Financial Resource Guide for Women

Author: Jeremy K. Kuhlen, CFP®, CRPS®, AIF®
Director – Private Client Practice | CapGroup Advisors, LLC

Financial Planning and Resources for Women

Women often face unique challenges when it comes to financial planning. 

• Women have longer life expectancies
• Women are more likely to take career breaks for caregiving
• Women are more likely to be living on their own
• Women are sometimes more conservative investors

There is no doubt these challenges demand a different perspective when planning for the future. The top three concerns we hear most from women often revolve around saving and investing, healthcare, and managing family relationships. To help educate women on dealing with these issues, we have compiled a variety of resources to help you take control. 

SAVING & PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE

http://www.sec.gov/The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance includes a wide variety of materials that can help you become more familiar with the investment process.

http://www.finra.org/investors/index.htm  In addition to helping investors learn about investing and how to protect themselves from investment-related fraud, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) website includes BrokerCheck, an online tool for researching firms’ backgrounds.

http://www.choosetosave.org/asec/    The American Savings Education Council’s Choose to Save site, a program of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, offers a variety of calculators that can help you address budgeting, debt, insurance, retirement planning, and investing, as well as a variety of savings-oriented literature.

http://www.ssa.gov/women/  In addition to a wealth of information about Social Security generally, the official Social Security site includes a calculator that can help you estimate your projected Social Security benefits as well as targeted information for specific audiences such as working women, new mothers, brides, caregivers, widows, and divorcees.

HEALTHCARE

http://www.womenshealth.gov/  The Office of Women’s Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services includes a wealth of information that can help women live healthier lives.

http://longtermcare.gov/  The National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information can help you understand what long-term care involves and how to plan for addressing your needs now or in the future.

http://www.medicare.gov/  The official Medicare site can help you with a variety of tasks, including finding and comparing Medicare and Medigap plans, applying for Medicare, and getting help with prescription drug costs.

MANAGING FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

http://www.moneyasyougrow.org/  Developed by the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, it offers age-appropriate information and activities that can help you teach children ages 3-18+ about money management.

http://www.360financialliteracy.org/  This site organizes financial information by specific audiences, such as teens, college students, the military, business owners, parents, homeowners, retirees, and people in crisis.

www.findyourmoneymind.com/  This free tool provides a short quiz to discover which type of “money mind” (Fear, Happiness, Commitment) you possess. Once you know which of those minds applies to you, you’ll be able to understand yours and your partner’s mindset when it comes to making decisions about money.

http://www.inheritingwisdom.com/  Inheriting Wisdom is a specialty consulting firm that designs Legacy Plans for families, and provides training on handling legacy issues for their wealth advisors. Their Conversation Starters, a card game for families to begin their legacy conversation, makes a great gift to begin a family dialogue.

Resources are great, but often it takes someone to listen, provide perspective and support to help navigate the challenges ahead. If you’re finding yourself questioning your path, options, or just need a sounding board, please contact your Keiter team at 804.747.0000 or information@keitercpa.com to schedule a time to talk.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable—we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.