Stop Talking Down to Me!!

While the 2001 study, Boys Will Be Boys indeed indicated that men’s (and particularly single men’s) trading activity lowered their returns by approximately 1% over those of the female investors, we could reasonably conclude that women are better investors. 

My 32 years of experience has shown me that women gather and process information differently than men, such that the incubation period for a female investor is far longer than that of men.  Women often prefer to do their research and homework before they begin investing, such that their plan often rewards that research and intentionality with higher returns.  With women’s inherent need to understand their investments and how each investment relates to the others and her overall plan, she will often make a buying decision and stick to it, which often bodes well with her return.

Most male investors on the other hand, tend to act more quickly, investing in the stocks their friends and/or the daily news “tips” them off to.  Consequently, when the next “tip” comes along, some men would sell their first choice, and invest those proceeds into the second “tip” stock, not allowing their monies to remain invested anywhere near a full market cycle. 

Remember, anyone can buy stocks, bonds or mutual funds; the real question is when to sell them.  My experience is that women investors are more buy-and-hold investors than their male counterparts.  When looking at women and money....(you can read the rest of my rationale here on Ms Morrison Speaks Money)

So should women be given step-by-step investment instruction, cautioned about intertwining their emotions with their investments, and informed about the historic long-term returns of various types of investments so they can stretch their nest eggs out for their (longer) lifetimes? 

Yes, absolutely. 

Should it be pinked up, watered down or sugar coated? 

Absolutely not! 

Holiday Spending Podcast Series Continues with Credit Card Strategies

On November 22, 2010, we continue our 6 week series on Holiday Spending with a look at Credit Card Strategy.

Join us as we discuss cash back cards, balance transfers from card to card, should you get a new credit card just for the Holiday Season... and what does all the mean for your credit report?

 

 

New Norms for Holiday Spending 2010

2010 for a lot of families is likely the second year in which things have been tight for the holiday season; which inevitably impacts holiday spending. And so I’m going to name it a “new normal.”

 

Many of us have started to adopt patterns in our daily lives that we wouldn’t have otherwise done before, like using coupons. It almost has taken a shift such that what used to be reserved for people who were deemed “penny pinchers” has now become a reality for many folks. “Coupon” is not a bad word, any more than “budget”. There’s nothing to be ashamed of; seeking out ways to save money is indeed, especially now, a very smart action or a reaction, I might say, to the crunched financial situation. People have to be more imaginative as the 2010 Holiday Season approaches.

For the rest of this article, please visit my blog - Ms Morrison Speaks Money

Lyuba, baby!

Last night I took a break from Roth IRA conversions to attend the Liberty Science Center where we were privileged to view a MOST remarkable display of Lyuba (the Russian word for love) a 1-month old Woolly mammoth who died in Siberia about 42,000 years ago.

As a Founding Member of the Women's Leadership Council at Liberty Science Center, we are committed to supporting science, technology, engineering and math education, aimed particularly to young women and girls.

As a financial advisor, this is a cause dear to my heart as it introduces young women to the ever important disciplines that have often been the domain of our male counterparts.  Now New Jersey and New York girls will have new opportunities to grow more comfortable with these "hard sciences" at very early ages, erasing any fears about their capabilities, and eventually grow into careers that traditionally have paid superior salaries.

In keeping with this "growing" theme, I also attached a picture of me standing next to a Columbian mammoth—the creature in the background of the Lyuba picture--which happened to be a cousin of the woolly mammoth, like Lyuba.  So, just like the images of Lyuba at one-month old compared to this huge Columbian mammoth, I encourage us girls and women to grow into our full potential, including that of financial prowess. 

We, too, can be gigantic in our reach!  Let's remove any blockages to our full empowerment, especially around our capabilities overall, and specifically with money.  I see this Leadership Council as being extraordinarily key in fostering the attitude of (and my mantra) We Can Do It Women!  

 

Would put milk in your car's gas tank just because milk happened to be on sale?

MP Dunleavy recently identified the 13 worst holiday spending blunders and I just had to shout from the roof tops:-

Well done, MP! 

Yes, last minute shopping is a recipe for disaster with regard to following a gift-giving budget.  Adrenaline kicks into overdrive, moods grow testier as the available minutes left till closing dwindle...and the urge to over buy reins supreme.  Worse than your recipient perhaps receiving "leftovers" or overpriced bling, YOU feel stressed and perhaps disappointed that you didn't get "that perfect" gift; double disappointment.

Planning always reduces stressful situations, and we MUST plan to "fight" not just the crowds, or the calendar, but the ENORMOUS marketing campaigns that weasel their way into our psyches, and trigger that guilt trip you mentioned.  Enough is enough!  Most often the person who fears enough ISN'T enough is the person in the mirror, so repeat after me, "enough IS enough". Altogether now: WE CAN DO IT, WOMEN: enough IS enough!

As an investment advisor, I am always urging clients, friends, anyone who'll listen really -  

 

  

You should no more buy an inappropriate or peculiarly unique gift

for your honey or friend, because it was on a super sale,

than you would put milk in your car's gas tank

because milk happened to be on sale!

 

 

And finally, I fully agree with staying away from FINAL SALE items that aren't returnable!

 

Ms Morrison Speaks Live at 1:00 p.m. on Blog Talk Radio

And we're back!

After a brief hiatus, Ms Morrison Speaks is back with an 8 week series of tips on how to survive the (2010) holidays from a financial perspective.  Gift giving is going to be hard this year; things are tight for everyone.  Debra offers perhaps a new norm for fgift giving this year, and some strategies on how to bring your family closer as a result.  Join us on the call at 1:00 p.m. (November 4, 2010) and every Thursday thereafter until Christmas.

Listen to internet radio with MsMorrisonSpeaks$ on Blog Talk Radio