Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Unspoken Truths of Financial Abuse: A Conversation with the Founder of Francis Financial
81 Plays1 year ago
Update: I recently launched my newsletter, The Sheconomist, and would love for you to subscribe: sheconomist.com - I share so many tools and resources that help young, high-achieving women with radical money and career self-advocacy.
----
We're thrilled to welcome the remarkable Stacy Francis to the show. She's the President and CEO of Francis Financial, a boutique wealth management and financial planning firm specializing in divorce financial planning. Stacy is a certified financial planner, divorce financial analyst, grief recovery specialist, and certified estate and trust specialist, with over two decades of experience in the financial industry.
Stacy is also the founder of the nonprofit organization Savvy Ladies, the host of the Financial Ever After podcast, and the author of "Financial Help for Widows" and "Unveiling the Unspoken Truth: The Financial Challenges Women Face During and After Divorce." Her expertise has earned her a place among the nation's leading wealth managers on CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council, a spot in the Forbes Finance Council, and recognition as an expert contributor to The Wall Street Journal.
Stacy's passion is driven by her personal experiences. She witnessed her grandmother's abusive relationship with her grandfather, igniting her desire to empower women and ensure they have a strong financial foundation. Stacy also provides valuable insights into recognizing the signs of financial abuse and taking steps to protect yourself.
The conversation delves into the significance of prenuptial agreements in marriages, dispelling misconceptions and highlighting their role in safeguarding both partners' interests. Her personal journey, from starting Savvy Ladies and Francis Financial with minimal resources to now being a successful social entrepreneur, is an inspiring testament to the power of resilience, sacrifice, and financial empowerment.
Join us for an enlightening discussion with Stacy Francis as we unveil the unspoken truth about financial abuse and empower women to build secure financial futures.
Resources mentioned include The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
Recommended
Transcript
Empowering Women Economically
00:00:00
Speaker
Part of how financial abuse exists is that there's silence around it. By people talking about this is when we start to be able to realize what's going on and then how we can get the help and how we can support each other. I'm Tamina and I'm extending a heartfelt invitation to you as we join forces in reclaiming economic power for women in a world that is often structured against us.
00:00:28
Speaker
We'll dive into the minds of accomplished female leaders, investors and entrepreneurs to equip you with the confidence and knowledge to build wealth for yourself and other women. So buckle up, get ready to learn and be inspired to take action.
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone. This week, I'm excited to talk about a very highly requested topic, financial abuse. And I am having the pleasure to be welcoming the one and only Stacey Francis to the show this week.
00:00:59
Speaker
Stacey is the president and CEO of Francis Financial, a fee-only boutique wealth management, financial planning, and divorce financial planning firm dedicated to providing ongoing comprehensive advice for successful individuals, couples, and women in transition such as divorce or widowhood.
00:01:20
Speaker
Stacey is a certified financial planner, certified divorce financial analyst, certified grief recovery specialist, and certified estate and trust specialist with over 20 years of experience in the financial industry. Stacey is also the founder of the nonprofit Savvy Ladies.
00:01:40
Speaker
host of the Financial Ever After podcast and the author of Financial Help for Widows, a complete resource guide, as well as unveiling the unspoken truth, the financial challenges women face during and after divorce. She's a nationally recognized financial expert, being one of the 20 of the nation's leading wealth managers on CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council, a member of the Forbes Finance Council, as well as an expert contributor to the Wall Street Journal.
00:02:10
Speaker
She has appeared in hundreds of media outlets and has received numerous industry awards, among them Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors, InvistoPDS 100 Top Wealth Advisors, InvestmentNews Top 20 Women to Watch in the United States, and Financial Planning Magazine's Pro Bono Award. Wow, what a resume.
The Role of Financial Education and Empowerment
00:02:34
Speaker
So impressive, Stacey. Welcome to Give Her Dollars. I'm so excited to have you.
00:02:38
Speaker
Thank you. I am so excited to be here. I love the fact that you doing what you're doing with give all her dollars of really empowering women talking about financial literacy. I think what you're doing is absolutely fabulous. Thank you. That means a lot Stacy. Look, I love nothing more than connecting with like-minded women who are
00:02:58
Speaker
Just as passionate about women's financial health as I am. So very much looking forward to our conversation today. As you just mentioned, this podcast is all about helping women build wealth for themselves, but also other women. And I always like to say that a wealthy woman can walk out of almost every room she feels uncomfortable in and create opportunities for other women along the way. Because at the end of the day, financial independence equates freedom.
00:03:25
Speaker
And since I always like to start with the same question for all of my guests, Stacey, I am curious to hear from you. What does women supporting women mean to you and how does that show up in your life on a daily basis? Women supporting women, I feel like I get so much support from women. It's all about trying to help raise each other. And for me, the piece that makes my heart really shine is helping women
00:03:54
Speaker
learn about money, create money confidence, and build a financially secure life. And I think what's so powerful about that is that we find that women in particular, if they have a solid financial ground, they then are able to give back too. And they give back in just tremendous ways financially.
00:04:19
Speaker
volunteering and really building communities. And so I feel it's almost like planting a garden and having it blossom into wonderful vegetables and fruits. I feel a lot of the work of helping women, particularly around the financial front, is why it's so important. I love that, especially what you were referencing in regards to women really
00:04:44
Speaker
investing their financial resources but also their time and energy and causes that they believe will have a positive impact. We know because the data is out there that women are more likely to invest in causes and organizations that they believe will have a positive
00:05:00
Speaker
impact on their children, on their communities, and on our planet as a whole. Just like you described, I am a big proponent of getting more money into the hands of women just because I do believe that the world that we live in would look very, very different if women, or more women at least, knew how to properly leverage their own financial resources for social impact, for social good, and all of that important stuff.
00:05:27
Speaker
So love that great start to to our conversation on a more serious note Stacy whenever i have female founders or business owners on the show. They always share how they build their businesses in order to solve.
00:05:42
Speaker
a pain point that either day themselves or their loved ones have experience and i do know that. Your passion specifically is fueled by your grandmother's abusive relationship with your grandfather curious to hear from you what was it that you were observing in that relationship specifically.
00:06:00
Speaker
At first, when you're very young, you see signs, you see clues, but you don't quite really understand what's going on. And for me, I could see that he really spoke poorly of my grandmother, both in front of her as well as when she wasn't there, just a really violent temper. And I also started to see her continually become smaller and smaller in her life, eventually giving up her career.
00:06:30
Speaker
leaving all the financial money management more so to him. What ended up happening and became very clear to me as I got older and entered college was realizing that he's not just a bad man, he's an abuser.
00:06:47
Speaker
And he is an abuser emotionally, he's an abuser financially, and he's abuser physically. And the abuse became so violent that she actually ended up passing away when I was relatively young. For me, that's what is that passion, really is that pain that fueled me to create this beautiful charity called Savvy Ladies in her honor where we work.
00:07:13
Speaker
pro bono with women who are financially vulnerable and help them financial literacy classes. And then we even have a helpline where they get to work one on one with a certified financial planner. It's really powerful. I started the charity when I was 26. I started Francis Financial when I was 27, which is an independent wealth management firm. We tend to work with women going through divorce or their spouses have passed away. I created this business to pay for the charity. And I'll be honest, I never expected to be doing this work.
00:07:42
Speaker
But as many business owners are, particularly female founders, there is that pain point that drives them, that fuels them to make a difference. And that's why this work through Savvy Ladies and through Francis Financial, it's part of my soul. It's a part of who I am and it's something that I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life.
00:08:04
Speaker
Well, first of all, thank you so much for your vulnerability and ultimately for the work that you do. For me, it's always very important on the show to create and hold space where my guests can feel comfortable being vulnerable. And that's because one of my core values is vulnerability. If more leaders showed up in a more vulnerable, more compassionate way, I think
00:08:33
Speaker
that would serve our entire society. So thank you. Thank you for being a role model and for being a living proof that there's so much power in someone leveraging
00:08:49
Speaker
their own pain, their family's pain and trying to redirect that pain to turn it into something productive that can make a difference. So not only add value, but really change people's lives. I know that your grandmother, wherever she is right now is incredibly proud of you. And I hope that you remind yourself of that every single day, whenever you wake up.
00:09:13
Speaker
And with every additional client that you end up helping, it's getting a little emotional here because it's really touching me. So thank you. Thank you for sharing Stacey.
Understanding and Identifying Financial Abuse
00:09:24
Speaker
So financial abuse can obviously manifest itself in many different ways. And oftentimes as you outlined yourself, your grandmother's story, it's not only limited to financial abuse, but there can be different types of
00:09:40
Speaker
abuse, such as physical abuse. What are some early warning signs that particularly men should look out for? I'm so appreciative that you asked this question and that you're doing this podcast. No one talks about financial abuse. No one does. And it's one of the most prevalent types of abuse, and it's also one of the most insidious.
00:10:00
Speaker
And the thing about financial abuse is that most individuals who are in that situation, when you say those words, financial abuse, it doesn't resonate with them. But when I talk about what the signs of financial abuse are, all of a sudden they realize that this may be the situation that they're dealing with right now.
00:10:22
Speaker
Often financial abuse occurs very slowly over time. It might start off very innocently, your partner saying, I know you don't like dealing with all of this financial stuff. I'll just take care of it.
00:10:37
Speaker
which is very innocent and that may not be a problem. But for some situations, that's the beginning of using money to control someone, using money to exert power over someone. And so questions to ask yourself.
00:10:57
Speaker
Does your spouse require you to tell them about all your purchases? Do they get notified when you use a credit or debit card? Do they then reach out to you asking you to explain what these purchases are? Do you find that you're having to ask for more money just to pay everyday bills? One story that I think of is Maureen, who was put on a budget that was so tight
00:11:24
Speaker
that she had to beg her husband for more money so that she could actually put food. What's unique that you may be surprised about with Maureen is that when she finally was able to start the process of divorce, she found out that they had over $4 million, but she was being forced to live like a pauper. Has your spouse ever used money as a weapon, threatened to cut you off from money?
00:11:50
Speaker
Do they make investments in real estate or some risky investment without consulting you? Do they open up credit in your name? Have they ever forged your name? Have they made it difficult for you to continue your career, maybe even trying to sabotage you?
00:12:10
Speaker
one of our amazing people that we have worked with, her husband refused to let her use the car. So she would have to walk to the train in snow, in rain, in hail to try and get to her place of employment. Does your spouse prevent you from having access, full access to the financial information of your marriage?
00:12:33
Speaker
These are some, not all, but signs, warning signs to take note of. They're the danger signs of either the beginning of financial abuse or full-blown financial abuse.
00:12:49
Speaker
And I think what's really interesting for a lot of people to realize is that financial abuse does not discriminate. And we see women of all different socioeconomic backgrounds, all different races that are in financially abusive relationships.
00:13:07
Speaker
Again, financial abuse is trying to control someone and using the vehicle is money. 98% of emotionally or physically violent situations, financial abuse is there too. It's just another tool that that abuser is using to exert control over their person, keeping them trapped, trapped in the relationship. It's much more prevalent than any of us really want to believe.
00:13:35
Speaker
Thank you for providing so many very tangible examples of what financial abuse might look like. And I think it's really interesting, the point that you made towards the end that financial abuse doesn't discriminate. You might be fairly well off as a couple and yet one of
00:13:54
Speaker
the two parties in that relationship might still want to control you. Very interesting. The example you provided around plus one couple having 4 million bucks in the bank. And yet she had to beg to receive enough financial resources to buy food. It's shocking. And the thing is she had no idea. She thought that they were destitute, right? The other myth, other than financial abuse, not happening to high net worth people, financial abuse can also happen to the breadwinner.
00:14:24
Speaker
We often think of it as being like my grandmother, the person who didn't work, the person who stayed at home, who gave up her career. But there are many situations where she is earning the primary amount of money to fund the whole family's lifestyle. And in one situation, what would happen is it would get deposited into the joint account.
00:14:48
Speaker
He would know exactly when it was deposited and he immediately transferred it to an account solely in his name. And again, you may say, how did someone let this happen to them? It's we are not good with money. That I'm good with money. That this is what's best for our family. You don't like to deal with the finances. Honey, I've got it. You don't have to worry about it. There's all these pieces again that happen over time and it's not until
00:15:18
Speaker
You listen to a podcast like this, or you have a frank conversation with a friend that you realize that what's going on in your partnership is not healthy. And if that is the case, financial abuse can turn deadly.
00:15:36
Speaker
That is really important. So for all the people who are listening or if you know of someone that you think might be in the situation, it's not always just about being able to leave. Often you need to get the right team in place to be able to leave in a way that actually is safe.
00:15:56
Speaker
And one of the things that I always tell people is to reach out to the domestic violence helpline and make sure that you get advice on how you leave in a safe way. I think that's very important to point out because your physical safety is the number one priority in that very hostile
00:16:21
Speaker
scenario or environment. I know we're going a little bit off script here, Stacy, but let's say someone who's listening after this episode goes live and they listen to you speak and they're maybe having that aha moment. Oh, wow. Maybe I am in fact, someone who is impacted by.
00:16:39
Speaker
some type of financial abuse, they might not check all of the boxes, not that it's boxes to check, but they might resonate with some of the examples that you were giving today, Stacy, aside from contacting a domestic abuse.
00:16:56
Speaker
hotline? Is there anything else that they can do in order to ensure that they remain safe and that they can decrease that dependency on the other one no matter what their individual circumstances might look like?
Strategies for Escaping Financial Abuse
00:17:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. And I do want to just give the website
00:17:15
Speaker
So it's the National Domestic Violence Hotline and you can also call them it's 800-799-7233. They have a huge amount of information that's very helpful for you. Once you're able to get the support that you need, your team
00:17:31
Speaker
And that would be a mental health professional that has a specialty in working with domestic violence, starting to prepare yourself financially to be able to leave. And this is something that often takes some time.
00:17:49
Speaker
There was a survey that just went out released by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. 73% of the respondents said that financial instability was the biggest reason for finding themselves unable to leave their abuser. And so starting to put money aside, to be able to put things in place to eventually rent your own apartment.
00:18:15
Speaker
being able to effectively leave and not have to come. It could be reaching out to La Casa or a domestic violence shelter in your area. It's being able to put all these resources in place. For a lot of the clients that we work with, leaving was not due the next day.
00:18:40
Speaker
And so slowly over time, they put all these resources in place. They were able to collect money. And the things that are interesting of how they collected money, it would be like going to the ATM, writing a check for a larger amount than was actually merited and getting cash from it.
00:18:59
Speaker
It was working some jobs on the side and being able to collect some money that way. All these small things, even taking loans from family members to be able to help them. And the more they become
00:19:16
Speaker
knowledgeable about the finances, the more they're able to put aside and also start to build that support network and what their life is going to look like after they leave. The more likely they're going to be able to do so and also do so in a, in a safe way. Those are some great recommendations looking for those additional opportunities to generate simply cashflow.
00:19:40
Speaker
right on the side without their partner being aware. Thank you for sharing. It definitely, it can be very difficult on average. It takes women, I think it's about seven attempts to actually leave an abusive relationship. I know this is really hard conversation. This is a really hard conversation. I've been wanting to have this conversation, but I haven't really properly
00:20:02
Speaker
prepared myself mentally and emotionally to have this conversation because I'm always just so excited to connect with awesome women who are doing awesome, awesome work. I've seen it working with dozens of dozens of women. Dealing with this is that they go on to live amazing lives and often they're choosing professions also that pay it forward. Yeah. And so while these are very
00:20:27
Speaker
sad, difficult stories to talk about, the more we talk about them in these forums, the less likely it's going to happen, right? Because part of how financial abuse exists is that there's silence around it. By people talking about this is when we start to be able to realize what's going on.
00:20:47
Speaker
and then how we can get the help and how we can support each other. So I'm really excited that more than ever we're talking about this and also teaching our little girls, right? So I have a daughter who's 14. She is one of the strongest, coolest girls I've ever
00:21:04
Speaker
met. She likes martial arts, Dungeons and Dragons, and indoor skydiving. So I can't even ever imagine letting her have her spouse tell her what to do. What? You know, I've realized that I've need to educate her, right? I need to educate her so that she can go into a partnership as a financial equal, know her worth, know how to have a healthy relationship around money with herself and also with her partner. So I think that that's really powerful is that we can take from this of what do we learn?
00:21:34
Speaker
How can we learn more about finances to empower ourselves? And how can we teach that next generation, boys and girls? Yeah, totally. Which actually brings me to my next question as we're talking about the next generation. Most of our listeners are very ambitious, career-driven women in their 20s and early 30s on the younger side, for sure.
00:21:57
Speaker
Some of them work in big corporate, others are entrepreneurs and founders themselves. Christi here from you Stacey, as we young women navigate dating and are considering marriage down the road, what should we keep in mind to protect our hard-earned money and maybe even our businesses? I know that you dibbles and business owners with that side of things specifically. I personally am a hundred percent team prenup, but I know that there are a lot of people out there who
00:22:27
Speaker
believe that having a prenup is totally unromantic and that people who sign prenups believe that their marriage will ultimately fail, which obviously that's not where people are coming from at all, but would just love for you to provide some insights.
00:22:42
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I look at it as you get auto insurance, but just the fact that you're getting auto insurance doesn't mean you're going to get an accident. A lot of people are getting prenups. In fact, there's been a 500% increase in prenups, the number of people doing this in healthy marriages. This is just even over the last decade. They can really protect not only you, but they can also protect your spouse.
00:23:06
Speaker
And I think the reason why there's this negative connotation of prenups is that the prenup that you might be thinking about is the one where it says, you don't get anything. I've even seen prenups that said, if there's not sex once a week, they don't get a payment of X. FYI, that one was thrown out. That is really not allowed. What prenups are good prenups, healthy prenups,
00:23:35
Speaker
It's to protect both of you. It's to protect you with the assets that you bring to the marriage. It's also to protect your future spouse with the assets that they bring to the marriage. It also can protect you from deciding, let's say you give up your career for the purposes of raising children, to make sure that you're gonna be financially compensated for doing that if, God forbid, things don't work out because you've just given up your business. You've just given up your entire career earnings and future.
00:24:05
Speaker
It can also protect if your spouse comes into that partnership with debt, protecting gets you having to pay for that or a house that you purchased. So there are so many different things that a prenup can do. And I have to say that it can be really romantic because it forces you to actually get real and talk about money. And what do we know about couples that talk about money, couples who talk about money?
00:24:34
Speaker
stay together. And they're happier. And this is just one of those things. And I remember having these conversations with my husband about money before we got married.
Prenups and Financial Conversations in Relationships
00:24:45
Speaker
And it was very helpful because I knew that I was dating someone and going to be marrying someone who was the antithesis of who I was. If I have a dollar, I try to scrounge and save two. If he has a dollar, he tries to spend three.
00:25:01
Speaker
And you can wonder after 23 years, how are we so darn happy? We're really happy. And what we've done is we've talked about money. And we've made it very clear about like, for me, I've made it very clear, this is the amount of savings that we need to do each year for me to feel safe. Because for me, having money is an actual physical safety thing for me.
00:25:25
Speaker
because of my upbringing. It's more than just knowing I'm going to be okay financially. It's almost a life and death thing because I was so scarred of seeing someone trapped. And for him, he doesn't have that background. He can't really relate to why this is so important, but he also has realized that I'm a pretty awesome person and he wants to remain married to me. And so let's figure out a way to do this. And we've worked beautifully.
00:25:52
Speaker
beautifully over the years, but it's all about talking. And so a prenup is that first conversation. And again, just dispelling the myth, it's not about screwing someone. And if you're looking at a prenup and you feel like you're being screwed, then most likely you really need to reflect if this is your true partner. If this is the partner that you want to go through the next 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years by your side, because they may not be.
00:26:20
Speaker
and it really is telling. I'm so glad that you shared even your own personal experience with money in your own relationship and marriage. Thank you for doing that. It's great to hear that even people who have
00:26:36
Speaker
Complete opposite relationships with with money are still able to sit down and work it out. I love that so congratulations to you and your partner for having made it 23 years. You said that's pretty incredible and I totally agree.
00:26:51
Speaker
to your point that you were making towards the end. If you feel like you're being screwed in this prenup, then yeah, that other person probably doesn't have your best interest at heart to begin with. I'm curious to hear what is it like Stacey. Sometimes one partner in that relationship might be coming from a wealthier family. And so the family is very insistent on having that very
00:27:20
Speaker
a safe prenup, what does that look like? And how do couples usually navigate that? We usually see TV shows about this where if you don't sign the prenup, I'm not going to bless your marriage. That's typically not the situation. If that is the case, it's usually family wealth. And quite frankly, money that would be received by inheritance
00:27:43
Speaker
is separate property anyway. So I'm a certified divorce financial analyst. I joke that maybe that's why I have such a good marriage. He's a little afraid of me, but when all reality and not being too funny, when it comes to a breakup, there's marital property that was earned during the marriage, right? And that's split equitably. And then there's the property that either
00:28:05
Speaker
was brought to the marriage or was inherited. And that typically is separate property. So every once in a while you will see a prenup that's completely not appropriate. And what I would say is it's really important to make sure that you have your own legal counsel. I mean, you just have to. If you don't have someone that's guiding you separate to the attorney for your future spouse,
00:28:27
Speaker
you're really making a mistake. You are really making a mistake. This is the rest of your life, the rest of your future. So you want that outside perspective. For many of us, we spend more time researching where we're going to go on our honeymoon than we would for this. And I have to tell you, this is even more important, even more important.
00:28:46
Speaker
Absolutely. Having a second opinion and making sure you are working with someone who actually has your best interest at heart, very, very important. Just when you go to a doctor and you might want to get at least a second diagnosis from another doctor, right? Just to, to cover your basis and make more informed decisions about either your body or your finances.
00:29:08
Speaker
What about businesses? Let's say you get married and then one partner decides to start their own company after having been married. How do you protect yourself and your business from having to give up 50% of your business to your partner that you want to divorce?
00:29:25
Speaker
So if you're starting the business during your marriage is considered marital assets, but something that will make you feel better. And this isn't legal advice, but what I have seen is that that business, it's typically not a 50-50 split. If your partner is just a, they have their own career or they're doing their own thing,
00:29:46
Speaker
Typically we see divisions where the other spouse might get 10%, they might get 30%. And so typically what happens is there's a valuation of the business and often there's lots of discounts. Maybe there's a minority interest discount. Maybe there's a lack of marketability discount that again brings the price down. And then once you have that value, then there's the determination of, okay, what portion, if any, would be subject to
00:30:14
Speaker
equitable distribution of the divorce. I know for me, a huge part of our net worth is my business. And I created my business while we were married. And so we've talked about doing what's called a post-nup, which is something you do after you're already married.
00:30:32
Speaker
And it's not to screw him out of the business. It's just to put in a clause that I would have a certain period of time, maybe seven years or something like that, that I could then buy out his portion because I don't want to leave any of my employees financially vulnerable of me having to sell to another company to be able to then pay out my ex-husband.
00:30:58
Speaker
So there are a lot of things to think about. And what I would say, when you're drafting your prenup, these are all fantastic questions for your attorney. And you're going to talk to either an estate planning attorney for this, or you're going to talk to a matrimonial attorney. And you just want to make sure that they do a lot of prenups and that it's not just, oh, this is my first prenup or my second prenup. You really want to make sure that it's a really thriving part of their practice.
00:31:26
Speaker
Amazing. Yeah, I've heard of the post nubs before, specifically a female founder who would build a company after getting married, trying to protect that company. So I'm very, very happy that you.
00:31:38
Speaker
who brought that up and are providing so much great guidance and also those resources. So thank you for that Stacey. I know you're also helping widows and women specifically to prepare for retirement in general. And we all know that on average women live longer than men, which means that technically we actually need more money in retirement than men. And then yet in year of 2023, the gender pay, gender wealth and gender funding gaps are still very, very real, unfortunately.
00:32:07
Speaker
And because women who are in retirement now belong to a generation that was rarely encouraged to learn how to save and invest in a sustainable way. And for many, it was their husbands who were managing household finances if they were in a heterosexual relationship. So as a result of that, many older women end up living in poverty. And this is a trend that you can see across many different countries. And this is especially the case when they become widows, right? And they've never been exposed to their household finances.
00:32:35
Speaker
I want to believe that my generation is a little bit better prepared because we have different opportunities compared to women who grew up, let's say, in the 1940s or 1950s. So curious to hear from you, Stacey, what are some of these key decisions that women in their 20s and 30s can and should make today in order to set themselves up?
00:32:53
Speaker
for long-term financial success and prevent poverty as they grow older. I'm really happy that you bring that up because 50% of widows aged 65 and above exist on $24,000 a year, right? I mean, that mic drop, how do you survive on $24,000 a year? What's interesting, and this is disheartening, but even the younger generations
00:33:17
Speaker
we're starting to see women step back from being involved in the finances.
Financial Engagement of Millennial Women Post-Marriage
00:33:22
Speaker
In fact, there was a study that came out that showed that the millennial generation group of women, as soon as they became married, compared to other, the baby boomers, the Gen X, the Gen Z, the greatest generation that were married, the millennials actually had the least engagement with their money, women. Okay, it just broke my heart. So I think this is a message that we all need to really hear.
00:33:46
Speaker
And there's three things that I really would suggest that you focus on. You get very clear about what you need to save on an annual basis to build a long-term financial secure future. And so that's for retirement. And you can work with a financial advisor. There are a ton of fantastic calculators. I think it's calculator.com. They have all these fantastic calculators to help you get a better idea of what is that number.
00:34:15
Speaker
and make sure that you hit that number. A good rule of thumb also to use is that you should be saving anywhere from 15 to 20% of your post-tax income. I'm hoping that people are sitting when they're hearing this because that's a big number.
00:34:33
Speaker
You may not be able to do that, but you start off maybe at 5% of your income. And every time you get a raise, instead of raising your standard of living, which is what we do, raise your savings. And by doing that, you're going to see the compounding of interest where your money is going to double
00:34:56
Speaker
triple quadruple over time. The best thing that you can do is in your 20s and 30s is to get started savings. And I know that we try to be perfect. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
00:35:18
Speaker
Do what you can, celebrate what you can. You may even find yourself not able to save towards retirement because you're paying off student loans. Well then, whatever that dollar amount, that ideally 15 to 20% of your post-tax income, that savings, instead of having it go towards investments, put it towards paying off high interest debt.
00:35:43
Speaker
whether it's credit cards, maybe student loans at a high interest rate. By doing that and continuing to live essentially below your means, you're going to find yourself much more financially secure. I spoke with a woman today who the maximum they've ever made is $300,000 together as a married couple. She's going through the divorce process and they have over $4.2 million invested.
00:36:09
Speaker
in the stock market. Wow. And I asked her, how did she do this? And she said, what? We just always made sure we hit that savings number and then we lived on the rest. And so that's what I would, again, say as the most valuable piece of advice that you can do to set yourself up for long-term financial success.
00:36:28
Speaker
I can only echo that. In fact, on this podcast, we talk a lot about the power of compound interest. And I always like to tell our audience members, hey, on payday, you should pay yourself, specifically your future self first before you start spending that money on all the fun things in life.
00:36:46
Speaker
And we always encourage our audience members to set up automatic deductions, either directly from their paycheck, if they work for a company, specifically when they provide an employer match for 401k, for example, if there's some sort of employee stock purchase program that they're interested in participating in, but then also automatic deductions from their checking accounts to their high yield savings accounts, for example, or their brokerage accounts. That's something that we.
00:37:16
Speaker
definitely emphasize a lot. So I'm really, really glad that you brought this up again. And also the fact that you emphasized, Hey, you might not be able to start out at 20% right away, but it's those small changes following the James clear 1% better every single day. Right. And that again, intelligently over time.
00:37:36
Speaker
And especially when you're still in your twenties time in the market is more important than the actual amount of money that you put in because you can be as wealthy. As you can be a millionaire in your fifties but if you haven't started investing before then you just don't have enough years specifically not enough decades left for that compound interest magic to do its work while you're asleep so.
00:38:00
Speaker
love that you emphasize that Stacey. I always like to close with the same question for each of my guests. So Stacey, curious to hear from you. What's a financial milestone that you have achieved personally that you are most proud of?
Stacey Francis's Entrepreneurial Journey
00:38:13
Speaker
Thank you for asking. I have had quite a financial journey. When I started Savvy Ladies, I started it with a hundred dollars. When I started Francis Financial, I actually found the check a couple of weeks ago, the picture of it. I started it with $10,000.
00:38:26
Speaker
And I was the lowest paid employee for over a decade, many years not even paid. And I took that money and plowed it back into the charity and the work that we were doing and then slowly over time growing our team here.
00:38:43
Speaker
I'm most proud of the fact that I'm now in a place where I make a phenomenal living, I'm able to support my family, and I'm able to give big through an absolute amazing charity. And so something that I'm kind of getting comfortable with a title of, which I'm kind of excited about, is that I'm a social entrepreneur. I love that title, and what that title means to me
00:39:10
Speaker
is that I'm able to compensate myself financially the way that I deserve, and I'm able to give big and pay it forward and help with the charity. So I'm really excited. I'm also really excited because my kids see this. They know how hard I work.
00:39:29
Speaker
They know I love it, but they also have been able to see the changes we've been able to make in our life, where they have 529 plans for college and they know that they can go to college. We have this amazing sailboat and we sail, I don't know, 30 times a year. And they see all these amazing opportunities that we've been able to create for our family.
00:39:54
Speaker
And at the same time, really be able to create opportunities for some people who are really struggling financially. So it feels really good. It feels really good. I'm really proud. Has not been an easy journey to get here, but we did it. And my family sacrificed, my husband sacrificed, but my God, like we're here. It's really, it's pretty phenomenal. Pretty phenomenal.
00:40:19
Speaker
And I can hear that pride and all of those emotions through the screen. I mean, we're doing this virtually, right? I can really feel that positive energy. So it's definitely something that you should be so, so proud of. Stacey, thank you so much for sharing your story with us and our listeners today. I cannot wait for this episode to go live because I know this will be beneficial to so many people, specifically women out there.
00:40:46
Speaker
Thank you again for showing up with so much vulnerability and sharing your expertise and all of that amazing advice. Really, really appreciate it. And thank you for all the important work that you do. Well, this podcast makes my heart sing and thank you so much for doing this work because it really does matter. Thank you.
00:41:07
Speaker
Hey there, not so fast. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you've listened in from today. Reviews are a podcaster's most important currency. It helps me create visibility for the incredible women who join me on this show. And if you've made it this far, I'd like to believe that supporting women is one of your favorite pastimes.
00:41:32
Speaker
If you already left the review, first of all thank you, but why not share this episode with a friend or post it to your Instagram story? Thank you for helping me on my mission to make women rich by making women rich.