P.U.R.S.E.S.

Most women, if not every woman, are in possession of one or more purses. No matter where you go, if there are women around, chances are you will see many varieties of purses. Styles, colors and designer names are normally a reflection of the lady carrying the purse. Some women prefer subtle classic styles, while others go for a more flamboyant look.

Purses have been around for thousands of years. Their initial purpose was to carry money. Over the years, purses have evolved into everything from a fashion statement to a functional miniature suitcase. When choosing a purse, most women initially are drawn to how the purse looks on the outside. Normally, when a lady is scanning hundreds of purses in a department store, certain purses jump out and capture her attention. An immediate bond is formed between the purse and the woman, as if it has called out to her by name. She cannot imagine leaving this newfound friend behind.

For some, the exterior of the purse is all that matters. How they will be perceived when carrying the purse is of the utmost importance to them. Does it have the right designer name, is it the latest version, will the purse "pop" with the outfit it is intended to accessorize? The woman envisions herself walking into a party carrying the prize in her hand.

For others, functionality is critical when choosing a purse. These women immediately look inside to evaluate roominess, numbers of compartments, accessibility for a cell phone, keys or lipstick. Will it accommodate a baby bottle and diaper, therefore doubling as a diaper bag?

Whatever the reason for selecting a particular purse, one thing is certain: it is a very personal decision. Whether the purse was chosen for its appearance, functionality or a combination of the two, a purse plays an important and valuable role in the life of a woman.

In addition, a purse makes a woman feel secure in a lot of ways. Before leaving home, most women open their purses to make sure they have everything they need inside. A woman's checklist normally consists of things such as money, credit cards, glasses, lipstick and cell phone. Having these items safely tucked away and by her side can give her a sense of security. She knows she has all of the essential items she may need at any given time and can get through almost any situation with these necessities.

From that perspective, let's examine the acronym P.U.R.S.E.S. When related to financial issues, a woman should have a personal financial plan that consists of all the items needed to carry her though any of life's circumstances. A good financial plan will result in a woman feeling safe, secure and confident.

Purpose Based Planning

Women are notorious for planning things. We spend untold hours, days, weeks and sometimes even months planning for everything from our daily tasks and schedules to various special occasions and events. Our planning revolves around a purpose, an intended or desired result. Just think about all of the different types of things a woman plans for during her lifetime.

We go to great lengths to plan our outfit for an upcoming special occasion. We spend hours upon hours shopping, maneuvering in and out of stores, trying on numerous articles of clothing. Then we look for the perfect pieces of jewelry and try on every make and model of shoes. And, of course, we must seek out that special pocketbook that will complete a perfectly coordinated outfit. From our teenage years, preparing to attend the prom, to deciding what we will wear to our twenty-fifth class reunion, an upcoming dinner party, weddings, funerals, and everything in between, we are very serious and determined about making sure we have done our due diligence to put together the perfect ensemble, one that is the product of a well-thought-out, many times labor-intensive process.

We plan our wedding, giving special attention to every little detail. We spend time choosing our colors, our dress as well as the attendants', our flowers, our photographer, our venue, our guest list, our invitation, our reception, our cake and our honeymoon.

In choosing a home to live in, we rarely make a decision after very little deliberation. No, the truth is that we consider everything about the home: the location, price, style, features and amenities. Many times we seek the advice of a realtor to help us understand our many options and assist us in comparing the advantages of limitless possibilities. Before making our decision, we trudge through house after house, making sure we have completed a thorough investigation of every conceivable choice.

Once the decision has been made, we embark on an endless journey of planning decorations and furniture placement that will maximize the beauty and functionality of the home.

We plan for children. Even though we sometimes get an unexpected surprise, most of the time we plan when and how many children we will have. When they arrive, an entirely new world of planning is put into motion. From our children's birth until they reach adulthood, we are constantly involved in putting together schedules for them that include everything from naps to curfews, homework time to soccer practice, birthday parties to graduation. We become geniuses at coordinating a plan that keeps what sometimes may seem to be a thousand balls in the air at one time.

Women spend enormous amounts of time planning for holidays—shopping, decorating and coordinating special meals. Let's consider one holiday most people can relate to: Christmas. The reason for the season is the celebration of the birth of Christ, but, that being said, it is also a special time for giving and spending time with friends and family. Because of the nurturing nature of women, we will put a great deal of time, money and effort into making this holiday a memorable experience for those we love. Why else would we spend weeks and even months making gift lists, shopping endlessly in congested malls, standing in never-ending lines at the checkout, decorating, wrapping gifts and cooking meals that literally cannot be completed in only one day? In order to create the ambience we want to provide for the ones we love, we must be fantastic planners to pull everything off.

Think about all of these many, many things we spend time planning. Our entire lives as women are full of them. But most women spend very little time or effort planning for an extremely important aspect of their lives: their financial future, financial stability and financial security. While there are some women who have done a tremendous job putting together a financial plan, the majority of us do not take this part of life seriously enough.

Many women have a financial planner, but most do not have a financial plan. Just having a mixture of investments does not indicate any type of Purpose Based Plan. Picking investments without a plan is like picking ingredients off the grocery store shelf with no idea what recipe you plan to use them for. A true financial plan has a defined purpose and a desired end result.

Over the years, I have met with hundreds of women to discuss their financial plans. Usually, when I inquire what their particular assets are to be used for, they cannot tell me. I get answers such as, "I'm not sure; I've just been saving," or "My friend told me this is the investment she chose, so I just put some money there as well." Very seldom do I hear about a well-thought-out plan.

That type of planning is really no plan at all. Operating in this manner is like driving a car without having a destination in mind, or gathering building materials without having any idea what you intend to build.

Every woman should take the time to consider and discover what type of plan she needs in order to meet her particular situation. I have never met any two people who had the exact same assets, family structure and financial goals. Everyone is unique; therefore financial planning should be designed to meet the particular needs of each individual. In chapter seven, we will explore strong Purpose Based Plans that work.

Understanding Money Basics

While it isn't necessary for every woman to have a degree in finance, it would serve them well to have a basic understanding of money. Most people know how to make money, but they do not know how to make money work for them. Women tend to look at today's money: How much do I have right now? How much can I spend today?

To be financially secure, women must take on the responsibility of planning for the future. When a woman is married, this task typically has been left to her spouse, although there are certainly some women who are very involved with their families' finances.

So many times, I have met with widows who have come to me for financial guidance and/or estate planning soon after the loss of their spouses. They are in a place I respectfully call Widow Wonderland. Not only are they going through a very difficult time as a result of their recent loss, they are beginning to wonder about many things. Widows wonder how they will make it without the involvement of their husbands' financial decision-making prowess. They wonder if there will be enough money for them to live on with the loss or reduction of their husbands' pension. When both spouses are drawing social security checks and one ends at the husband's death, a widow will wonder how impactful this will be to her financial security.

Some of these ladies never had any involvement in the financial planning aspect of her marriage. The extent of her financial responsibility was managing the allotment she received from her spouse for household expenses. Most men who pass away leaving their wives ill-equipped to handle finances never meant to put a burden on them. Normally, these men were trying to do the admirable thing of being the provider for their family taking any burden or concern off the shoulders of their wives by carrying the load themselves. Unfortunately, as a result of this good intention, many women are left without the basic skills and knowledge to manage their finances on their own.

Today, more and more women, along with their husbands, are beginning to understand the importance of both spouses being involved with the finances of their family. Even if one has a job and the other doesn't, or only one handles most of the financial transactions, it is still imperative that both spouses are aware and informed of their finances, investments and asset management. After reading this book, you should have a basic understanding of all of these things.

Resources Available

Women should also have some knowledge of the resources available to them for planning their financial portfolio. To keep things simple, let's just look at the basics regarding this issue. There are three primary providers of our accounts: banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. Each specializes in certain areas, although these days there are so many crossovers that it's sometimes hard to tell who does what. But for the most part, we look to them for specific purposes.

The first institution is the bank. We most commonly use banks for checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). Based on our short-term and long-term needs, we determine which of these types of accounts are best for us.

Next we come to the brokerage firm. The most common investments provided by these firms are stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Based on the type of firm you choose, a person may be more personally responsible for picking her own investments as opposed to using one particular brokerage firm representative to handle the management of the portfolio.

Lastly, an insurance company is the supplier of such products as life insurance, annuities and long-term care policies.

Based on your individual needs, goals and risk tolerance, you should be able to use the ten tools just mentioned—checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance, annuities and long-term care policies—to build the financial portfolio that best fits your situation. Of course there are other investment choices such as real estate and business ownership. Greater detail regarding all of these various accounts, investments and products will be discussed in the chapters that follow.

Having the right combination of these tools is paramount. Many problems can occur when a portfolio does not include the right mixture. As you move through the different stages of life, chances are your needs will change. Very seldom does the portfolio of a thirty-two-year-old woman closely resemble that of someone who is sixty-eight.

The winning combination is the one that works for you. As you pursue Purpose Based Planning, you will realize the importance of choosing correctly. Many retired women are extremely frustrated with their current choices. This is mainly due to having a portfolio that in no way reflects a strategy that fits her particular needs.

There are many components that must be considered when choosing the appropriate resources, such as income needs for the present as well as the future, tax planning, insurance needs, etc. Without a well-thought-out Purpose Based Plan, the right combination may never be discovered, resulting in a portfolio that does not meet the needs of the individual.

Stages of Life

As we move through the various stages of life, we must continually adapt our finances. When our finances are out of sync with our particular stage of life, a calamity can occur.

There are four basic financial stages of life, some of which may be experienced simultaneously. As women enter middle age and beyond, some of the stages will take on a higher priority than they did in the past.

Stage #1: Accumulation. During this stage, a woman is accumulating assets, which may include purchasing a home and/or other property. If she is wise, she is also participating in some type of savings plan for retirement. This is done in a variety of ways, including contributing to a retirement plan that has been set up by her employer. Many employers will match your contribution up to a certain point. Some women also have Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) that they contribute to.

The goal of the accumulation stage is to allow the value of the assets acquired to increase, so that by the next stage, there will be enough income to live on for the rest of a person's life. The reverse of this is acquiring more debt during what is supposed to be a time of accumulating assets. With that said, some credit purchases can actually be good choices for tax planning and other strategic wealth building purposes. But all too often, I sit down with a woman in her sixties or even seventies who has accumulated very few assets and has huge amounts of debt. This can be disastrous when a person is retired or close to retirement.

Stage #2: Distribution. During this time of life, a person is dependent on distributions from the assets acquired during the accumulation stage. Those who invested in real estate may be enjoying the funds that come from leasing their properties or selling those properties and turning the proceeds into income through other investments. Others may take distributions from the retirement accounts they have been funding over the years. Still others may do a combination of these things. Distribution resources also include Social Security and pensions.

Good tax planning becomes extremely important during the distribution stage. I will discuss certain issues that everyone needs to be aware of regarding taxes during the distribution stage in chapter nine. A lack of good tax planning during this stage can cause a person to have much less to live on, as well as directly affect inheritances.

Stage #3: Preservation. If you are reading this book and are over the age of fifty, chances are you will have at some point in your life been involved with preserving something for the future. For example, if you grew your own produce in a garden, you probably preserved some of it for future use. Did you ever can tomatoes? How nice to be able to go to the pantry and grab a jar of wonderful canned tomatoes to put into your homemade vegetable soup! Or maybe you worked diligently to preserve strawberries for some future enjoyment. Remember popping open the jar top and spreading the preserves on a nice hot biscuit when family came to visit?