Women, this one’s for you. You can stop reading if you know everything about your finances, are completely secure in your knowledge of your investments and have your estate in order in the case of sudden death. But, if you think you are a little rusty on your financial picture or you let someone else handle the big stuff, there’s new book on the market teaching women to be financially literate and watch your money exactly the way you watch your calories – carefully with an accountable eye.
Recently, I enjoyed dinner with Susan Hirshman, author of “Does This Make My Assets Look Fat?” She shares that working your way to financial success is very similar to following a diet. “It’s not what you are giving up but what you are getting. If you overspend, take a step back and look at what’s feeding you. It’s about what’s in your head,” said Susan, adding, “To be financially free, there will be trade-offs.”
After years as a personal finance expert, Susan realized that women shy away from big picture financing, like investment portfolios and wealth management. Out of a desire to enrich and empower women, she realized that she needed a common experience all women could relate to that would allow them to connect to what she was saying. The commonsense principles of dieting with balance, variety and moderation were a perfect fit.
The first chapter begins with words, “The choice is yours.” Just like dieting, knowing and taking control of your financial future takes time and discipline but success is worth the substantial rewards. And just like a diet, it is never too late to make a plan and set goals for feeling better and taking control of your own destiny – because according to the U.S. Census bureau, your destiny is getting longer and longer as more and more people are living healthy lives well into the 90s and even 100s.
Susan continues with practical advice on assessing your current situation (or stepping on the scale), educating yourself on the “four major food groups” (or asset classes: cash, stocks, bonds, and alternatives), applying portion control principles to your investment strategy and learning how to shop with an educated eye. Once you’ve decided to stick to a diet, you enter the grocery store looking at the shelves in a new light. You learn what’s junk and what will boost your body systems and make you feel better in the long run. It’s the same with investments. In Chapter 5, Susan educates the reader in her down-to-earth manner on the topic of mutual funds, separate managed accounts, exchange trade-funds, closed-ends funds, hedge funds and variable annuities. She reminds the reader not to get overwhelmed with all the different options, saying that you make choices every day.
“So just as with soda, the best way to find funds you will like best is to break them down by flavor (category) and then to compare within each category,” says Susan on page 114 before listing the five basic “flavors” or categories of funds: cash—money market funds, stocks – equity funds, bonds, hybrids and specialty funds with many more sub-categories.
Susan continues with her highly applicable dieting parallel as she discusses techniques for maintaining financial success, protecting yourself from sabotage, having a buddy system and passing on your knowledge by developing a plan for what happens with your wealth when you die.
“Teach the mothers, the children learn,” Susan told our little group of savvy mom bloggers as we finished our healthy dinners and passed on the incredibly yummy looking dessert options at the restaurant. I was so close to ordering one but right now, it’s time for discipline. Save those calories and pennies. Dessert comes later when you’ve earned it.
(Disclosure: This dinner and a copy of the book was provided through a relationship with Rolemommy and The Bloggers Book Club.)
In the Phoenix, November 20, 2010
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