Budget Basics
Women and Money
If you’re a mom looking to balance career and family, check out Working Mother Magazine’s
list of Best Companies for Working Moms (www.workingmother.com). If you’re looking
for a great work environment with benefits or the opportunity for advancement, Fortune
magazine also publishes an annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For (www.fortune.com).
Finally, if your company offers tuition reimbursement, take advantage of it and
take classes to increase your salary and marketability.
Perhaps you just can’t seem to find a job that gives you the flexibility or opportunity
you want. Starting your own business may be your ticket to financial independence.
It isn’t always easy, but you can often test the waters by starting a small business
part-time or from home, and grow at your own pace.
A terrific resource for small business advice is SCORE, which provides free business
planning and consulting advice. Visit www.Score.org for 6 more information. Be very
careful, though, about work at home opportunities that promise lots of money for
little work – especially if they also require a large upfront investment.
Get Your Credit In Shape
• Women file bankruptcy at 662% times the rate they did twenty years ago.
• Women shoulder the largest burden when their family is in financial trouble. Three quarters of wives assemble the paper work for credit counseling alone, and women
are twice as likely as their husbands to pay the bills and deal with bill collectors.
The single greatest predictor of whether a woman will end up in financial ruin is
if she has children, according to bankruptcy researcher Elizabeth Warren, writing
in The Two Income Trap. Plenty of parents know how expensive children can be, but
that does not mean that you shouldn’t have children. However, the added financial
responsibilities of parenthood mean that since you do have children you should budget
more carefully and be extra vigilant about avoiding debt and setting aside money
for emergencies.
It is also important to maintain your own credit history, and try to keep it strong.
Too often women want to help their loved ones (including spouses) by cosigning loans,
lending them money, or taking over the bills. This can prove detrimental to your
credit rating.
No one wants to think their marriage won’t make it. But the truth is, debt and money
troubles are cited as one of the major reasons for divorce. Do not cosign loans
for a partner or spouse with a bad credit history. You could end up with debt that
lasts longer than the marriage. Even if you stay together, it is important to have
one spouse with a strong credit history and a low debt ratio – especially in case
of emergencies.
Check your credit history at least once every year (you are entitled to one free
credit report each year) and if it is less than perfect, start the process of correcting
errors and rebuilding your credit. It is never too late! Visit ConsolidatedCredit.org
for free publications about credit reports and scores, as well as a myriad of topics
including divorce and credit.
If your family is digging itself
into debt, don’t be shy about asking for help.
Even if your spouse isn’t willing to acknowledge the problem, it’s important to
obtain advice before the situation becomes so bad that you have no choice but to
file bankruptcy. For a free, confidential consultation on your debt situation, call
Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc. at 1-800-320-9929.
