To Get A Financial Question Answered, You Need to Ask a Question First
This past week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a guest speaker at two wonderful events – a women entrepreneur’s conference and an in-house workshop at a Fortune 200 corporation.
We talked about how to develop a healthier relationship with money, why it’s particularly important for women to be money savvy, and how to fit all your financial to-do’s into a schedule that already seems packed and overwhelming.
What struck me was what happened after each presentation. Although we all agreed that money is often one of those taboo subjects that no one likes to talk about, there was a line out the door of women who eagerly wanted to chat about their financial situation.
Some of the questions I was asked included:
I just got married. Should my spouse and I keep separate accounts or merge everything?
Even though I grew up with not having much, now I’m making good money and I’m not sure what to do with it.
I want to buy a house in the next two years. Do I invest that money in the stock market or just keep it in my checking account?
Given the security breach at Equifax, should I freeze my credit?
I have an old 401(k) at work. Should I roll it into my new plan?
I have an after-tax IRA. Should I convert that into a Roth?
What’s your favorite budgeting or personal financial software for DIY-ers?
How much money should I be saving?
And on and on. I was happy to have some time afterwards to stay and talk with everyone and be able to answer their questions.
But it dawned on me that many of you might have similar inquiries, and wouldn’t it be beneficial to answer your questions as well?
To that end, I’m setting aside next Thursday, November 2rd for a Morning Q&A for anyone who is interested. You can schedule 10 minutes to get a quick question answered, similar the ones above, and receive some general guidance for your most burning money questions.
When it comes to money, one of the lessons I’ve learned from my own personal experience and also working with hundreds of clients over the years is that it’s better out in the open. Whatever your situation, it’s more productive to get support where you need it than try to handle everything by yourself — or worse, to not handle it at all and ignore what needs to be done.