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RISKY BUSINESS A PURSE OF YOUR OWN: 7 TIPS TO UPGRADE YOUR FINANCES AND RETIREMENT D


Deborah Owens says every woman can build a solid financial future. In A Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security co-authored with Brenda Lane Richard- son, she shows how.


The founder of the Owens Media Group LLC (http:// deborahowens.com) in Columbia, Md., has developed a philosophy that instructs women to use their talents to hardwire a comfortable retirement.


Her metaphor for women’s finances is their purse. Most carry one, she says, but many are full of weak career deci- sions that relegate them to lesser salaries, promotions, and an inferior financial condition.


Owens devised “The 7 Wealthy Habits of Financially Successful Women,” as the foundation of A Purse of Your Own. Her tips suit technologists and scientists because STEM women make decisions grounded upon expertise daily. They just need to link those skills with financial preparedness.


7 Wealthy Habits of Financially Successful Women


Getting to the Bottom of Your Purse Before You Invest: Outlook


Cleaning out your purse metaphorically is understanding how you measure up on your personal balance sheet. Too often, women put off investing in their financial future to assist others. They must instead organize, preserve and start to grow their investments now not later.


STEM students must think strategically about their job search, and money shouldn’t be the only attraction. Some educational and public sector organizations will help repay student loans. Other groups offer profit-shar- ing or bonuses as workplace incentives. If you don’t know what fits your financial situation as you job search, that is like not knowing how to repair a hole in your purse.


Falling in Love with Stocks at First Sight: Vision A wealthy future is within your grasp, but you must anticipate grasping it. Be positioned to leverage your education or experience by interviewing at organizations that value your talents in one area, but be prepared to switch gears. You may be hired for product engineering but want to get into supply chain management. “If you know thyself and understand your gifts,” Owens said, you


44 WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2013


Deborah Owens Founder, Owens Media Group LLC


can seek out options.


Using What You Know About Diets to Invest: Appetite Stay hungry for knowledge that will advance your career and grow your salary. Nourish a habit of lifetime learning. Every job gives you access and insight to information, research, and training that the average person never sees, but to advance you should consider areas outside your comfort zone and learn to evaluate those opportunities.


Tech women understand math, but few people have been exposed to personal finance decisions when young. Learning to invest uses the STEM side of the brain, but in a way that may not feel as natural as calculating missile trajectories or writing cybersecurity code.


Organizing one’s personal finance agenda is difficult www.womenofcolor.net


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