Womens Money Empowerment Network

On this episode we discuss what everyone should know about medicare and common mistakes which can cost hundreds of dollars and leave you exposed without the right care.

I know, we seem to talk a lot about it but the truth is that when it comes to money there is one single question we hear over and over again. Do I have enough to retire? Of for someone younger, will I have enough to retire? What if I don’t have enough to retire. Well sticking your head in the sand is not the answer. Not only does it assure you will not get where you want to be, the stress along the way of not knowing is worse. If you decide you want to claim you financial power, you'll need to do some personal calculations based on when you want to retire, and how much you want to spend while in retirement. Keep in mind that any type of directional analysis is better than none so don’t sweat the detail. Guest: Jodi Perez, CFP® has some advice to share when It comes to retirement.  Jodi is a Financial Advisor/Branch Manager with Raymond James and Co-Owner of Independent Financial Services. She has 35 years’ experience in the financial services arena and is fully licensed holding the Series 7, 24, 63, 65, life/

With more and more people reaching retirement age, making decisions on where to get an income stream becomes very important. Years ago many people retired with pensions where their employers determined how much income they would receive. The employer had the responsibility to determine how much money you could receive without running out of funds if you live a nice long life. Today most retirees might have a 401(k) or other savings and they have no idea how to make it last. Social security is the primary source for a guaranteed income stream. That is income they can count on for the rest of their life. But even then most retirees don’t understand the decisions they need to make or the strategies they can choose to optimize this extremely valuable benefit. So We decided to ask an expert. Mary Beth Franklin is one of the country’s leading experts on Social Security and Medicare. An award-winning journalist and Certified Financial Planner, Mary Beth writes a weekly column on retirement issues for Investment News

Many of you have planned for a comfortable retirement: where you want to live, how much you want to travel, how you would like to spend your days – and how you’re going to pay for it all. One thing that could derail this plan financially is your health. The related financial problem doesn’t stem from becoming sick and dying, but from becoming sick and living – and needing long-term care.  The financial risk that comes from this is greater for women than for men. This means that women are more likely to end up draining their retirement nest eggs – or greatly reducing their estates – to pay for long-term care. Most people don’t realize that Medicare generally doesn’t cover this expense.  So you need a plan to pay for long-term care. One smart solution is to buy insurance to cover this cost, but many people fail to arrange this coverage. Fortunately for us, today's guest, Margie Barrie is long term care planning specialist who provides considerations when thinking about your long-term care options. Margie Barri

We all have a relationship with money, some healthy and some not so healthy. According to Brad Klontz a well-known financial psychologist, “Financial health is having a conscious and purposeful relationship with money that is satisfying and isn’t overly stressful.”  It is that simple but I wonder how many people have mastered that level of wellness. The guest of this show, Dr. Mary Gresham, helps answer that question as she discusses her work as a Financial Psychologist. We discuss the work she does with individuals, couples and families on a variety of financial issues including conflicts over money, poor money habits, anxiety about decision-making and lack of assertiveness in money transactions. We discuss concerns around parenting and the benefits of including children in family financial decisions. Family financial meetings should focus on goals resulting in a spending plan. When children ask to spend money not in the spending plan, it is important to remind them about the family goals and to discuss the

GUEST: Melissa Register, senior wealth planner, Fifth Third Private Bank As 2016 draws to a close and we look towards 2017 many of us take time to reflect on our lives to determine what is working and what do we want to change. Many of us set new goals or reaffirm old ones. Formally sitting down and thinking about what you want to achieve in the new year can be inspiring and empowering. I actually go back to my spreadsheet where I have defined my life purpose, my values and I take the time to realign my goals with my long-term vision. This has kept me on a course towards fulfilling my dreams. Whether inspired by a formal, sit down process or simply drawing the line in the sand and saying this year will be different, an estimated one in three Americans are said to make a New Year’s resolution related to their finances and it is important to recognize that actions you take now in December can impact your financial goals for the new year. To support year-end planning success, Fifth Third Private Bank recently r

Laura talks to Dr. Kathleen Rehl, a leading authority on widows and their financial issues. Since many women tend to marry older men and women have a longer life expectancy (about five years longer) than men there is a high probability that most women could find themselves a widow at some point in their life. Whether a widow is young or old, financially secure or not, there are things that can be done so that financial mistakes are not made, the widow is not taken advantage of and preparations are in place to ensure financial security for the remainder of her lifetime - which can often be a long and rewarding period of time in itself. Dr. Kathleen M. Rehl , CFP®, CeFT™ shares insightful expertise and experience through her speaking, writing, mentoring and research. A widow herself, Kathleen is passionate about inspiring her “widowed sisters” and their advisors. She wrote the award winning book, Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Wa

Tools and Resources you can use to help yourself successfully make the non-financial transition to retirement. We know that women live longer than men yet studies show they have less retirement savings and are less prepared for retirement. But retirement preparedness takes a lot more than just ensuring you have enough money. This interview is a reminder that financial happiness and well-being should be viewed wholistically with other non-financial aspects in order to make the best choices to prepare for retirement. Ideally you want an understanding of both financial and non-financial concerns so that you can weigh the pros and cons of all sides. Nancy Nelson, CFP ®, sold her financial planning practice in 2012 after more than 30 years as a fee-only planner. Nancy now mentors fellow retirees, and their advisors, on how to ease the transition from meaningful work to a meaningful retirement. Her hope is that as Baby Boomers are moving into retirement that they will change the entire approach to retirement just a

As a comprehensive financial advisor, I advise people on Medicare issues however I (as many of the planners out there) have not been officially trained in this area – we need to seek information and we have just as much trouble as the public in getting good information. That is why when I find an expert in such important areas as Medicare, I want to make certain to leverage that person to help people get the right answers and improve their chances of success. Diane Daniels is a Medicare Advisor, who brings ten years of healthcare experience to her community. Ms. Daniels is the owner of Senior Advisors for Medicare & Medicaid (SAMM), which provides superior Medicare education to groups and individuals. Ms. Daniel’s belief in educating over selling has provided SAMM the ability to offer a large portfolio of Medicare products, which allows the individual to choose a Medicare plan that “fits” their lifestyle. Ms. Daniels is a professional speaker and key person of influence, who has spoken at country clubs,

Divorce can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. Even in the best of circumstances where both parties are in full agreement and both want the divorce, the pressure is on since the same combined income that was used while they were married now must be stretched to pay expenses to operate two households instead of one. Historically most people never attempted to project what effect the various decisions might have on each spouse’s long term financial well-being. But this is key since the outcome will have a lasting financial impact, it’s important to address critical issues early on. Our guest, Claudia Mott MBA, CFP, CDFA  has come to  help us understand our options. Claudia is not just concerned about how decisions affect you today or tomorrow but instead urges you to consider the long term consequences of decisions which you make when going through a divorce. Make sure to join us to hear how you and your family can navigate through this difficult life event with the best results possible.

Cary Carbonaro shares her personal life challenges.  An MBA, CFP® NYC street smart woman forced to fight for her financial empowerment. Cary admits “it is pretty darn easy to be rich today and poor tomorrow”.  Her story is honest and raw.  It is a keen reminder to remain thoughtful in our behavior and decisions and to never allow emotions guide us.  She shares her story because she is eager to help other women learn from her experience. Cary is determined to help women find their financial independence.  She also shares solutions that will help you build wealth and banish your fear. Cary Carbonaro aka “The Money Queen”TM is a Certified Financial Planner with an MBA in finance, and has over 25 years of experience in financial services. In 2014, she was named an Ambassador for the CFP® Board, one of only 50 in the United States. Cary’s latest book “The Money Queen’s Guide: For Women Who Want Build Wealth and Banish Fear” (Morgan James, October 2015) is an Amazon #1 Best Seller in the U.S. and several other cou

Holly Thomas, CFP ® studies the effect of emotion on individual money decisions and shows us how emotions can negatively impact the financial planning process.  She explains the six motivations that money fulfills; security, spontaneity, goals, image, sharing and rejection and why it is important to understand our motivations so that we can behave rationally to achieve financial success.  Holly also discusses some of the most common errors made when emotion drives money decisions and offers some tips on how to prevent these errors. About our guest:  Holly has been a featured speaker on the psychology of money in diverse venues, from university classrooms to national conferences. Quoted in the Wall St. Journal, Investment News, Financial Advisor, Money, and More magazines, her area of interest is money conversations between clients and professionals.  Her 2013 book, The Mindful Money Mentality: How to Find Balance in Your Financial Future and her free monthly e-letter, “The View from the Porch,” have received

Dr. Inga Chira Ph.D., CFP® offers advice to people who are “just like her”.  On this show we discuss the difficulties in selecting critical workplace benefits in academic employment and what individuals should consider.  Inga also discusses financial planning for generation X and Y, the types of things that they are concerned about, such as student loans and cash flow.  Inga provides helpful tips that they could consider in managing their cash flow without having to sacrifice too much. About our guest:  Inga Chira Ph.D., CFP® is the founder of Attainable Wealth, a virtual, comprehensive financial planning and investment management firm focused on serving the academic and educator community. Inga works mostly with individuals in their 30s and 40s.  Additionally, she is an Assistant Professor of Finance and Financial Planning at California State University- Northridge.  Prior to her current position, Inga held both academic and industry positions at Oregon State University, Jacksonville University, CitiStreet