by Amy Lawson MBA, CDFA®
Hello Ladies!
Welcome to Wine, Women & Wealth. As the topic suggests, we have a lot to talk about. But don’t worry, we will not cover it all over one glass of wine, or even two or three. We’ll take it in sips; a few sips this week, a few sips next week, a few more sips the following week, and so on.
We’ll start with an overview of the big picture and each week dig a little deeper into a topic few women can afford to avoid but many would really like to.
Regardless of where you are on the path to good financial health, my goal is to empower you little by little to make changes that will produce big results over time. By the end of this series, my hope is you feel more secure about your financial future knowing you are on your way to securing the financial future you deserve.
No matter what type of day you have had or are likely to have tomorrow, RIGHT NOW is all about YOU. You are worth taking the time to read the next 500 words, or so, are you not? Of course, you are, so pour yourself a glass of wine (or your favorite beverage) and let’s get started…
Do you ever think that the future is NOW? When we were younger, time seemed endless. We gave little thought to the effects of gravity on our bodies or children on our check books; we didn’t realize life could easily get in the way of our growing our retirement accounts, assuming we even thought about retirement.
But now that we are wiser, we know denying the things we fear will not banish them from our lives. We’ve also come to realize facing the things that frighten us may not take them away completely, but a good stare-down at least strips away the power we unwittingly served up and returns that glorious power to whence it came, inside of us.
While we all wish we had done things differently when we were younger, please don’t go down the rabbit hole of guilt. We all do the best we can do given where our heads are at the time; we all do the right thing until we learn the next right thing, so give yourself a break and keep learning.
While things are far from perfect and will never be, things are also far from bleak, my dear friends. On the contrary, we have many reasons to be optimistic.
Did you know…
- women represent almost half of the workforce?
- the percentage of household income earned by women is steadily increasing?
- the number of women-owned business is growing?
- women earn the majority of all bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees?
You know what this means, don’t you? It means June Cleaver is as far from today’s reality as is the black and white TVs that brought her into our living rooms. It also means, most importantly, as women, our economic clout is growing. That’s a very good thing.
So, raise your glass and celebrate how far you’ve come. Now, raise it again and celebrate how far you will go.
Until next time…
PS, While you are stretching and growing, why not try a new wine? Nothing crazy. Nothing too expensive. Something in the $12 – $18 range. I’ll share a recommendation each week but feel free to share your favorites as well; and not just your mid-priced favs but your splurges and your good-on-a-budget favorites as well.
This week’s suggestions come from California:
RED LOVERS: Dreaming Tree Crush. “…great caramel oak and mixed berry characters on the nose, juicy raspberry flavors, and full-but-soft and approachable tannins.”
WHITE LOVERS: Dreaming Tree Chardonnay. “…fresh pear and white peach flavors; toasty, crisp and elegant, well-balanced and medium-bodied. “
Another reason to try Dreaming Tree… Vintners Sean McKenzie and Dave Matthews (yes, it’s Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band) uses clean-burning natural gas in the manufacturing of their bottles; 100% recycled paper labels; black ink printing (no bleaching, reduced toxins and heavy metals); and recyclable corks with each sporting a lyric from the song… you guessed it, The Dreaming Tree.
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