Women today are becoming "responsible" for their finances for several reasons. Sometimes it's due to a divorce, sometimes women lose their spouse or it may be a young woman graduating college and living on their own for the first time. In any case the big question is "ARE YOU READY?"
In most cases we want to say yes but inside we are saying NO!!!
Now, let's take hold of that question and give it the best possible answer: "I am prepared".
How can you prepare to take care of yourself financially? Here are some basic, simple things you can do:
1. Take Inventory. You will need a simple, college ruled notebook.
Standing in your home or apartment, look around you. Begin on page 1 of your notebook; label the top of the page "THIS IS MY STUFF". Now start listing everything you own in each room of your house. This seems unnecessary, but it is important, at this point in your life, to know what you own today.
2. Take Financial Inventory of Money In and Money Out.
Money In: In the next pages of your notebook, start to write down every place that you have money. List your bank accounts, your investments, your cash stash, your IRA, your 401K, your life insurance proceeds from your spouse.
Money Out: Follow that list with the list of what you owe and who you owe it to; the banks, the credit cards, the car payment, the house.
3. What brings you money and where do you spend it? Next is the list of where new money comes from and where you spend it;
Money In: List all the places you make money; new job, old job, pension plan payments, social security for example.
Money Out: List all the places you will have to spend money every month, a monthly budget is very important and don't forget to include some "fun money"!
3. Step Back and Decide: Are you happy with what you see in front of you on the pages of your notebook? If the answer is NO, then you will have to develop a plan to improve the situation. If you say YES, that's great and you should feel good about understanding your readiness for life!
This is your starting place, the journey can be fun and your future is a blank canvas and now its your time to paint the picture of your life to come!
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