I am always shocked when I hear how many of us creatives (especially women) do not have any kind of long term savings accounts i.e., retirement funds.

1 in 5 women invest vs. 1 in 3 men. WHAT THE EFF, LADIES?

WHY is this a statistic!? WHY are we doing this to ourselves!? NOTICE I didn’t put a dollar amount on that fact… that’s just the sheer ACT of investing. WHAT THE HECK LADIES?!?! I don’t care if you throw $50 a month into a retirement account! At least it’s SOMETHING!!! We owe ourselves so much more than this!

Here are 3 BIG REASONS we, as women, need to invest:

1. We live longer than our male counterparts. That means that we will be alone at some point in our lives… it’s up to us to be alone with money, or alone and without money. Which would you rather be?⁣
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2. Inflation. Did you know that the value of a dollar DECREASES by 3% every year?!? Yes. For example, let’s say something costs $100 right now. By the year 2025 it will cost $115+ due to inflation. History has shown that our investments, on average, actually GROW more than the rate of inflation, so investing is helping to ensure you have enough money to last past your working years.
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3. The big D… divorce. 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce. This means that between you and your BFF, one of you will likely experience a divorce. Scary, right? NO. What’s scary is when a divorce hits and you realize you’re left with NOTHING. A lot of women depend on their spouse financially as well as his retirement account and that can very likely go away in the case of a divorce. There is no trade off for not investing in yourself… it’s an absolute MUST.

And for those of you uttering the words, SOCIAL SECURITY, don’t even go there. I love you, but not just no… but HELL NO.

Let me ask you something, do you plan on living off social security when you’re 67 years old? Yes? I have something to tell you… social security is destined to run out by 2035. That’s only 15 YEARS PEOPLE! If you’re under the age of 42 years old, that means that social security will likely not be around to support you… which means that you will have ZERO money to live off if you haven’t saved anything.

Ok, so let’s think on the bright side and just for funsies say that social security WILL be around by the time you retire. Did you know that the average social security benefit is $17,640 a year? Ummmmmm…. THAT IS POVERTY LEVEL PEOPLE!!! Why would you purposely put yourself in a position to live at the poverty level when you hit the age of 67 years old? That is bananas. It’s time to re-think your future and start preparing for it.

Listen, I know it’s scary to think about and I know that a lot of us don’t really know much about retirement accounts and all that. But guess what?! There are amazingly educated people out there that can help you with that. They are called Financial Advisors and they are waiting for you right this very moment! I want you to call a few local advisors and set up FREE appointments with them to talk about your situation. Tell them that you just want to meet with them to talk about a possible retirement account. The BEST advisors will help answer any questions you have without pressuring you while listening to your concerns. I LOVE my Financial Advisor, Chad, and he has been just that for me… he’s never pressured me to invest more than I wanted and even helps me analyze all my “What ifs” whenever I need. There are so many great ones out there and I just know you’ll find one too. Once you’ve found your Chad, really think about committing and opening up a retirement account. Most of you will end up starting a Roth IRA (which your financial advisor can help you with) and be on your way to purposeful retirement and THAT is a beautiful thing!