Pampering4life Financial Health: Women's Money Power

Why do so many women delegate their financial security to a spouse or signficant other and allow divorce or death to plunge them into poverty? Why do so many women spend more than they earn and become mired in debt?
A National Center for Women and Retirement Research (NCWRR) study showed a direct correlation between a woman's personality characteristics and her financial habits. Assertiveness, openness to change, and an optimistic outlook are the qualities that tend to lead to smart money choices.
Financial Planner, author, and TV host Suze Orman believes our problems with money are manifestations of problems in our life and relationships. Work on the money issues and many of the other problems will take care of themselves; or, work on the other problems and the money problems will take care of themselves.
For many people, money is an emotionally charged issue. It may represent power, or love, or control, especially in relationships. Our beliefs about money and our emotional attachments to it strongly influence the way we spend and handle money.

If you aren't where you should be financially, examine what drives you emotionally when it comes to money and try to figure out the psychological stumbling blocks that keep you from becoming financially independent. Here are ten of the most important things women can do for themselves and their financial future:

1. Don't rely on someone else, like a husband or boyfriend, for your financial security. Educate yourself about money management and investing. 
2. Set goals - it's key to financial success.
   
3. Don't use money to make yourself feel good. That type of high is fleeting. Instead, do things that promote self-respect and creativity so you don't have to seek those feelings through spending money.
   
4. Spend less than you earn - it's the secret to creating wealth.
   
5. Get an education. People with college degrees make on average significantly more money than those who don't have degrees.
6. Build an emergency fund. Without one, losing your job or incurring a large unexpected bill could force you to take on heavy credit card debt, and could put you into a financial hole that will be difficult if not impossible to dig your way out of.
   
7. Be involved in the day-to-day management of your family's finances, and talk about money with your spouse.
   
8. Don't take on your partner's or spouse's debt when you marry. Wait until you're both out of debt before tying the knot, or protect yourself with a pre-nuptial agreement. They're not only for the rich.
   
9. Don't let the fear of losing money, fear of failure, or fear of the unknown stop you from investing.
   
10. Learn from your money mistakes. Don't let them hobble you.

Your financial security is dependent on your attitudes and beliefs about money and your willingness to take your financial future into your own hands.

Eating Healthy To Prevent Breast Cancer

The truth is, we are miles away from any guaranteed protection against
breast cancer. But, at this point, we can look at improving our odds by including (and avoiding) certain foods and nutrients in our diet. The groundbreaking report from the American Institute of Cancer Research (Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective, 1997) noted which foods, based on research results thus far, probably or possibly decreased breast cancer risk and which foods/components probably or possibly increased risk. You'll find many of their conclusions in the 10 Steps below.

Things You Will Need

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Carotenoid-rich food
• Fiber
• Monounsaturated fats

1. • 1
     Enjoy more fruits. They contribute powerful antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber.
   • 2
     Enjoy more vegetables. They contribute other powerful antioxidants, phytochemicals and they also contribute fiber.
   • 3
     Work a Carotenoid-rich food into your day (cantaloupe, mango, beet greens, butternut squash, chili peppers, dandelion greens, dock/sorrel greens, hubbard squash, kale, mustard greens, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, swiis chard, turnip greens, winter squash, and yams).
   • 4
     Eat more fiber, especially from whole grains. Phytochemicals found in whole grains have been found to reduce risk of breast and colon cancers in animal studies.
   • 5
     Keep fat, saturated fat, and animal fat moderate. Researchers are still trying to figure out if and how the amount of fat (as well as the types of fat) in our food changes our risk for breast cancer. Results from animal studies have suggested the possibility that the amount and type of fat we eat could encourage or discourage certain breast tumors.
   • 6
     Switch to monounsaturated fats. Research has been showing that monounsaturated oils, such as olive and canola oil, do not have many cancer-promoting effects (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97:16, 1997).
   • 7
     Drink little or no alcohol. At least 50 studies show that alcohol may play a role in breast cancer risk.
   • 8
     Emphasize variety in food choices. Eating various foods will give many different nutrients and helpful phytochemicals.
   • 9
     Try to keep extra weight off as you age. A Harvard University study showed that women who gained 44 to 55 pounds after age 18 had almost double the risk of developing breast cancer following menopause, compared with women who had gained only a few pounds.
   • 10
     Get bitten by the fitness bug! (or)
   • 11
     Try to exercise at least 4 hours a week--even if it is just walking. Some studies have found a reduced risk of breast cancer among women who exercise regularly or who were athletic as adolescents.

Pampering4life Financial Health: Women and Money

There's never been a better time for women to take control of their financial futures. Even if financial equality has not been achieved, women are more financially successful and independent than ever before. With that success comes more responsibility to organize and manage their financial health.

• There are over 10 million female-owned businesses in America, generating more than $2.5 trillion in annual revenue.
  
  
• Women are starting new companies at twice the rate of men, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners.
  
  
• Women tend to be better investors than men. According to a recent study by the National Association of Investment Clubs, women's investment clubs outperformed their male counterparts by a wide margin in 9 out of 12 years.

While more women today are taking charge of their financial future, many leave money management to men or ignore it altogether. As a result, far too many women stay on the sidelines of the money game and never take charge of their financial future.

Why are Women's Financial Needs Different?

At first glance, it may be difficult to believe that women's financial needs are all that different from men's. However, while the general principles of financial planning are universal, women face unique challenges that amount to different financial needs.

• Women live longer than men (an average of 7 years) so they need 20% more for retirement.
  
  
• On average, women earn 25% less than men.
  
  
• Since women tend to take time off to raise children or take care of parents (women take off approximately 11 years more from work than men), they save less than men do for retirement.
  
  
• After earning lower salaries for fewer years, women's social security benefits are about half of men's.
  
  
• The majority of women had certificates of deposit (CDs) in their retirement savings accounts when a more aggressive investment vehicle was more appropriate.

The Consequences are Serious.

• Almost 1 in 4 women are broke within two months of a husband passing away.
  
  
• Over 75% of all women are eventually widowed at an average age of 56.
  
  
• 53% of women are not covered by a pension compared to only 22% of men.
  
  
• A staggering 87% of the poverty stricken elderly are women.

The statistics are startling--but it's never too late to start taking control of your financial future.