financial education Archives

Is It True What Studies Reveal about Women and Money?

August 21, 2012 By Camille Gaines 1 Comment

Do They Really Think Differently about Investing?

Women and investing was the topic of a recent thought-provoking article in USA Today. In summary, it explains that women are just not interested in learning how to invest their money. The article gives numerous statistics showing that women are earning more money than ever, but they simply don’t show an interest in investment education. Below are a couple of my favorite exerts from the USA Today article entitled Investing Makes Women Anxious (the online title is different from the print version), and my thoughts on each. While I am not a “bra burning female”, I am of an analytical … [Read more...]

Add Money to Your Life’s Toolbox

May 9, 2012 By Camille Gaines 1 Comment

Forbes magazine published an article on the Top Five Money Mistakes Women Make. The first mistake given is being emotional about money. I believe that this trait ties back to the fact that money provides for our most basic needs of foods and shelter. After all, without this, we cannot even live for long. It is interesting that physical money is actually paper, and paper has little value. Once we add those familiar “dollar green” graphics, that paper takes on a life of its own triggering emotions ranging from security to fear or greed. One step to overcome the mistake of being … [Read more...]

Lessons from My 1974 Orange VW

May 2, 2012 By Camille Gaines 6 Comments

One of the most important lessons of financial education that can easily be overlooked is that not all debt is bad. In this time of great fervor over formerly zero percent credit card rates that are now at astronomical levels, it’s not easy to see any debt in a positive light. Wisely used, however, debt can be a wealth management tool that allows an investor to grow money while also living quite comfortably. With this in mind, I want to offer the following financial education tips regarding debt. Good debt enables the purchase of assets that accumulate in value over time. It may be … [Read more...]

5 Things I Learned from Writing “Earn Grow Give”

December 6, 2011 By Camille Gaines 1 Comment

Last week I was honored to have a book signing for Earn Grow Give, my personal finance book for women, in my home town of Tupelo, Mississippi, at the downtown landmark retailer, Reed’s Department Store. I grew up with Catherine Reed, who works in the gift and book department, so, personally, it felt more like a homecoming than a business venture for me. I was truly touched by the support of each person who attended the signing, especially since writing and publishing a book felt like a big and scary thing in my life. Did you know that you have a book in you? Everyone does, I believe, … [Read more...]

Tips from Vanguard on Bubbles (NOT the fun kind!)

July 27, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Vanguard published a great article on investment bubbles. As a provider of financial education, I constantly hear from women that they have fear around losing their money. Research shows that financial security is a top priority when it comes to women and investing; not that we need the research to know that, right, girlfriends? Understanding bubbles helps you to avoid them, and thus, lower your investment risk. Remember, knowledge is what makes you feel more financially secure. When you know about something, it just feels safer, and you make better choices. This is true for investment … [Read more...]

Capital Appreciation as an Investment Objective

January 13, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Last week in Financial Woman’s Short & Simple Investment Tips, I began a series on investment objectives, beginning with capital preservation. To refresh your memory, investment objective is lingo for goal; what is the main outcome or goal you have for an amount of money you are looking to invest? This is the first question individual investors should ask before beginning their search for the best investment; it’s the starting point, and the four main investment objectives are: It’s not lost It grows in value It provides income A combination of any of the above Remember from … [Read more...]

Comfort and Joy!

December 6, 2010 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Comfort and Joy! These two beautiful words jumped out as I glanced at the front page of the Austin American Statesman while walking up my long, steep driveway returning from my invigorating walk on this crisp December morning. I love the comfort and joy that I relate to the holiday season. I also thought about how these words relate to women and investing, since this topic is usually on my mind. Isn’t comfort and joy what money ultimately brings when it is managed well? We gain comfort from the shelter money provides, whether home is an apartment filled with our favorite things, or a … [Read more...]

You Don’t Have to Like It

November 11, 2010 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

The thought that embracing your financial empowerment resembles many other areas in life occurred to me the other day while I was walking. I find that those aha moments come when my mind is free to wander, and that’s usually when I am outdoors doing some form of exercise or trying to sleep at 4 in the morning. Let’s look at the similarities of another life situation we can probably all relate to and how it is like financial empowerment. The simple truth is that there are many areas of our lives where we don’t necessarily have to like the steps we need to take to reach our goals; we just … [Read more...]

Tips for Successful Investing

November 5, 2010 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

When it comes to successful investing, sometimes thinking too much can give us paralysis analysis. My friend Lorin Beller Blake at Big Fish Nation wrote an article on thinking too much that led me to this thought. The points that Lorin made can be related directly to investing as well as most areas of life: Decide to Act. Becoming proactive around investing your money is really just a decision. Define your goals. Decide how much money you want to have at a certain time in the future. Be clear about this, as it will lay the foundation for your investment decisions. Defy your fears. … [Read more...]

Men, Women and Investing

October 26, 2010 By Camille Gaines 6 Comments

The differences in how men and women approach financial education were shown, once again, while visiting with married friends this past weekend. I was blessed with one of those rare unplanned drop by visits that you can only do with the oldest and dearest of friends while in Houston over the weekend. Don’t you love those relationships? Anyway, I shared that I am writing a book when the talk led to what is going on with my financial education for women company. The first words out of Lisa’s mouth were “Don’t make it boring! You have to make it fun. That is why I don’t like to learn … [Read more...]