Jean Chatzky: Investments, Women with Money and the Today Show

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ujbnwf/Jean_Edited7hew5.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY:

As midlife women, our generation growing up was often not taught the importance of saving and investing. We had to learn through trial and error how to properly make, save and spend our money, both independently and when marriages and kids became part of the equation. Even now, there are still questions we may have: is it okay to withdraw from our 401K, especially now, during a pandemic? How much should we be saving for our retirement? How do we talk to our kids about money?

In today’s episode, we sat down with financial journalist and HerMoney CEO Jean Chatzky to discuss finances and to answer important questions midlife women may have about their money. We started by asking Jean about her journey to entering finances, since initially, she received a degree in English. Jean recounted her career path, telling us how she learned about her passion for finance through writing gigs, finding jobs in finance magazines and eventually working on The Today Show. This passion is what drove her to also create HerMoney.com and her podcast HerMoney.

Recently, Jean wrote a book called Women with Money, and we asked her what her message for readers was. She told us that she wrote the book for the same reason she started her company: women need a safe environment to ask questions and learn about finances. We also brought up a part of her book that mentions the emotional aspects of money, and we recalled a portion in which Jean tells the story of children who were unaware that their father owned an entire Dairy Queen. We then talked about the pandemic and asked Jean the ways in which it was influencing both employment and financial responsibilities. Jean explained how those who are unemployed are struggling right now, especially those that have yet to receive their stimulus checks. For financial responsibilities, she told us that savings rates have popped due to people staying home more rather than going out and spending money. When talking about the pandemic, the issue of dipping into a 401K came up, and Jean talked about how sometimes, that is unavoidable. She said that many people have been withdrawing from their 401K accounts right now, and if all other options have failed, a person may have to take out some money simply to put food on their table.

We then asked Jean about her five rules for living comfortably, and she told us that her five rules are to earn money, spend less than you make, take money you’re not spending and put it to work, protect the financial world you’re building, and figure out a way to give back that is meaningful to you. We talked about the issue of being paid what you’re worth, and Jean brought up how many people struggle with asking for a raise. She said that it is important that people muster the courage to ensure they are getting paid for their services, and that overtime, the conversation will get easier to have with practice. We asked Jean if she had any advice for newly single midlife women struggling to invest in themselves, and she emphasized that the most important baby step they should take is to engage in their independent savings. When the topic of speaking to your children about money came up, Jean said that as a parent, it is important to figure out a balance. There has to be boundaries put up so that parents are not helping too much and preventing their child from growing financially. We asked Jean about the practicality of buying a vacation home to use as a rental property, and she said that as long as you understand what you’re getting yourself into, it’s a good investment. She emphasized that people need to make sure they’re prepared to put in maintenance work as well as dealing with the tax rules. We then had a question from a listener who wanted to know if they should be checking their monthly 401K statements, and Jean said that when it comes to a 401K, it is important that you know where that money is going, how much is going into stocks and bonds, and if that mix still makes sense for your age and risk tolerance.

Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky is the CEO of HerMoney.com and host of the podcast HerMoney With Jean Chatzky. The financial editor of NBC Today for 25 years and the Financial Ambassador for AARP, she appears frequently on CNN, MSNBC and was a recurring guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author. Her latest book is Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve. An in-demand motivational speaker and fierce advocate for financial literacy, in 2015, she partnered with the PwC Charitable Foundation and Time for Kids to launch Your $, an in-school magazine that reaches 2 million school children each month

In this episode, we discuss…

[0:01] Introduction
[0:24] Guest Introduction
[5:59] Start of Interview
[6:37] How Jean Got Started in Finance
[12:56] Jean’s Message in “Women with Money”
[16:13] The Emotional Aspect of Money
[18:20] How the Pandemic Has Affected Employment and Financial Responsibilities
[21:31] Jean’s Advice for Dipping into Your 401K
[24:09] Five Rules to Living Comfortably
[27:15] Being Payed What You’re Worth
[29:30] Baby Steps for Newly Single Women Investing in Themselves
[31:30] Getting Your Children to Launch
[33:36] Buying Vacation Home to Use as a Rental Property
[36:02] How Much Savings is Enough When You Retire?
[40:27] Checking Monthly 401K Statements
[42:46] Closing Thoughts
[45:04] Outro

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