GUEST BLOG POST: Q&A with Liz Davidson on the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy

June 16, 2011

Question: Your research is showing the gender gap in financial knowledge is still prominent. It seems there shouldn’t be a gender gap at all these days. Shouldn’t women and men be pretty equal in their financial knowledge and overall financial security?

Liz Davidson: Well, yes, you’d think so. But there are several issues at play here: Continue reading “GUEST BLOG POST: Q&A with Liz Davidson on the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy”

“I Have a Pension? I Didn’t Realize That.”

May 17, 2011

Less than 1 in 5 workers today have a traditional pension these days, so those that do have a pension should be very appreciative, right?  Well, not if they aren’t even aware they have a pension!  I meet with thousands of employees each year who are fortunate enough to work for companies that still offer a company-funded pension, yet they don’t even know how lucky they are and don’t realize they are accruing a pension benefit for retirement by just coming in to work every day.  I’m sure when they were hired, their new employee handbook had details about the pension, and they may even get a yearly statement mailed to them, but do they really understand what it means to them? Continue reading ““I Have a Pension? I Didn’t Realize That.””

Educating Employees on Avoiding Identity Theft and Other Fraud

May 10, 2011

An email in my business inbox this morning promises that I have been randomly selected to win 350,000 euros and all I have to do is provide my full name, age, and address.  As tempting as it is, I delete the message, but how many other employees might be tricked into responding?  These phishing emails are becoming more common, and much more sophisticated.  It used to be an Arabian Prince who was banished from his kingdom needed your help to recover his millions, and in return he would share some of his wealth if you just let him use your bank account to channel his money.  Continue reading “Educating Employees on Avoiding Identity Theft and Other Fraud”

Where Do Your Employees Stand Regarding Retirement Preparedness?

February 22, 2011

Employees are grossly unprepared for retirement, and employers are growing increasingly concerned about the cost of delayed retirement, which is estimated to be $10,000-$50,000 per year for every year an employee  postpones retirement.   The implications of this problem are huge, making it the second most pressing issue HR departments are facing, after health care. Continue reading “Where Do Your Employees Stand Regarding Retirement Preparedness?”

How to Have Financial Harmony in Your Marriage

February 09, 2011

In May, my wife and I will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary.  Would you believe that in all those years we’ve never fought about money?  (If you believe that I’ve got some ocean-front property I just can’t wait to sell you.)  The truth is when we were first married we use to fight about money all the time.  It’s no surprise that financial stress is one of the biggest contributors to broken marriages, especially for newlyweds, so how is it that Susan and I have managed to stay together for so long?  Over the years we have learned how to resolve our financial conflicts by avoiding some of the common pitfalls that each of us faces.  I know they’re common because in my line of work I hear people say them everyday.  So in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share with you some of these pitfalls, along with ideas on how to avoid them, or at least understand them so that you can turn some of those nasty arguments over money into healthy discussions about your finances. Continue reading “How to Have Financial Harmony in Your Marriage”

Financial Education: A New Direction

January 27, 2011

It’s been a nice ride conveying my thoughts on various life events that I have had and supplying analogies of those events to different financial topics.  As often happens in life though, things don’t always fall in our lap so rather than force bad analogies on all of you, I have decided to take my weekly blog in a new direction. Continue reading “Financial Education: A New Direction”

Financial Education: Avoiding a Mega Millions Mess

January 25, 2011

Winning the lottery is every worker’s dream, but for Holly in Idaho that dream is about to become her nightmare.   If you haven’t heard the story, Holly recently bought a winning lottery ticket worth $190 million.  Who could be more lucky?  How about her estranged husband, who heard about Holly’s jackpot from a reporter.  Even though they have been legally separated for years, most attorneys are saying that the continued marriage means the husband gets half the winnings.  If Holly tries to fight his claim, her winnings could be tied up in court for years and unfortunately she already quit her job 6 days after the winning numbers were announced.  How could this mess have been avoided? Continue reading “Financial Education: Avoiding a Mega Millions Mess”

Workplace Financial Education: America Saves Week

January 18, 2011

America Saves Week 2011 is scheduled for February 20 to the 27th.   What have you planned to encourage your employees to take financial action through saving, debt reduction, and wealth building?

The American Savings Education Council (ASEC) first piloted America Saves Week in 2007, with the goals of:

Investing: The Benefits of Starting Young

January 14, 2011

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to meet with a number of people who are recent college graduates just starting their careers.  Boy, has the world changed a little bit since I graduated!  The first thing I noticed is that starting salaries today are what managers’ salaries were when I was starting my career.  And, as my kids would tell you, back when I graduated from college I still had to feed my pet dinosaur on my way to work.  Is it wrong to occasionally want to sell your kids on EBay?   Back to the point. Continue reading “Investing: The Benefits of Starting Young”

Financial Education: How Much Do Penny Auctions Really Cost?

January 12, 2011

Have you heard about these things called penny auctions?  Penny auctions tout how you can “win” large ticket items—like a laptop computer or flat-screen TV—at auction for up to 95% less than what you would pay retail.  Now if you know me you already you know how I hate paying retail for anything, so if something advertises offering retail products for less than retail costs, you know I’m game.  You also know I’m not going to do anything unless I completely understand it, so let me share a little bit about penny auctions with you. Continue reading “Financial Education: How Much Do Penny Auctions Really Cost?”

Christmas Toy with a Financial Purpose

January 07, 2011

As the father of three kids, the whole concept of toys for Christmas can sometimes be frightening.  The words “some assembly required” put fear into the hearts of parents all over the world.  I’d love to know what the line is between “some” assembly required and “MAJOR” assembly required!  But, I digress.

One of the coolest things I saw this year was a gift that my girlfriend’s son received.  It was a piggy bank that counts money as it is placed into the bank.  It was cool to hear “ten cents, you now have one dollar and fourteen cents” when I put a dime in the bank. Continue reading “Christmas Toy with a Financial Purpose”

Financial Education in the Workplace: The 2% Decision

December 28, 2010

Now that our politicians have finally come to a decision about the new 2011 tax law, your employees have a decision of their own to make – what will they do with the 2% raise they will see in their paychecks?  With the December 17th passage of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, employees will only pay 4.2% towards Social Security tax in 2011, instead of the traditional 6.2%. Continue reading “Financial Education in the Workplace: The 2% Decision”

Financial Education: Read the Warning Labels

December 24, 2010

I spoke with someone recently who just welcomed a new baby into her household.  As we were talking, the conversation turned funny when we started talking about some of the warning labels on toys for children.  My youngest child is almost 9, but one of the funniest things I have ever read was the warning label on one of the toys he received at a very young age.  It was an ExerSaucer or something similar.   The assembly instructions were fairly easy, but what really stood out was all of the warnings about product usage.  If I recall correctly, the first two warnings were: Continue reading “Financial Education: Read the Warning Labels”