Barbara Huson

The Leading Authority on Women, Wealth & Power

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Taking Risks. Building Trust.

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

Financial Success demands 2 things of you:

  • You must take risks
  • You must develop self-trust.

Without taking risks, you will forever be a victim, live in mediocrity…and play small.
Without trust, you will forever live in fear and self-protection…and play small.

Risk and Trust work in tandem. Every time you take a risk, even if you fall down (and you will fall down), if you get back up and keep going, learning from your mistakes until you eventually succeed, you’ll learn to trust yourself.

I really believe the financial risks necessary to create wealth, combined with the personal risks necessary to achieve Greatness, exponentially strengthens your level of trust in yourself.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

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Why Financial Confidence is so Elusive for Women

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

I’m sure we can all agree. There’s no lack of info about money. It’s everywhere. So why, according to a 2015 Fidelity survey, do 80% of women lack the confidence to protect themselves financially?

I have a theory.
 
Managing money is a very different experience for men and women.  For men, investing is a practical process all about the transaction. Performance is everything.

For women, investing is about far more than amassing money. It’s about who we have to become, the internal changes we need to make to counter our cultural conditioning. This can be a very emotional process.   

But financial educators tend to take a strictly intellectual, left brain approach, deliberately steering clear of what’s been derisively mocked as ‘touchy-feely’ finances, shunning the very components that speak to, inspire and motivate women.  

I’m convinced, unless we explore our emotions, along with the facts, we’ll remain in resistance.  

We need more financial courses (and books) that look like this:

  • While studying the difference between growth and value stocks, you also focus on personal growth and valuing yourself.
  • While defining market risk and how to minimize it, you overcome your own resistance to taking those risks.
  • While engaging in financial planning for future goals, you work on disentangling yourself from the outmoded beliefs and prior programming holding you back.


Here’s an excellent place to start: Download the Money Minder® Personal Autobiography ebook for free here: http://www.financialrecovery.com/free-stuff/

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com
 
Money

Financial Problems? Make Them Your Friend.

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

If financial success has been illusive, take a tip from high earners. Their financial achievements are often preceded by a financial challenge. It was by finally facing the problem, head on, that they cleared the path to success.

A financial challenge could be anything from a gnawing sense something’s wrong to the gut wrenching pain of staggering debt.

Here’s what you need to understand. Financial problems are rarely about money. They are, more likely, the call of your soul trying to get your attention. What begins as a whisper, if ignored, will grow increasingly louder.

Instead of viewing the challenges as a curse, high earners saw every problem as a powerful opportunity for personal transformation.

Confronting and solving a financial challenge enabled them to walk through the door between the mediocre life they were living and the powerful life they could be creating.

There is no magic bullet for solving a financial challenge. Nor would you want one. It is the process that empowers.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Risk Ahead Sign

How Much Risk Can You Tolerate?

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

Risk tolerance. You’ve probably heard those words bandied about when talk turns to investing. But do you know what they mean?

Risk tolerance is generally defined as the ability to stomach large swings in the value of your investment portfolio.

Because the market, by nature, is very volatile, understanding your risk tolerance is vital for making prudent decisions.

Here are 3 factors to help you figure it out.

The first factor is time. When will you need the money? Generally, you can take a lot more risk if you’ve got 10-years or more. Money you need in the next 3-5 years should all be in cash. You don’t want to be forced to sell if the market is down.

The second factor is cash reserves. How much cash do you have on hand? If all your money is fully invested, with no extra cash to cover you unexpected expenses or emergencies, that would be a problem, especially if you have to sell when the market is down.

The third factor is sleep. How much volatility can you stand before you start stressing out, unable to sleep at night? We all know what happens if we don’t get enough shut-eye. Everyone suffers!

Those factors are crucial considerations. But in the end, risk is like spicy food…you don’t really know how much you can tolerate until you’ve tasted it.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

The Busy Woman’s Blueprint for Wealth Building 

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

Soon after divorcing my gambling husband, I got a call from a friend of my father. He wanted me to invest in a Limited Partnership he was forming, TJ Cinnamons, a fast food place that made sticky buns.

I had no idea what a Limited Partnership was, but this man was wealthy, smart, successful, so it had to be a great thing, right?

I didn’t know that you can’t sell shares in a Limited Partnership because there’s no market for it. When TJ Cinnamons went under, I lost my investment.

That calamity taught me a critical lesson. I call it the #1 Law of Investing: Never put money in anything you don’t understand. I was determined to educate myself.

That’s when I devised The Busy Woman’s Blueprint for Wealth Building. Otherwise known as the Osmosis School of Learning.  It consists of only 2 steps. Do them consistently, and you will be amazed, in just a short time, how much smarter you’ll be.

1) Everyday, read something about money, even if it’s just for a minute or two, even if it’s just glancing at the headlines of the business section of the newspaper, or a money magazine while you’re waiting in line at the grocery.

2) Every week, have a conversation about money.  You can learn so much from people smarter than you. Anytime you meet someone versed in investing, ask how they got smart, the mistakes they made, and what they’d recommend to help you learn.

Try these 2 steps and watch what happens. They worked so well for me that, to this day, I still do them.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Woman with Financial Plan

Gotta Plan?

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

I vividly remember a woman in one of my classes who stood up and proudly announced that she had maxed out her 401(k) and had a hefty portfolio outside her retirement. She’d been buying stocks based on the recommendations of her cousin who worked at a brokerage firm.

She had a right to be proud. But when I asked if she was following a plan, she looked bewildered.

“How do you know if the portfolio is properly diversified for you?” I asked. “How do you know if you’re taking too much or too little risk?

I then explained the difference between gambling and investing.

Picking stocks or bonds haphazardly, following a hot tip or purchasing the hottest fund, trying to time the market (buying when it’s high, freaking out and selling when it plunging), or just simply deferring investment decisions to another and turning your back…that’s gambling.

Investing, on the other hand, is a means to an end. The whole point of investing is to put together a portfolio that ensures you meet your goals.  If you don’t have some sort of idea of where you want to end up, it will be far more difficult to make the right choices.

A  good financial plan addresses three questions: Where are you now financially? What are your goals (short term and long-term)? What do you need to do to achieve your goals?

Once you identify the gaps between where you are now and where you want to go, you can create a realistic game plan with the right mix of investments based on your time horizons, budgetary restrictions and risk tolerance (how much volatility can you stand and still sleep at night).

Sure you can do this on your own. But my advice: Hire a fee-only Certified Financial Planner or a financial advisor you trust.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Diversify your basket

How Many Baskets Do You Have?

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

I saw a cartoon that cracked me up. A financial advisor sat on one side of the desk.  The Easter Bunny, with a big basket of eggs, on the other. The advisor, leaning forward, warns the bunny: “Never put all your eggs in one basket!”

The advisor of course was giving his client the classic admonition: Diversify! Diversify! Diversify! Or put your money (eggs) into many different baskets.

You can significantly minimize risk by spreading your money out among the five asset classes:  stocks, bonds, real estate, cash and commodities. Every asset class can be further divided into sub-classes.

The idea is that different asset classes, or sub-classes, react differently to various conditions and time periods. It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes a turbulent sea sinks all ships.

But for the most part, diversification protects your overall holdings.

In fact, studies indicate that diversification accounts for 93% of a portfolios’ overall performance; 2% comes from stock picking; 3% from luck.

Two percent from stock picking!!! We make ourselves crazy trying to find the best companies, when we should be putting more energy into making sure we’re properly diversified over numerous categories

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Stone Heart

What To Do Before Your Spouse Dies

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

I’ll never forget the day I asked my mother:  “Do you know what Dad has planned for you when he dies?”  My father was seriously ill. I worried about mom. And I was terrified to ask her that question.

When I finally screwed up the courage, she quickly deferred. “Oh yes,” she replied. But when I pressed her for details, she couldn’t deliver any. 

She also made it abundantly clear:  this was not a conversation she wanted to have.  I made it even clearer: avoidance was not an option.  Here’s what we did:

1.  We had “The Talk.” I had Mom sit down with Dad and we looked at all their financial documents:  bank statements, investments, estate planning, etc.  This was not, by any means, an easy conversation.  Nerves were frayed.  Mom glazed over.  Dad lost patience.  I kept scratching my wrist (a nervous habit) until it bled.  But by the end, Mom knew where every penny was and what arrangements he had (and hadn’t) made.

2.  We assembled “ The Team.” My Dad was very much a do-it-yourselfer.   Mom needed a team of professionals.  First on our list was an estate lawyer. Mom, my sisters and I met with him first, brought in my father, and together my parents created a very good, tax efficient estate plan. We helped her find an investment advisor and a CPA .  She meets with her “team” on a regular basis to this day.

3.  We updated documents.  We made sure the Will, Power of Attorney, EVERYTHING reflected their latest info and current wishes.

4.  We had annual family meetings. These gatherings, though often emotional, put everyone on the same page while Dad was still alive.  The meetings included my sisters, spouses, and all the grandchildren (we eventually had great-grandkids crawling around too).  My Dad let everyone know what his wishes were, especially for philanthropy, and enrolled the whole family to the board of his foundation.

By the time my father died, all my mother had to do was grieve.  Every detail was in order.  There were no surprises.  Practically speaking, his passing was seamless. 

Emotionally, it was devastating.  But being financially prepared mitigated the hassles and made the experience…well…easier.

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Stock Market Chart

A Very, Very Painful Lesson

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

My first big mistake came with my first foray into the market. It was 1986. I hired a financial advisor and gave him the little money left after my divorce. He’d send me the monthly statements, but I tossed them in the trash, unread.

Then, October 19th, 1987, the market crashed with a vengeance… the biggest market crash since the depression. I called my broker, told him to sell everything.

He begged me not to.

“Barbara, the market will go back up. It always does,” he assured me. “And you’re going to have capital gains taxes to pay.”

I didn’t know what capital gains taxes were, but it didn’t matter. I wanted my money out where it was “safe.” Big, fat, awful mistake. The market went back up and very quickly.
 
That fiasco taught me well. In the 20 plus years I’ve been investing, despite living through at least 8 crashes, not just correction (when market falls 10%) , but full on crashes (when the market plunges 20%), I’m proud to say, I’ve done very well for myself. Instead of panicking, I stayed the course.

The next time the market plunges, if you tend to panic, let me give you some sage advice. Turn off the TV. Unplug the computer. Don’t look at your investments. Ignore the naysayers. Get a massage and remind yourself that the market will go back up…because it always does

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Women Eating

What do Money & Food Have in Common?

Written by Barbara Huson, The Leading Authority on Women and Wealth

I’ve long noticed that women who have problems with money often have problems with food.

Then I read Geneen Roth’s extraordinary book, Women Food and God, a New York Time’s bestseller. She confirmed my suspicion. I’ve never met Geneen personally, but I consider her a kindred spirit.
 
She insists that food is never the problem, just as I know problems with money are never about money.

Rather, says Geneen, overeating is “a doorway to your true nature,” echoing my belief that “financial problems are a doorway to your true power.”
 
Roth’s book, like my Sacred Success®, is based on her own unhealthy relationship with food and her experience teaching others what she learned during her weekend retreats.  Her method of healing women’s relationship with food, similar to mine, mixes a hefty dose of spirituality with practical action and emotional transparency.
 
The key to success is not to focus exclusively on dieting…or budgeting.  Instead, success comes from following a process that includes self-awareness exercises and specific practices to help women step into their power and overcome the urge to self-sabotage and other compulsive behaviors, like chronic busyness, over eating, binge spending.
 
In fact, my favorite quote of all time is a quote from Geneen which I saw on Facebook: “The only people who don’t have insane relationships with money are those who were willing to examine their insane relationship with money.”

Gosh, I wish I had said that!

If you enjoyed these “Words of Wealth”, head over to my website and sign-up for my FREE weekly newsletter at: www.barbarastanny.com

Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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