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Women & Money: A Comfortable Retirement

BOSTON (CBS) - Retirement planning should begin with your first job.

A study by Transamerica Center for Retirement found that over 50% of women did not have a retirement strategy. One third had a plan but it was not written down and about 7% of women had a written plan.

Unless you are planning to live with one of your kids in your old age you really need to do retirement planning.

And if you choose not to do a financial plan come this Thanksgiving as you have your family sitting around the dinner table decide which one of the kids you want to live with and be nice to that one!

Most women don't want to live with their kids nor do they want to be a Bag Lady!

So you need to learn about money. Money is a powerful tool.  Learn how to make it, save it, invest it, keep it, protect it and pass it along to the next generation.

  • Take charge of your finances and if coupled you need to share in managing the family's finances.
  • Save for retirement with your first job; the years 22 to 35 are key to saving.
  • Realize that Prince Charming is not coming to rescue you and if he does arrive, he may be on a mule not a white stallion and have joint custody of his little princess.
  • Figure out where your money goes each month.
  • Get out of Debt. This may mean drastic measures such as "plastic surgery".
  • Establish a budget and save more.
  • Learn about investing.
  • Learn how to use insurance to protect those hard earned assets and your dependents.
  • Do your estate planning so you can pass your assets on to your heirs easily.
  • Know what you don't know and go learn about it.
  • Understand your money situation so you can better function as a wife, a divorcee, a widow, a mother, daughter, or a partner.
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