Financial planning issues aren’t any different for men or women, but their approach can be.
“From a behavioural point of view, women seem to handle these things differently,” said Judy Poole, a financial advisor with Raymond James. “Women are nurturers by nature. We raise kids and when we approach financial planning decisions, we don’t always do it with our own best interests in mind, first and foremost.”
Poole, a former columnist with the Western News, has just launched a new book aimed at changing that kind of thinking.
How to Keep, Make and Share Your Money While the World Spins Like Crazy is meant to keep women grounded in their finances as the world continues to spin around them, and is available for download directly from Poole’s website at raymondjames.com/judypoole/
Looking out for your own financial future doesn’t have to be the whole plan, said Poole, but it does have to be part of it. An example, she said, is when your kids come to you needing help to get their first mortgage.
“A women doesn’t always think about what that is going to do to her situation as clearly as she should. Quite often, the main focus is help the kids,” said Poole.
Poole has solid credentials, both as a financial planner and as a woman struggling to keep up. Over the course of 30 years, she built a successful career; outside of the office, Poole was a divorced single-mother who worked hard to raise her children while taking care of the family’s financial security.
But three years ago, Poole suffered a heart attack, and was forced to slow down.
As a woman who has endured many life crises and is now able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Poole is sharing her insights in order to guide other women so they do not make the same mistakes she and others have.
Poole admits that the book may help drive business her way, but says there is more to it.
“I guess I am maybe a bit of a nurturer too. Through my years I have seen my mother struggle with financial issues and I have had my own fair share of situations. I know how things can go,” said Poole. “It just seemed to me absolutely worthwhile to share information, like I did with the column. It was a great thing to do.”
Her next project, she said, is to do write a book of financial information for teenagers, which she expects will be more difficult.
“To write it from a perspective that they will accept and understand and be interested in is going to be a real challenge,” she said, adding that most people aren’t exposed to financial planning in education.
“There is a ton of information, the simple things you can do: save a little bit of money over a very long period of time, it’s not nearly as hard and the results are fantastic,” said Poole. “They don’t get taught that in schools.”