Find a Penny, pick it up and invest it
WSG 31 Meg Welborn
Not understanding how to properly manage one’s own money is embarrassing. I should know, because as my husband says, I am terrible when it comes to money.
I have always been a saver. Big on cash. Saved my Holiday money as a kid for years. I knew I might need it in an emergency and there would be my squirreled pile of 1s, 5s and 10s, hidden in my room ready and willing. When I was little I saved thinking about a Sasha doll or her clothing. As I got to be a teen it was for clothing (on sale) or lip gloss and eye make up (think, The Bangles). In college the pile of money was for imagined emergencies, mine or a friends, road trips, and clothing (always on sale or at Filene’s Basement, or both).
I was 24 and needed $1,200 in cash to pay the movers who had just arrived In New York from Washington DC with my stuff. I had arranged the whole move but neglected to ask about how they accepted payment. The answer was cash and in 1992, $1,200 was a load of it! I only made $19,000 a year at that point. The cash machines in those days would let you take out $300 max, and that was once no matter how many machines you went to. It was a sunday. Couldn’t go to the bank. See where this is going?
Aha!! Emergency Cash Pile to the rescue!! I searched some boxes and found my portable filing cabinet. Remember those things that Caspari made? It was like an accordion on its side with a pretty motif at either end and two grosgrain ribbons to join it at the top? If you were fancy you had the matching desk set: pencil holder, desk blotter, memo paper dispenser (I didn’t). I found my Pile, (filed under “m” for money) and counted out $900 in cash to my movers so they would release my stuff. This experience proved to me that cash within reach is a good thing. I have had trouble moving beyond that philosophy.
When I say I am ‘terrible with money’ I don’t mean I spend it like crazy, though I am no slouch these days. It feels irresponsible to not know more about investing at my age and it’s not for a lack of trying. I have worked for investment banks, went to a graduate business program (MSRD at Columbia), and used to read The Journal and even had my series 7. Yet, when it comes to my own investing I’m very insecure about it. If a market crashes I still have my cash in hand. But, the market clearly works for so many. This interior dialogue has gone on in my head for years! To be clear, I am invested in the stock market, and do have mutual funds, but I am not actively tending my nest egg. When you read this pithy interview with Meg, you will see how much sense it makes to engage a financial advisor and for many of us to find a female an extra bonus and deal clincher. Full disclosure, I do not work with Meg, but a friend of mine does.
Maven of the Week! Meg Welborn!
Think of your financial health as you would your physical health. It needs attention and maintenance, consistently. If you put your head in the sand and ignore it, like your health, bad things will happen. But, there is a void in a lot of women's financial education, myself included. I’m not sure why. Though the mutual fund is a godsend for many of us, it doesn’t actually address some of life’s inevitable questions. The point of a financial advisor is to anticipate those events and plan for them. As Meg said in our interview, it’s not rocket science. There are ways to prepare and invest. It’s what she does for a living and for her clients.
A big takeaway from our conversation was: education is everything. By engaging an advisor, we take control of a part of our lives that otherwise may feel out of control.
How did she get into it?
She worked part-time in a small firm while in law school where they encouraged her to take a tax class. She did and then took another. Surprising to her, she enjoyed working with numbers. She started reading Barron’s and the like. Next thing she knew she ended up in tax law.
She moved to San Francisco with her husband and worked at Charles Scwab as in house counsel. When they decided to move back to Boston, she was pregnant and her daily career would soon be put on hold.
She volunteered at the Dedham district court, and did mediation but it was eight years and two kids before she relaunched her career. Starting from scratch was hard, she said. But she had some unique qualities that made her an easy hire: she was a tax lawyer who liked numbers and people. She landed at a firm (where she still is 13 years later) as a licensed financial advisor and registered broker and tax attorney (non-practicing).
Meg found after her tax classes that numbers translated into action. That gave her a level of comfort when working with clients because she could advise them with confidence given what the numbers were. There is no gray area, or subjectivity with numbers.
Meg enjoys working with clients and finding solutions to their problems. The biggest takeaway for me from our conversation was: with a financial plan in place, you’ll sleep better at night.
A first meeting with Meg would go something like this (in her words):
I would ask the client to tell me about herself.
I would ask what brought her here; why she is looking for a financial advisor.
Was there a life event that triggered this or just a sense that assistance is needed.
Through this conversation, I am trying to see if I can be of help and if there is a fit.
Once we have some understanding of “the why” at the initial meeting, we would discuss what financial planning covers over a series of meetings and get the next meeting scheduled.
The client signs an advisory agreement upon becoming a client and the fees include ongoing counseling fee, tax prep/planning fee and asset management fee.
Follow up meetings would cover this:
Pull together all personal financial info to build a balance sheet so the client can see all of the pieces pulled together from brokerage/retirement accounts, to real estate, to mortgages, to the estate plan (if there is one), to insurance, to employee benefits.
Review spending/cash flow/liquidity.
Review current investments.
Review taxes/earnings.
Review estate plan and any changes needed.
Then go back to financial goals: paying for college, 2nd home, not running out of money in retirement, etc.
Based on all of the information, build retirement projections to see how client’s financial goals can be met.
Then build a diversified investment strategy as part of a longer term fluid plan.
About women and finance:
The expression that “knowledge is power” is no less true with your finances – if you have a career or if your career is your household, best to learn what to do with the money that you are earning or managing for your family. You may be the one who needs to plan for the future if your spouse or partner is focussed on making a living.
If you have kids and take a break, make sure to stay engaged.
Your career and network are among your greatest financial assets; as long as you can work, you have financial protection in case of job loss, illness or divorce.
If you are in a relationship, this is not an area to divide and conquer; make sure to share the financial responsibilities.
You are also a role model to your children and by staying engaged, you will be a better resource as they figure out their own path /career/finances.
WSG Stock Questions:
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Teacher, publisher, lawyer.
What are you excited about now?
April 20th when tax season is over.
What do you do to relax?
Garden, exercise, read, watch investigative crime series – the more complex the plot the better.
A Recipe You Won’t Hate! Tomato Peperonata!
Meg loves the Tomato Peperonata soup from Orla Broderick Great Soup recipe book, but I could not get that on line so I have found the following similar recipe:
Ingredients
3 to 4 round tomatoes, medium ripe
extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 large red bell peppers, stems and seeds removed
handful of basil, torn
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Score a cross in the bottoms of the tomatoes and blanch for about 30 seconds in boiling water. Immediately place them in a bowl of cool water until they're cool enough to manage and it's easy to peel off the skins. Chop into quarters, remove seeds, and dice the flesh. Set aside.
Slice peppers into thin strips a few inches long.
In a deep skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over low heat and add the onion, the peppers, and tomatoes with a good pinch of salt and some black pepper. Cover and let cook, stirring and checking occasionally, until the peppers have melted down into very soft, silky stew and the tomatoes have broken down into a thick sauce, about 1 hour. If needed, splash with water every now and then.
Remove from the heat, scattering with basil, and serve at room temperature.
That’s another edition done! I’d like to hear from you. Have someone you want me to interview? I am not afraid to reach out to anyone. I get a lot of rejections but I also get a lot of “yes.” It’s easy to ask. Happy Spring!
Kim
It seem to me that your stash enabled you to buy your 1st condo. Mom