The Greatest Empowerment Move: Financial Education for Women

In this episode of "Nickels and Dimes," host Natalie Kime celebrates International Women's Month by emphasizing the importance of financial education for women. She highlights historical figures like Abigail Adams and Maggie Lena Walker, who significantly contributed to women's financial independence. The episode underscores the challenges women face in achieving financial independence and the necessity of understanding finances. It encourages women to educate themselves, seek mentorship, and engage in financial conversations. The overarching message is to empower women to take control of their financial futures and celebrate the progress made in women's financial independence.

• Celebration of International Women's Month and its significance in financial education for women.
• Historical contributions of women like Abigail Adams and Maggie Lena Walker to financial independence.
• The importance of financial education as a tool for women's empowerment.
• Challenges women face in achieving financial independence, including the gender pay gap and historical barriers.
• The necessity for women to understand their financial situations and take control of their finances.
• Key areas of focus for financial empowerment: earning power, investing, retirement planning, and legacy building.
• Practical steps to increase financial confidence, such as education, budgeting, and networking.
• Real-life success stories of women who have transformed their financial futures.
• Encouragement for women to engage in financial discussions and seek mentorship.
• The overall message of taking action towards financial freedom and independence.

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Transcript

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Welcome to Nickels and Dimes finding financial freedom, y'all. It's March, and that means it's International Women's Month. Did you know that women control over 10 trillion in US financial assets, yet many still feel uncertain about wealth building? This International Women's Month, we're going to be diving into why financial education is a woman's greatest power move. We're going to talk about and celebrate women's achievements and progress in financial independence, while recognizing some of our past challenges. And today, I'm going to touch a little bit on all of those things. I want to start by talking about a couple of women in history who had huge impacts from a financial perspective. The first one is Abigail Adams, who influenced women to have financial independence. She was primarily known as the wife of our founding father, John Adams, but she fought for her right to have financial independence at the time. Married women managing the finances of the house was absolutely unheard of and even looked down upon. But Abigail not only took care of the finances at home, she also taught herself how to invest by investing in trading bonds. And then we've got Maggie Lena Walker, who made history as the first black woman to own a bank in 1903. It was called the Saint Luke Penney Savings Bank, and it quickly became a catalyst for economic advancement in the black community. Women like these have been creating impact, causing change for decades, for centuries, and they should be celebrated. We should be able to dream and expand and impact as much as we want. But let's be honest, a lot of the times our ability to do so is based on our financial situation. And that's why I want to talk about how important it is for women to understand their finances, to have a financial education, and whether or not you're the primary person in your home or in your family that manages the finance, how important it is for you to understand where your money is, what your money is doing, and how you can impact life within the four walls of your home and beyond. If that's something that you choose to do. A couple of statistics that always jump out at me. Our first women could not even open their own bank accounts without a male co-signer. Until the 1960s, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 finally allowed women to get credit in their own name. And even today, y'all, the gender wealth gap still exists. Yes, as women were making strides. But it's important for us to have an education and know the importance of these things so that we can continue to make a difference. We can continue to narrow that gap. Let's be honest, women live longer on average than men, which means we need more long term financial planning. We are often the primary caregivers, which impacts income and retirement savings. Our ability to build that wealth over time and the rise of female entrepreneurs and investors are changing the game. We're getting out there, like I said before, we're using our voices, we're using our finances, we're making an impact and we're changing things. But it's important that that information is spread to all women, and we all have the opportunity to at least feel confident in having financial independence, that we feel confident about the ways that we as women, can build wealth. Speaking a little more on the gender pay gap. It impacts savings, retirement investments. This is why knowledge and strategy help women to overcome financial barriers. If we don't know how to manage our money, if we don't even know where our money is, if we don't even know what's available to us, how can we ever change or move those financial barriers we face along the way? And again, we are likely to live longer and have to take over full responsibility of our finances at some point if we don't already have that. Some of the common challenges we face as women balancing a career, a family, and personal financial growth. We are underrepresented in investing and wealth management. It's one of the reasons that when I sat down six years ago, and I saw how off the mark I was with my own financial future. It was so important for me to jump in with both feet and start a business that could change that, that could impact women's lives, that could give us the opportunity to build whatever it is we want to build for our futures, alongside our spouse or our partners, or for ourselves. If we're single or divorced, we can't count on somebody else being there to fill in the gaps or to pay the bills. I know for me, for many, many, many years it's been that way. Even at times when I was married, I was carrying the brunt of the financial responsibility. And if we aren't educated to know what that means, what impact we have, how to utilize the money that we have to create wealth, we are not only doing ourselves and our families a disservice, but women everywhere. Some of the key areas that we should be focusing on learning more about is earning power. How to how to negotiate a salary. Stepping into entrepreneurship and the opportunities that can provide. Creating multiple streams of incomes and the financial freedom that that can bring. When it comes to investing, how can we grow our wealth instead of just saving retirement planning? Why do we need to start early and strategize different than men? And then when it comes to building and protecting a legacy, having life insurance, estate planning, and the ability to transfer wealth and understanding what that means and what that looks like or what we want it to look like within our own families is imperative. If we live longer than men, then we are going to take control of all that money. We are going to be the ones passing it on to the next generation. And that's why I love doing the work that I do. Helping individuals, helping couples, helping families set themselves up for now and in the future. Making sure that their needs can be met, that they can achieve some of those goals and dreams that they have. And then, of course, that they can truly build wealth that could last for generations, that they can leave the kind of legacy that they want to for their loved ones, for causes that are important to them, even to be able to start their own non-profits, their own giving organizations that can change people's lives. So let's take a few minutes and talk about how you can take control of your financial future. Some of the things I hear when I sit down and talk to to different women are. typical with anybody. I sit down with the I don't know where to start. I don't know who to talk to. I don't I don't even know what's available to me. I don't know how much it's going to cost, but some of the bigger ones that that I hear along the way are things like investing is too risky. Well, my answer to that is it's so much riskier not to invest. But with a financial education, you can make confident decisions about when and where to invest. That can really create wealth and financial freedom along the way. Or I'll just let my partner handle it. Y'all. Every woman should be financially independent. Maybe you don't have to be. Maybe you don't want to be, but you should be able to be. Meaning you have a financial education. You know your numbers. You know what you have in place, and you know the goals that you and your partner have and want to create. So if something happens, you can continue to carry that forward. Can you imagine your partner passing and you don't even know what bank accounts you have? You don't even know what bills get paid. You don't even know what kind of retirement you all have setup or life insurance, and you're scrambling to find information. I've known women in my life who have lost their partner, and it's taken them months and even years to fully get their feet underneath them financially because they were just completely overwhelmed. And when you're in that situation trying to figure it out, it can be terrifying, but it can also set you way, way back. If it takes that much time to get your hands around everything. And then I already mentioned this one, but I don't even know if I have enough. Okay. You don't know if you have enough to save or invest, then sit down with a financial professional like myself. Have the conversation. Figure out how to get started. Like you can start small. Just start because when it comes to your finances, time is your best friend. So even starting small, it's important to start now. The longer you wait, the further you fall behind. And what are some practical steps that you can do to help increase your financial confidence? Well, number one, you can educate yourself, read books, listen to podcasts, take courses, sit down and talk to financial professionals. There is so much available today you can go on YouTube. Heck, you can even go on TikTok. One of my business partners and I talk three times a week on TikTok. We have other business partners who also get on there and share information. Just start listening for information, gathering information, and then asking questions. Go find things to back up what you're hearing. That's where books, podcasts, and courses can come into play and start to formulate maybe what you'd like things to look like for yourself, so that when you sit down with a financial professional, you have a list of questions to ask. You understand what your priorities are, what's what's most important to you should be important to them. And you can go in confidently leading a conversation about your finances. Instead of just having somebody tell you what they think that you should do. It's important, ladies, to budget and build wealth. Prioritize saving, investing, and eliminating debt. One of the things I do with every client that I work with is I help them put together the framework of a budget that fits their actual numbers, what's coming in and going out from there. We can personalize it. We can add to it with savings buckets for specific things. If they do a family vacation every year, if they want to have a line item in their budget for Christmas expenses, if they want to go back to school, of course, we address paying down debt if that's something that they need to focus on. And then also how do we get started saving? A lot of people think if I have debt, that needs to be my sole focus until it's gone, and so I'll get to savings later. I know, y'all, when you sit down with a proper financial professional, they should take you through every single aspect and show you ways that, while addressing your debt may be your top priority right now, you can also start saving at the same time. It's about how you allocate the funds that allows you to grow wealth and pay down debt at the same time. So have those conversations. Don't be afraid to show your finances to somebody. You can't get the educated education you need the help moving forward, taking one step at a time if you never start. So go sit with somebody that you trust. Reach out to me. I would love to give you some guidance. It's important to network and seek mentorship when it comes to your finances. Surround yourself with financially empowered women. Have conversations with your girlfriends about money, not from a sense of oh, I got this much, how much do you have? Or oh, my husband makes this much, how much does yours make? But from a sense of what are you doing to plan for your retirement? What kind of life insurance do you have in place on yourself? What kind of questions should I be asking to get more information and make sure I'm moving in the right direction? Now, I said in the beginning, a lot of women are not confident with how to build wealth, but there are a lot of women who are. And so if you're willing to have those conversations, maybe that friend you're talking to doesn't have the answers. But what if they know somebody that can help you? What if they know somebody that can give you some guidance or give you some tools? And again, as always, you can reach out to me. I have tons of resources, books, podcasts, videos, information I can share with you to help you educate yourself. And then we can sit down and take a look at where you are and how to move forward. The most important thing you could do, though, is take action. Man. We talk about this in our business all the time. Even just from a business building perspective. You can't build a business if you're not taking action. You can't build wealth if you're not taking action either. Open some kind of investment account. Set your own financial goals and review your financial plan. Now, I'm not saying if you're married or have a partner, go do something behind their back. No. Ask them questions. If they're the ones that manage the finances, let them know you're interested in getting involved and carrying the weight of the financial responsibility in a family can be heavy. It might actually be a little bit of a relief for them. And if nothing else, let them know if something were to happen. I want to know where everything is so I don't have to focus on figuring out the finances if we're dealing with a difficult situation. Understand what you have and where it is and if you're doing this on your own, like I started out doing, then sit down with somebody that can help you set those financial goals, help you look at where you're at, and understand where you're trying to get to you, they'll definitely be able to plug in and help you create a financial plan that you can feel good about, that you feel like you're making educated decisions around because they're providing you with a financial education. I wanted to talk for a minute about some real life success stories. I know with my business partners, you know, every one of my business partner partners came into this industry and into our business specifically because of a personal situation that they experienced. But I'm lucky to be surrounded by some amazing female business partners. I think about Tony Soprano, who was a single mom for several years. She remarried, had another child. Her and her family moved, gosh, more than halfway across the country and set up life again. And at this point, she became a stay at home mom so she could be there for her kids. Her husband, an electrician. Very successful, but worked a lot of hours. And so she stayed at home to care for the kids. And three years ago, maybe almost four years ago now, she came across this same business like I did, sitting down to look at her own finances and realizing that while they thought they were on track and yes, they were making some good progress. There was so much she didn't know. So Tony got her license and jumped in to help change people's lives. I think about Kristen Heisler, who's a single mom of two amazing young men. She co-owns and runs multiple businesses. She's created multiple streams of income for herself and her sons, and she continues to lead not only in our organization but within her community, participating in fundraisers to give back to organizations that make a difference for people who have less than. And then I also think about Tara Jane Ansel. She had a very successful executive career and stepped away from that. A little over a year ago to jump into the personal finance world and help grow our company, because she has a passion for financial literacy and financial freedom. And crazy enough, she has jumped into the field force with us to actually help families because she's so passionate about it. She not only wants our company to be a success, she wants the people she knows and cares about to feel like their finances are a success as well. Look ladies, your financial future is in your hands, whether you realize it or not, whether you turn a blind eye or you focus on it and learn to understand it. Whether you're just starting out or looking to level up, the key is absolutely to take action. If you need to learn, take action on getting information. If you're ready to level up, take action on sitting down with somebody to figure out what the next best move for you to do from a financial perspective is. If you already have a financial professional, circle back with them and say, hey, I'm ready to do more. What makes sense? If your goals have changed? Circle back and make sure your financial plan is still in alignment with what you're trying to create. But this International Women's Month, make a commitment to yourself. Financial freedom is the ultimate power move. I'm going to invite you guys to connect with me for a free financial strategy session to share your financial journey or ask questions. I'm going to challenge you guys to get out there and start those conversations with your friend group to post on social media about it. To listen to more of my episodes this month and get more information about financially empowered women and the mark they've made on the world everyday women like you and me, and even some of the incredible women who forged the way for each of us to be able to do exactly that, create financial freedom for ourselves. I want to thank you guys for listening to this week's episode. I'm really excited about these conversations this month, so I hope that you'll be back soon. I look forward to continuing to bring you amazing content each week that will educate you, support you, and most importantly, help you to find financial freedom. We'll see you again next week. And until then, take care and stay safe.