Mothers: Examine Your Finances Today!
May 10, 2009 by Lela Davidson
Filed under Finance
Mothers will be celebrated across the country today, but if you really love mom, you’ll encourage her to take a good look at her finances. That, according to Eleanor Blayney, CFP, is the greatest gift you can give.
Mothers are involved in 95% of family financial decisions. The make up one of the largest occupations (motherhood!) in the United States and are the chief supplier of our nation’s productive capital. However, they earn no salaries, insurance, days off, retirement accounts, or Social Security benefits. And to top it off, women live longer than men, which means they’ve got to be especially intentional when it comes to financial planning.
Blayney points out several things mothers must do to make up for the fact that they live longer, have more intermittent workforce participation, and are more likely to spend a significant period of their lives single than their male counterparts.
- Women need to start saving for their retirement earlier and saving more.
- They need to get adequate insurance: most particularly disability and long-term care as these are the risks that are more prevalent for women.
- Women need to take more investment risk than they are prone to do, in order to make their capital grow sufficiently for their longer lives.
Blayney also recommends adding an IRA or savings contribution to your the carnations and chocolates you give your mother this year.
Personally, I’m just excited about my last retirement account statement. I seem to be somewhat up from the vast *down* that has been the last many months.
