YOUNG AT HEART
She Works Hard for the Money
In her 1983 song of the same name, Donna Summer said, “She works hard for the money.” While singing along to Donna and dancing awkwardly, I pondered this statement and wondered: if I work hard for the money, does my money work hard for me? This question has been on my mind recently, and it’s one I hope all women will ask themselves. Now in my 40s, I’m more money savvy; however, as a child of the 80s, my early ideas about money were influenced by the excess and materialism that defined the decade. In other words, I liked to buy stuff. During college and in my early twenties, I Iived paycheck to paycheck. My focus was on what I wanted right then instead of saving for the future, which felt so far away. I made a few money missteps and learned valuable lessons from having to dig myself out of a financial hole or two. Then, I met my husband, Roger, and I noticed how he focused more on saving and less on spending. I watched, learned 14 | November-December 2021
and worked to change my financial habits — borrowing money management strategies from Roger, as well as my mother and girlfriends. I still like to buy stuff — clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, etc. — so I’ve had to train myself to be more mindful about my purchases and to prioritize paying off debt, saving for emergencies and retirement and investing. Yes, I’ve worked hard for the money — and continue to do so — but I’ve also worked hard to identify ways to manage my money and make it work harder for me.
Keep it Separate Roger and I chose not to co-mingle all of our money when we married. I learned this system from my mother and step-father — and it works for us. We have a joint checking account we use to cover household expenses and into which we both deposit 50% of our monthly paychecks. Any excess gets moved to our joint savings account.
In addition, we have our own individual checking, savings, retirement and investment accounts, and we are responsible for our individual bills — student loans, car payments, medical bills, etc. This ensures that we do not have to ask permission before making purchases and neither has to take on the other’s debt.
Use Credit Wisely Roger and I run most of our household expenses through a cash back credit card to maximize the return. This only works if you pay the entire balance each month, which we do. We also earn rewards with our personal credit cards. Because we enjoy travel, we each have a Marriott credit card that earns points for hotel stays. I’ve been saving my points and was able to cover our entire hotel stay for an upcoming 10-day trip to Portugal. But, again, this only works if you pay the entire balance each month. I really can’t stress that enough.
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