Judy Chies was too busy raising two boys to stop to think about finances. She always figured, "I'll think about it later. And now I'm 55."
LeeAnne Spurgeon of Maple Grove, Minn., also has been putting it off. She keeps telling herself she's young and doesn't need to worry about money until she's older or married. She owns a house and pays her bills, but doesn't save in her 401(k), even though she knows that the company will match some of the money. "I said when I turned 25 I was going to do it, and then I turned 26, and now I'm going to be 27. The years have slipped by," she said.
Financial author and editor Jean Chatzky, who's probably best known for her gigs on the "Today" show and Oprah's "Debt Diet," has heard all the excuses. In fact, she's heard so many excuses from women about why they're walking blindly through their financial life that she wrote a book titled "Make Money, Not Excuses."
Chatzky was the headliner at a recent financial conference in Minnesota targeting women. In a sign of just how hot the topic is, the conference was one of two held that day in the Twin Cities.
Many women have traditionally taken a secondary role in household finances. But in recent years, with women's earning potential climbing, more advisers and authors are targeting women and their financial know-how.
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"We have less money, and we need it more," Chatzky said, alluding to women's longer life expectancies and lower wages, and smaller retirement plan balances that often result from leaving the work force to have children.
During an interview last week, Chatzky said shewasn't born knowing how to save for retirement or shave excessive spending. An English major, Chatzky fell into business writing at the now defunct Working Woman magazine, and then at Forbes and Smart Money. She learned as she worked, but admits making "every mistake in the book early on."
"I had debt," she said. "I completely messed up a 401(k). I didn't pay my bills on time. All of the above -- guilty. And I let my husband manage the money."
Chies, who attended Chatzky's speech at the Minneapolis Convention Center, wants to start playing a more active role in the family finances. Her husband makes more money, so he makes most of the decisions. But she's been attending many money and finance seminars in recent months. "I'm trying to build a foundation of information so that when I work with him I'll have some knowledge," she said.
Nicole Middendorf, a financial adviser with Strategic Financial in Plymouth, Minn., said she cringes when women tell her they're relying on their husbands. "Nine out of 10 women are going to be in control of their finances at one point in their life," she said.
With online banking and automatic withdrawals, saving is painless these days. True, the initial set-up of a 401(k) plan takes 15 minutes and the thick manual that comes with most plans is daunting. But once you decide how much money to contribute and sign on the dotted line, money will be automatically taken out of each paycheck, your savings amassing behind the scenes.
The same can happen with an individual retirement plan, or IRA, set up through a bank or mutual fund company if your company doesn't offer a 401(k).
For women who won't save for retirement because they say investing is too hard or makes them feel stupid, Chatzky recommends a life-cycle fund, which is designed to diversify and rebalance your investment mix based on when you plan to retire. Many workplaces are beginning to offer such funds to make investment selection easier.
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Middendorf tells clients that becoming financially savvy and secure doesn't happen all at once. Rather, it's achieved by taking baby steps.
Peggy Spadafore of Rosemount, Minn., who describes herself as "practical" and "a bit of a control freak" when it comes to money, agrees. "You start thinking you're never, ever going to get anywhere because it's so slow to get a large sum (to accumulate)." But after working for 20 years, the food service director for an area high school should be able to retire at age 56. Maybe then she'll start teaching her husband what she knows.
Kara McGuire writes about personal finance for the Star Tribune.
