North Bay Woman

42 NORTH BAY WOMAN | S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 By Judith M. Wilson The world is changing for women. A Pew study in 2013 showed that females are the leading or sole breadwinners in 40 percent of America's households—a significant increase when compared with 1960, when the number was 11 percent. Many are single mothers, but a significant number of married women are the primary earners in their families as well, casting aside the old notion that when it comes to providing for a family, a woman's income comes second. "In 1960, only 4 percent of wom- en made more than their husbands; it's now 23 percent," says the report. As a woman's earning power becomes more important, so does her responsibil- ity for managing money. Jill Hollander, MBA, CfP, of financial Connec- tions Group Incorporated in Corte Madera, who earned recognition as one of 50 distinguished women nationwide in "Wealth Manager" magazine, observes that people tend to learn from the cues they grow up with, so a woman who becomes a breadwinner doesn't necessarily have a model to follow or even training in handling financ- es. "The fallacy is that we assume that people learn to handle their finances by osmosis, because we don't teach it anywhere," she says. Information, however, gives power, and she finds that woman want to discuss the issues and are willing to ask questions. She believes the financial and psychological aspects are linked and says, "The majority of our client base is women, and more often than not, we're talking about their lives as opposed to money. You try to bridge what they want with their financial situation, and then try to connect the two." Hollander sees opportunities for women that they didn't have before, which are especially important for single mothers. for one, they might be able to contribute to a retirement plan, and in some cases, the employer will contribute too. She sug- gests that women find out what benefits an employer offers and take advantage of them, so they can fall back on them if necessary. They also need to spend time thinking about their finances both currently and in the future, and having a spending plan is essential. Hollander recommends having an emergency fund to pay expenses for three to six months should it become necessary, nine months if the woman is self-employed. "One of the ways you do this, when you get a raise, you put it into savings," she says. In addition, she advises B R I N G I N G H O M E T H E Information gives power, and women want to discuss the issues and are willing to ask questions.

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