By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work Are you in a hurry to find your next job or consulting gig? Perhaps you were recently laid off, or the company you worked for these past 10 years closed its doors. After a lengthy and successful tenure, you find yourself in the position of having to tell friends and strangers about your value to future employers. As a woman who entered the job market at a time when we all expected to stay with the same company until retirement, you may be looking outside of your former employer’s doors at a startling new employment landscape... Read More

By Kathleen Winsor-Games NABBW’s Associate for Women and Work Is your career moving forward on a path of your choosing and in a fulfilling direction? Have you begun to feel that your career is something that is happening to you, without your guidance or input? If it feels as though your career has gone into a sideways skid and you aren’t sure how to regain control, read on for sure signs of career drift and what you can do about it. For us Baby Boomer Women, career drift can happen for a number of reasons: We took time off to be full-time mothers, or worked only part-time until our children... Read More

Winning at Working: Incremental Actions Trump New Year’s Resolutions By Nan Russell NABBW’s Associate for Winning at Work A recent study found that nearly half of us will make New Year’s resolutions in 2014, but only eight percent of us will reach or keep the promises we make for ourselves. Maybe that’s why I’m not a big fan of New Years resolutions. Sure I’ve made dozens of them, all with good intentions and a bit of magical thinking, believing this time the resolution will stick. Maybe a few have, but generally these wishful self-promises end up broken. And when that happens my... Read More

By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business? Simply enjoying more time with your grandchildren? Whatever your goal, you\’ll need a retirement income plan that\’s designed to support the retirement lifestyle that you envision, and minimize the risk that you\’ll outlive your savings. When will you retire? Establishing a... Read More

By Dumont Gerken-Owen, PhD, Certified Career Management Coach  NABBW’s Women and Work Expert Would you rather eat a worm than create a personal career brand? In reality, developing a personal career brand  doesn’t have to be torture because you are already living it. The fact is, you don’t create a personal brand:  You discover it. Simply said, think of your personal brand as the essence of whom you are and the unique attributes only you can bring to the table.  The key to a powerful brand is understanding your authentic self- the values, passions, personality preferences, knowledge... Read More

Why Women Need Life Insurance By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert At any age, health care is a priority. But when you retire, you should probably focus more on health care than ever before. This is especially true for women. Women live longer, develop certain chronic conditions (e.g., osteoporosis) at a higher rate than men, and are more apt to experience medical limitations that directly affect their daily activities. That\’s why it\’s particularly important for women to factor in the cost of health care, including long-term care, as part of... Read More

Jumping Work-Hurdles By Nan S. Russell NABBW’s Winning At Work Expert It feels great at the end of a workday to know you\’ve made progress on a mounting to-do list, resolved a persistent problem, dealt with a difficult challenge, or accomplished an important objective. Yet, too often we get to the end of a day and haven\’t felt feelings of satisfaction, accomplishment, or progress at work, at least not as much as we\’d like. Instead, frustration, bureaucracy, and unresponsiveness creep in to thwart our well-being. The days when frustration rules are difficult progress... Read More

Why Women Need Life Insurance By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert Today, women have more financial responsibilities than ever before. How will your family or loved ones manage financially if you die? Whether you are single, married, employed, or a stay-at-home mom, you probably need life insurance. At the very least, life insurance can help pay for the costs of funeral and burial services, estate administration, outstanding debts, estate taxes, and the uninsured expenses of a final illness. Who needs life insurance? Working women Increasingly, families... Read More

Women and the Retirement Ripple Effect By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert Women today are an integral part of our economy and key financial decision-makers in their families. In the last 40 years, women\’s incomes have risen more than 60% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and women control 51% of the private wealth in America1. Despite this influence, there are certain factors distinct to women that create challenging retirement realities for them. As a group, lower wages on average and more time spent out of the workforce than men... Read More

Financial Challenges of Caring for an Aging Parent or Parents By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert It was your parents who made sure the tooth fairy never forgot you, and took care of all the bumps and bruises of childhood. They were taking the pictures when you graduated from high school, and later when you married. When you gave them grandchildren, you could see them glow with pride. Now, they are aging and unable to live alone. They need your help with some things and you are bringing them to live with you. The challenges are the same whether you assisting... Read More