You may notice that this is an extra episode this month. I wanted to make sure that we mark a special ending to the August Women, Money, and Retirement series, so at the beginning of the month I reached out to some amazing female financial professionals. I asked them all for a piece of financial wisdom to share with other women. You can hear their fantastic insight by pressing play now. Cristina Guglielmetti’s words of wisdom 

Cristina Guglielmettti from Future Perfect Planning offers suggestions about making 401K contributions. She recommends that you update your contributions regularly, especially if your salary has increased. 

Set a goal for yourself. How much would you like to save each year? Are you reaching that goal?

If your goal contribution is more than your current contribution then changing it immediately could eat into your take-home pay and disrupt your budget. Instead of trying to achieve your goal contribution all at once, try increasing your contribution rate a little at a time. 

Then set a reminder for yourself to increase your contribution quarterly until you reach your target percentage. This way you won’t feel the decrease in take-home pay all at once. 

Small, repeatable changes are easier to keep up with which makes it easier to maintain your financial plan. Listen in to hear what else you can do to increase your retirement savings. Jane Mepham shares financial advice passed down from her mother 

Jane Mepham from Elgon Financial Planning grew up in a different country in a male-dominated society which meant that she had to learn a lot to get ahead in life. When she was young, her mother shared financial advice that she uses even to this day. She knows that attitude is the key to mastering money and it will determine the strategies and tactics that you will use to plan your retirement. Enjoy these words of wisdom from her mother. 

1. Make sure you can support yourself financially. You don’t ever want to have to rely on someone else to support you. 
2. Don’t eat your future today, however enticing it is. Regardless of how tight your budget is, prioritize saving for the future. 
3. If something affects you on a daily basis it is important. You need to know enough about it to make independent, smart decisions. 

The way you spend your money should align with your values
Stephanie Sammons from Sammons Financial and Stephanie McCullough from Sofia Financial have similar advice. They want you to identify what is most important to you. They both stress that you need to define your values so that you can align your spending to reflect what you value the most. All your money decisions should be in alignment with your values and your life. 
Many people often separate their financial decisions from the rest of their life, however, money is connected to everything we do. By aligning your financial life with the rest of your life you will give meaning to your money. 
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN WORDS OF FINANCIAL WISDOM FROM THE EXPERTS 

• [1:20] Cristina’s recommendation
• [3:13] Jane Mepham’s words of advice
• [6:25] Stephanie Sammon’s proactive step to improve your financial life
• [9:26] Stephanie McCullough 

Resources Mentioned In This Episode
BOOK - How to Be Here by Rob Bell
Retirement Money Gal podcast
Take Back Retirement podcast
Sofia Financial - Stephanie McCullough
Sammons Financial - Stephanie Sammons
Elgon Financial Planning - Jane Mepham
Future Perfect Planning - Cristina Guglielmetti
Rock Retirement Club