A few weeks ago, I had one of those pinch-me moments when I found myself not only standing in a room with famous and successful women, but getting to sit and chat with them as well. I had the honor of meeting the smart and gorgeous actress Ali Larter, Williams-Sonoma president Janet Hayes, and author/founder of networking group A Band of Women Christine Brownstein. It’s days like this that have me thanking my lucky stars that my blog has allowed me these kinds of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet brilliant and inspiring women.
Gushing aside, I was there to attend an evening of empowering conversations, hosted by Real Simple and Fidelity. The panel discussed the pivotal moments that helped get them to where they are today, and the everyday challenges, biggest opportunities, and moments that inspired them to take action along the way. I appreciated the candor these women expressed while not only sharing their fantastic triumphs, but their devastating failures. Their stories were aimed to drive more awareness and discussion around the importance of women taking charge of their future – including the role engagement in financial decisions have on reaching short and long-term goals throughout their lives. This is so important, because 95% of women will end up being the sole financial decision-maker (because of either divorce or outliving their partner).
I felt like I took away a lot of important information from the event – I even set up a one-on-one conversation with a Fidelity representative to talk about my financial needs and goals for the future (and I’m excited about it… what???!). There’s so much more that I need to learn about budgeting, goal planning, and investing, and I can’t wait to take the next steps in my financial education. Remember: believe in yourself, don’t let money be a taboo subject, do your homework, and don’t delay (investments have a compounding effect!). You only live once – get your money’s worth!
XO, J
