Stefanie Crowe, executive vice president at CapitalMark Bank, says the Women Know: Personal Finance seminar will be a “fantastic crash course” in everything women need to know about personal finance. “The level of expertise is phenomenal. Even better, real life examples - with names changed to protect the innocent - are used, which provides color and deeper meaning to the material,” she says. “I’ve had several friends draw on their personal experiences to help other women avoid mistakes they’ve made. It’s a great way to network with other women in an informal environment and ask questions without the fear of looking silly or uninformed.”
Crowe says the six-week seminar will help women get comfortable talking about money.
“It’s been my experience that men are much more comfortable talking about investments and money they’ve made. We’re missing an opportunity to learn from each other in making better money decisions because the topic is still considered impolite.”
Crowe is one of six local female professionals scheduled to speak at the seminar, which begins March 27 and ends in June. She will present her talk, “Understanding Your Financial Statement & Tools to Budget and Build Net Worth (With or Without a Man)” on March 27 at 11:30 a.m. at the Krystal Building. She says her job will be to set a foundation for the other presenters.
“I’ll overview the personal financial statement and how components of the statement fit together. The end game is to build your net worth to become financially independent by retirement, if not before. This is directly related to how well you manage your assets and liabilities. Men and women alike will focus on income as an indicator of financial well-being, but that’s not a winning strategy.
“I’ve seen individuals with fantastic income do a poor job building net worth and managing liabilities. In those situations, the high income isn’t helping that individual or family move forward. On the other hand, someone with moderate income who manages their cash well and buys appreciating assets consistently over decades could end up a millionaire -- my depression-era clients are great examples of that! I love to budget as much as I love to diet, but if I can see my net worth increase after managing a budget and investing well, I’m motivated by success.”
Crowe says the tagline, “With or Without a Man,” is meant to help women realize they’re going to have fun at the seminar.
“Also, I’ve lived long enough to see women friends remain unmarried or go through difficult divorces and have to rebuild their financial lives. Even in the best partnerships, men aren’t always equipped or interested in handling financial affairs.”
By the end of the March 27 session, women will have a foundation to further explore investment concepts, basic tax issues and estate planning topics as well as legal, risk-management and insurance considerations, Crowe says.
“I’m hoping to strip the veil of mystery of money and empower women of diverse ages and income brackets to engage and take the reins of their financial lives. You don’t have to have an MBA to get this!”