In honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I’ve decided to share my newsletter from back in January where I made “art imitating life” observations of how far we’ve come, and still have to go, in moving the educational, professional and financial plight of all women forward.
RBG fought tirelessly for her own rights as a young woman to attend law school and, despite finishing top in her class at Columbia Law, still encountered gender discrimination while seeking employment. Of course she did, it was 1959! If not for her and many other female pioneers like her, I would not be sitting here today as owner of my own financial advisory firm.
Thank you RBG, for your tireless fight.
RBG and Mrs. Maisel would probably have been great friends!
Please continue reading for the post I shared in January:
Have you been watching Amazon’s hit comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”? Do you love it? I have-and I DO! It’s simple. It’s funny. I can fall asleep after it is over with a light heart. I binge watched Season 3 over the holidays.
The story line focuses on Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a NYC housewife in the late 1950s/early 1960s who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy and begins actively pursuing a career. To keep it simple without need of spoiler alerts, her husband can’t handle her success, has an affair with his secretary and they separate.
I love that it brings current day recognition to the female pioneers that paved the way for the careers we women pursue today (although still today, this is not without challenges and/or risks to our financial well-being, but that’s a topic for another newsletter).
“Mrs. Maisel” depicts, in a “making fun of what used to be” sort of way, the early phases of breaking the mold during a time that was probably anything but fun for women choosing this path. I love that it makes me recognize and appreciate how much things have changed for women.
Yet after watching an episode of Season 3, I began to wonder if in some ways, despite the 1960’s setting, “Mrs. Maisel” is also current day art imitating life when it comes to many women and their finances. As Midge gains earning power, she washes her hands of money management and leaves it in the trusted hands of her talent manager Susie, who fails miserably. And then, of all people, Susie goes to Midge’s EX-HUSBAND, begging him to take over Midge’s finances. So Midge has a successful career and is taking on the world…but will still be relying on her ex-husband to handle her money.
Unusual for the times? No, not at all. Women weren’t even allowed to apply for their own credit cards until 1974! But how much has truly changed in regards to women being fully engaged in their finances?
Certainly, there have been HUGE strides over the decades in so many areas for women, but there are still inroads that we need to make for our financial security and that of our families.
I leave you with this question:
On a scale of 1-10, how “in the loop” are you in the understanding of your personal or family finances?
If you are not an 8 or above, I encourage you to become more engaged, ask questions if you don’t understand, and make 2020 the year that you become your own pioneer in financial empowerment.
Financial Fitness Tip
This month I helped a client in understanding her right to appeal the IRMAA surcharge she was paying for her Medicare.
The Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) is an amount that is added on top of the base premiums for Medicare. Those that earn over a certain amount are subject to this surcharge. More and more folks are affected by this as more and more folks work past age 65, but there are certain times that this surcharge can be successfully repealed.
Much to her delight, she easily won her appeal and now pays significantly less per month for her Medicare premiums!
My Favorite Things: Block Island
I have three passionate football players in my house, and a youth football coach, so when it was announced that football would not be allowed this Fall, it was time to make lemonade out of lemons.
We took a “glass half full” September trip to Block Island. We all have that place we hold near and dear to our hearts, our “happy place” that holds so many memories. In our hearts, it feels like it’s a living, breathing object. This is what Block Island is for me. I have been visiting since I was 6 -years old, and now my children have been there since as early as 1-month old!
Little known fact: Block Island’s official town name is “New Shoreham” and it’s where I derived the name of my firm, New Shore Financial. I had to be sure to incorporate my happy place into my passion!