contingency.  

In fact, a recent Bankrate.com survey found that roughly 3 out of every 4 Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with little to no emergency savings.  Less than 1 in 4 Americans have enough money in their savings account to cover at least six months of expenses (which is the recommended amount to cover unexpected life events) and  half of those surveyed have less than a three-month cushion.  Most shocking is that 27% have no savings at all.

Perhaps we all subscribe to the John Lennon quote that “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Maybe you think that you can plan and set goals, but you still run into this unpredictable thing called, “life.”  This is true, but still should you just leave it all to chance, simply letting life happen to you?

On this show we introduce a guest who knows all too well what it feels like to experience disruption or what economists like to call, shocks to her life.  She has experienced career derailment, marriage dissolution and even disability.  She has every reason to check out but that is not what she has done.  Instead, she writes about her disability, finding an audience with her personal blog and syndicated column.  Susan Reagan is a survivor.  She has made lemonade out of lemons and she has graciously agreed to share her journey with us.  Thank you from all of us Susan for coming on Financially Empowering Women!

About Susan

Susan Reagan is currently employed as a staff writer for two marketing companies. She writes about a variety of topics from Lean Six Sigma to ancillary healthcare services and everything in between. The majority of her career has been spent in healthcare operations management and healthcare marketing.  She began as a Recreational Therapist, which led to a preceptorship to earn her administrator’s license and then to regional marketing leadership.

Susan has a B.S. in Business Management and Marketing and a B.A. in Therapeutic Recreation, and a collateral certificate in Gerontology. Susan earned an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Moravian College.  She serves on the board of directors for a non-profit agency that serves people with disabilities and chairs their grant committee.

Susan had several life-changing events that occurred all at one time.  She lost her voice due to a muscular disorder and came to the realization that her marriage must end. Her 17-year career in healthcare ended as a result of losing her voice. During this time her father was gravely ill, as well.

Susan can be reached at [email protected]

Her personal blog http://livingwithvoiceloss.blogspot.com/

Which is syndicated on http://vocaldisorders.org/blog/

Susan is available for public speaking engagements in front of large groups and organizations. She shares her life-changing story of voice loss and her inspirational story of success.   Through this journey Susan has found new life, new purpose and new meaning in helping others.

As a nation, Americans owe billions on outstanding credit cards and the average U.S. household with at least one credit card owes over $15,000 in credit-card debt.  Many Americans are in trouble as they endure harassment from debt collectors, yet only a fraction of people seek aid from a credit counselor.

Many people confuse credit-counseling agencies with debt-settlement companies, who are often fraudulent organizations who make promises they can’t keep. Credit counselors advise people on how to make better budget and lifestyle decisions and develop a debt-management plan to pay back their creditors. Many counseling sessions are minimal in cost. Meanwhile, debt-settlement companies offer to negotiate with a person's creditors to reduce the amount of debt they own—and they usually charge a very large fee for their services.

These debt-settlement organizations have deterred many people from getting good advice from credit counselors who can be trusted.  The National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), founded in 1951, is the nation’s largest and longest-serving non-profit financial counseling organization. The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services.

Regina Poznansky is a Certified Senior Counselor and Trainer with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey, Inc. She is also a Certified Housing Counselor.  Her background and experience include 10 years of teaching Physical Science, and over 6 years with Beneficial Data Processing Corporation as Assistant Vice President, where her responsibilities included: finance, training, special projects and human resources. In addition, she worked in  various corporate consulting positions where her analytical and problem solving skills were utilized.

Her work with Consumer Credit Counseling Services over the past 15 years marries her past experiences and expertise. It includes developing and presenting training programs, financial reviews, referring clients to appropriate resources, credit report reviews and developing partnerships with various non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Regina W. Poznansky

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey,lnc.

185 Ridgedale Avenue Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927

Phone 973-267-4324

Fax: 973-267-0484

Web: www.CCCSNJ.org

There are many academic and non-academic studies that talk about the power that women have over money.  A recent 2013 study that showed that 40% of households with children under the age of 18 were headed by breadwinning women.  That's four times higher than the number of breadwinning women who headed their households in 1960.  Along with earning more, women are taking control of their family's finances.  In marriages where the wife brings home a bigger paycheck, the woman is twice as likely as her husband to make the financial decisions.  This is good because when we take over the finances, we are developing essential skills that will be relevant for our entire life.  At Financially Empowering Women, our goal is to help you acquire knowledge and develop your financial skills.  While the skills are similar for both men and women, we know that women often approach finances differently than men and today’s guest agrees.

Sharon Lechter, CPA, CGMA, is an international expert on money and entrepreneurship as well as a respected author, philanthropist, educator, and international speaker.  She is the founder and CEO of Pay Your Family First, a financial education organization.  She served both Presidents Bush and Obama on the first President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.  In 2013, she led an initiative to change the laws related to financial literacy education requirements for high school graduation in Arizona.  Consistently recognized for her tireless work for women, she was honored with the Positively Powerful Women award for Philanthropic Leadership, selected by the Phoenix Business Journal as one of its 25 Dynamic Women in Business, and awarded 2013 Woman of the Year by the National Bank of Arizona. 

Connect with Sharon:

Website: http://www.sharonlechter.com/

More info on the book: www.sharonlechter.com/women

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSharonLechter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharonlechter

Today’s show features Marty Guerrero, author of “Exposed: Auto Repair’s Dirty Little Secrets to Rip You Off!”, where she explains how we can take back our power when dealing with auto mechanics who often charge fees for services which are either unnecessary or, in some cases, aren't even done.  She exposes mechanics’ tricks and offers additional advice on things that you should know about your car to stay safe on the road.

Find more information about Marty and her book on her website: www.martyguerrero.com

Women constitute 51 percent of the population and are earning, inheriting and controlling more money than ever. Yet a recent survey across the United States, United Kingdom and Asia surveyed women with a personal income of at least $100,000, or investable assets of $500,000 or more, and the research indicated that more than half of women surveyed do not have financial advisors. In the U.S., 47% of female wealth creators and 75% of women under 40 report not having an advisor. The numbers are high even in the upper end of the market.  While having a financial advisor is not required to become financially empowered, many women can benefit from some type of financial guidance but for whatever reason don’t choose to pursue it.  Maybe they don’t know whom to trust or maybe they simply don’t think that they can afford it.

Professor Laura tells the story behind Financially Empowering Women and her vision of sharing financial guidance to women who, for whatever reason, do not have someone that they trust to help them.  One of her goals is to help women sort through the constant deluge of irrelevant information, misinformation and conflicted information.  In this age of information, we hear the mantra, “content is king.” But it’s important to remember that while content is important, context is more important  – that for content to be meaningful, we must assure that it is significant and accurate, and that it comes from a reliable source.

While Social Security is important to most Americans, it is especially crucial to the financial security of women. Women live longer than men and they are less likely to receive a pension from their employer. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, in 2010, 46 percent of elderly unmarried women relied on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their total income. Social Security helps keep women aged 65 and older out of poverty.

Social Security is dedicated to promoting public awareness about the programs they administer so we are fortunate to have Carl Robinson, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration on this show to talk about Social Security and women.

Carl Robinson
Public Affairs Specialist
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount

It seems a good time to talk Medicare since we are in the middle the 2015 Medicare Annual Enrollment period which ends on December 7th.  Medicare is the federal health program that provides health coverage to 50 million Americans ages 65 and older and younger adults with permanent disabilities. Medicare is a vital source of retirement security for 23 million women ages 65 and over, who tend to have lower incomes to pay for health care. Women also tend to have more chronic conditions than older men and more than half of all older Medicare beneficiaries are women.  On this show,  Medicare Consultant, Mary Jeanne Cullen helps us understand how it works.

Contact information for Mary Jeanne Cullen:

MedicareAssist, LLC

PO Box 22

Springfield, NJ 07081

908 400 9123

www.medicareassistnj.com

This episode is about making the decision to finally claim your financial power; it’s about learning from your mistakes and deciding not to be a victim of poor financial decisions.  I have been in finance all of my working life and I have met hundreds of women who have chosen to be financially dependent – usually dependent upon a man.   I’m not just talking about uneducated or non-working women.  Often they are college educated, who also contribute to the household finances.  On this show I have invited a guest, Diane, who has recently committed to become financially empowered.   Diane is college educated and has often been the primary breadwinner in her marriage, yet she didn’t pay attention to her finances until recently when she decided enough was enough and that her life had to change.  Listen to Diane’s story.

Allowing our emotions drive decisions will almost always result in a large financial mistake.  We know that emotions often get in the way of our decisions and there is no exception when we talk about the average American family’s single largest asset - their home, which conjures up all kinds of emotion.  Home is that safe place where you feel comforted and loved.  For many women it is a place of security, it is where we raised our children, had our first…” fill in the blank”.  We have many memories associated with our homes and we often make emotional decisions regarding our homes.  In this episode of Financially Empowering Women we will hear from Real Estate Expert, Virginia Cassidy (Ginny) who works as an agent with Remax in Mountain Lakes NJ.  Ginny is a professional real estate agent with a certificate in interior design.  Her introduction into the real estate business was working with “expired”  listings.  These are homes that have already been on the market and did not sell. These homes presented a challenge, that she was happy to have the opportunity to meet. She now uses that experience selling difficult homes to the advantage of her clients. Pricing, promotion and presentation are what sells houses. She knows how to use the 3 "p's" to get the job done.  Ginny can help you make rational (non-emotional) decisions about your most important financial asset, your home, to ultimately improve your financial well-being.

Virginia "Ginny" Cassidy

Luxury Home Marketing Specialist RE/MAX Neighborhood Properties

Office: 973-334-3341

Mobile: 201-230-5539

Email: [email protected]

Website: GinnyStagesandSells.com