Women And Financial Planning

Without sounding cliche, Cali Pearl would like to see all women financially successful and expect you to take an active role in the financial planning process. Cali Pearl has a different skill set and vision which is necessary to help you develop and implement beneficial financial planning strategies -- which fall outside of the typical product sales mentality.

Here's why:

• In marriages, husbands usually take the lead in making the financial decisions. The wife may attend the meetings, but she rarely participates in the discussion. Even when asked if she has any questions, she usually replies that she agrees with "whatever he says." What's a better scenario? Participation from both husband and wife or participation from both life partners.

Ninety percent of all women will have sole control of their finances at some point in their lives due to divorce, death or a spouse's disability. If she chooses not to participate in the financial planning discussions and neglects to ask questions for clarity and understanding, it will be harder for her to manage EVERYTHING when she is in charge.

• A young woman opened a small business a few years ago. She didn't have any positive cash flow from the business to support hiring employees, so she asked a relative to help out every now and then. After a few years, the business became profitable so the young business owner decided to sell. Once she sold her business, the "now and then" relative sued her for half the proceeds of the sale of the business because she (the relative) claimed her assistance in the "beginning" stages of the business implied partnership status. Unfortunately the young business owner was forced to comply with the terms of the lawsuit.  Would you know how to avoid a situation like this?

Always remember, you don't know what you don't know. This situation could have been easily avoided. However, the young business owner didn't know the right questions to ask when she initially established the business. By working with a team that consists of a financial planning professional, attorney and business consultant can save a lot of headache and heartache.

• Financial planning is a male dominated industry.

We are not criticizing, it's just a fact. However, many women feel intimidated working with a male financial advisor and also may not feel comfortable with their aggressive investment style. They may ask questions but feel like they will appear to be "stupid" if they have to ask follow up questions, so instead they remain silent and go along with the recommended plan. However studies show that many in this situation have unanswered concerns and never feel completely satisfied with the investment advice or the financial plan that is provided to them.

Don't Be a Statistic

A study released by Allianz Life Insurance Company in June 2008 reported that more than half of all women want to learn more about retirement planning and entry-level saving and investing. However, while one in three women is eager to strengthen their financial planning skills, many are not sure where to begin.

In another poll released by the National Women's Law Center, women respondents were more likely than men to feel that they are falling behind in this current economy and are more prone to worry about their financial future. For many women, the concerns are not unfounded and are based in reality. More than 14 million women live in poverty, especially after divorce. More than 17 million women have no health insurance. And, on average, women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar paid to a man.