If Barack Obama can defy the terrific odds of being raised by his grandmother instead of a nuclear family,  graduate Harvard magna cum laude, become a community organizer in Chicago in 1985, serve Illinois as their Jr. Senator from 1996-2004, win their US Senate seat from 2005-2008, and later outsmart, outrun, and out fundraise Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee, and ultimately win the prize of the United States of America’s first black President, then we women can surely push past our resistance to learning about our money.  By comparison…well there really IS no comparison, period.

Yes, we do live in a sexist society still, and for 60+ year old women, whom I prefer to call mature women, the socialization was especially steeped against women embracing money knowledge.

Yet, I mention Barack’s accomplishments because we are also still living in a racist society, albeit far less so than 40 years ago, and he is living proof that with determination and perseverance, these systemic shackles can indeed be shed, like old coats.

The urgency for women to begin their quest for financial knowledge and investment know how is prompted by these statistics:

• 90% of women will be SOLELY responsible for their money at some point in their lives, perhaps for decades.
• 51% of first marriages end in divorce after which both parties suffer a net worth drop of 77% on average, according to the Journal of Sociology’s Marriage & Divorce’s Impact on Wealth report.
• The average age of widowhood is 56; widowhood causes an average of a 20% drop in income.
• 1/3 of all widows are under age 60 and 1/2 of all widows are under age 65.
• 1/3 of women over age 75 are living in poverty; i.e., less than $890/month.
• The average female lives seven years longer than the average male.

Let’s understand some basics and begin a step-by-step plan of tracking our expenses and assessing our investments now to determine if we are on track to achieve financial security.  We Can Do It Women!®