Alimony. It sounds old-fashioned, but think again.
5:05pm Tuesday, November 3, 2009
By Julia Anderson

A friend of mine has lived with her boyfriend for years without marrying him because if she did remarry, she'd lose a big monthly alimony payment from her first husband. It's a financial fact that laws around divorce and the agreements we make in getting divorced have long-lasting impacts on our lives. On the other side of it, if you meet someone 60 & Single there's a chance he might have financial obligations to prior wives or be carrying a big debt load that can become yours depending on pre-marriage negotiations and agreements. The Wall Street Journal is out this week with an update on alimony law including a mention of a Second Wives Club for those women who are married to high-income men (who may have lost those jobs) and now are struggling to make alimony payments to their first wives. Click here for story.



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Divorce workshop Nov. 14: The options.
1:38pm Monday, November 2, 2009
By Julia Anderson

I haven't participated in any of these workshops, but they sound valuable. Especially the mediator option as an alternative to a more expensive attorney vs. attorney battle.
The question is this: Are you strong enough to represent your long-term interests in a mediated setting or would you rather have someone else do the heavy lifting? In my case, I was so shattered by the unexpected blow of abandonment that there was no way I could sit in a room with my soon-to-be ex- and talk about why our life together was over.  He had planned it all out while I was still thinking I had a marriage. For him, a mediator made sense. Let's just settle things up and move on. For me, the emotional hurt was more than I could endure. There was no way I could sit in a room with him and negotiate what amounted to a business agreement.
So if a divorce has been coming for a long time and you both know it....mediation may be the way to go. If you're emotionally devastated by the situation and your financial future is at stake, using a divorce attorney may actually mean survival, especially if you've been married more than 10 years and you're over 50.  Statistics show that by a two-to-one margin, women go into their retirement years with a lot less money and fewer options than men.  Winning a "good" divorce is essential to your long-term financial well being.
Divorce workshop for women: Second Saturday will host a workshop about "What Women Need to Know About Divorce,"on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Heart Connectins, 305 W. 16th St. in Vancouver. The workshop runs from 8 a.m. to noon. Team-taught by a financial adviser, an attorney, a mediator and a counselor, the cost is $45. Workshop experts address the legal, financial, emotional and social aspects of divorce.
For information, call 360-448-8833 or visit www.SecondSaturdayDivorceCoaching.org.
Dana Greyson, a certified mediator and communication coach, is the coordinator. Call 360-448-8833 or visit  www.TrueTeams.biz


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Joyce Maynard on being at peace
2:35pm Friday, October 30, 2009
By Julia Anderson

Writer Joyce Maynard has a piece in the October 2009 edition of "More" magazine about attitude....attitude toward life, toward money, toward being at peace with oneself and how she lost a whole lot of money to a "rogue" broker. In "Everything Money Can't Buy," she shares her experience, at age 47, of living in Guatemala on the shores of Lake Atitlan and how the time there affected her. Toward the end of the piece, Maynard says, "For me the best form of security doesn't come from a six-figure portfolio but from the ability to face challenges with optimism." For her biography click here.


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60 & Single: Helpful money management Web sites
11:24am Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Julia Anderson

In preparation for a women and financial planning seminar this week, I put together several helpful Web sites. They are listed below.
WIFE.ORG
http://www.wife.org/ - A site devoted to women with information on money management, retirement, widowhood, divorce and a free bumper sticker..."A Man is Not a Financial Plan."
Institute of Certified Public Accoutants: 360 Financial Literacy. Basic resource.
http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Life+Stages/
360 Financial Literacy: Estate planning and retirement planning resource.
http://www.forefieldkt.com/kt/trns.aspx?xd=ES-CORE-01&il=a2&xsl=content
AARP Retirement planning. Great independent resource for general retirement planning information and tools.
http://www.aarp.org/money/retirement/
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS  Among largest investment services companies.
http://personal.fidelity.com/planning/retirement/retirement_planning.shtml
All the best:
Julia Anderson, blog host for 60 & Single at www.columbian.com.
julia.anderson@columbian.com - email address
 
 
 


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Investment styles. Who am I?
12:06pm Monday, October 26, 2009
By Julia Anderson

What kind of an investor am I?
Hummmmm.......emotional, analytical or a big-picture strategist? It depends on the time of day, I said to myself,  after reading a personal finance article in today's Wall Street Journal. Who I've talked to last, what my mother said about markets yesterday, and what earnings report just came out.... all can influence my investment mood and decisions.
Over time, I'd say I'm not an emotional investor because I don't try to run in and out of the market. Yes, I track my stocks daily, partly because I sit in front of a computer all day. And yes, I know roughly how much money is in my checking account and which way my 401(k) is headed. If I have a problem, it's selling.
I can buy. Selling is much more wrenching. I stick with stuff, too long. I ride things down, worry about hurting the feelings of someone who's given me advice. So how can I improve my investment decisions? As a 60 & Single woman, the biggest change might be to feel less obligated to friends, family and financial advisers. Hurting someone's feelings because you are not comfortable with their money-management suggestions, just can't be part of the equation. Yet women tend to let things go longer than men. Studies show we are not aggressive enough in managing our money for the long-term. We stick with the low interest rate. We don't sell soon enough.  And we are more easily influenced. (Read the story in today's Seattle-Times about the 90-year-old woman who refinanced her house six times, then lost it because of the debt.)
The Wall Street Journal offers a financial-planning article, today, on how to determine your investment style. Click here for more and good luck. 


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