INVEST IN YOURSELF- WORKSHOP SERIES Save The Dates May - November, 2013 Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Venue: The Center Club, 650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 May 17 “Woman & Finance- Creating Financial Independence” - Monica Rangel, CLTC, LUTCF July 19 “Mom, what are you doing?! Surviving and Thriving with your Aging Parents.” - Maryann Goodman, MSW, Private Care Management Consultant - Dorothy Ables, MSW, SRES- Senior Transition Expert August 16 “Fraudster Tricks and Tactics” - Linda Blay, President, BetterInvesting Orange County Chapter September 20 “It’s your Money- What are Ways to Build Wealth” - Linda Barlow, CFP October 18 “New and Innovative Ways to use Home Equity to fund long-term care” - Laurie A. Libby, Home Equity Advisor November 15 “Tax Tips for Chicks” - Marilyn Blank, CPA, MBT, CFP  >> Read more

WITHDRAWAL SAFE AT 4%? The oft-cited "rule of thumb" is that a person can withdraw 4% off their portfolio for retirement income and not run out of money for their lifetime. This would theoretically allow the additional growth to be reinvested and therefore the 4% in the future would keep pace with inflation. This is a good "rule of thumb" with which to abide. One problem with this, of course, is that the markets fluctuates and one never knows which year it's going to fluctuate downward. If you retire and the first two years produce negative returns, that 4% that you planned on may be much less than you had previously calculated. Therefore, it's a good idea to have a liquid nestegg that you can depend on for the first couple of years so you can allow your "serious" money to grow, no matter what the markets do. >> Read more

MOTHER/DAUGHTER BENEFIT FROM WISE MEMBERSHIP "This a story of how WISE effected my daughter's life as well as mine. Fifteen years ago, a switch went off in my mind because of the positive experience my daughter and I had at the very first "Invest-In-Yourself, Financial Strategies Conference for Women" -the catalyst conference for the establishment of WISE. It was that day that I became a woman actively invested in developing my own and my 7 year old daughter's financial security and education. Over our 15 years of involvement in WISE, my daughter and I attended conferences and special events which brought us face to face with some of our nation's top financial experts. In addition, it gave us the opportunity to be up close and personal with accountants, attorneys and financial planners from our local Orange County community. From these experiences we were able to build a resource and knowledge base that we drew upon as our life circumstances evolved. The birth of the WISE Choices program for young women ages 13 to 21, came at a time when my daughter was able to grasp the benefit of spending wisely, saving often and funding a Roth IRA- which she did with babysitting earnings. She learned from WISE Choices that security comes not only in the form of investing in stocks and bonds but in investing in the development of one's own human and intellectual capital. As a result, through her high school and college years, she became an advocate for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) education. She helped to motivate young girls to prepare for the rigors of becoming an engineer. She demonstrated how to invest in one's own financial security by making wise choices about education. She became empowered to help herself and in turn to help others. The examples she saw with the women helping women in the WISE community drove home the "give and gain" philosophy of the group. Just recently, my daughter, now 22 years old, experienced the first day of her career as a software engineer. Her starting salary exceeded our expectations. Her ability to think strategically about money is helping her to evaluate her housing options as she hones in on her budget. She understands the economic value of her "benefits package." With my assistance, she calculated the estimated federal, state and payroll tax deductions she can anticipate. She is evaluating the investment options for her 401k and understands the pre-tax benefit of the 401K company match. Her relationship with her hard earned money is taking on a new dimension. Her awareness of how much things cost is allowing her to be able to be economically self sufficient. She is making wise choices. Because of WISE, I attained the Certified Financial Planner designation and became a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer, which helped me re-tool after being a full time at-home wife and mother. I now work in a bank and take every opportunity I can to educate my customers, no matter their age or stage of life. It has become clear that no matter one's net worth, people are at equal risk for making unwise financial decisions. This is why the work of WISE is so important. Over our decade and a half of involvement with WISE, Women Investing in Security and Education, my daughter and I have developed personal and professional friends and mentors. Through WISE we learned that the true dividends of life come from the courage to step up and invest in one's self and also to share the knowledge of how money works: how to earn it, keep it and grow it. All of us involved with WISE have given encouragement to others and gained support for ourselves in the quest to bring financial security through education to our own lives and to the lives of others. "

4th Wise Choices class at American Family Shelter in Orange County: "How to fill out a tax return"   Marilyn Blank, a WISE Board member and a certified CPA conducted the 4th WISE Choices class at the American Family Shelter (AFS) on July 24th, in Orange County, California. Marilyn presented important information on filling a tax return. In the video, Marilyn addresses the issue of exemptions declared on a tax return. Click on the video to learn more.

FIND OUT HOW A WISE MAKEOVER HELPS TRANSFORM A FINANCIAL LIFE! Linda Barlow, our WISE certified financial planner and portfolio manager, screened many applicants for makeover, thanks to the overwhelming response to our WISE MakeOver email promotion a couple of months ago. Sharol’s story emerged above the rest as both interesting and engaging, and you won’t want to miss Linda Barlow’s WISE MakeOver analysis that gives great advice on how Sharol and her family can become empowered and financially fit. >> Read More

BEHAVIORAL FINANCE IS COMING OF AGE! There are many books written on how we view money. It boils down to the psychology of money. Our early experiences, attitudes, and environment form our own attitudes and therefore our behavior regarding money. It remains a rather undeveloped area of financial planning, but certainly a rapidly growing area. Scientists are doing a lot of work these days on how the brain works and how these inputs affect our behavior and therefore our success (or failure) at planning for our financial futures. >> Read More

WISE WORKSHOPS FOR WISE CHOICES In our 2012 WISE Choices program to educate young women and girls (aged 13 to 21) about financial literacy, we found that grownups can use the WISE Choices education as well! As an example, this year’s first workshop was held at American Family Housing (AFH) in Midway City, CA. On May 21 and 22, Chandi Neubauer Jackson, a former teacher and financial services professional, made a powerful presentation to a group of about 30 residents or “clients.” They learned basic lessons on budgeting, the importance of saving, and how to stay out of debt. >> Read More

WISE BOOK CLUB View list of our event speaker's books WISE CHOICES BOOK CLUB View list of books recommended for teens

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