Ladies With Loot: How They Spend, How They Save, How They Live, and How To Be One Yourself

By Erica L. McCain

Women balance home, work, children and other relationships...so why are so many of us so bad at balancing our own accounts? In this simple step-by-step guideline, financial professional Erica L. McCain, LUTCF explains the traps that women fall into when trying to save for their future--and how they can avoid them. Ladies with loot are those women w

• Language: English
• Publisher: McCain & Associates of Ohio,LLC
• Release date: Jun 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781939758705

Erica L. McCain

Erica L. McCain, LUTCF is a financial professional with over 20 years experience and the founder of McCain & Associates of Ohio, LLC. She pursues her true passion of helping clients understand complex issues in all stages of their lives and careers. Erica L. McCain is a member of MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table), the premier association of financial professionals and also the author of Ladies With Loot: How They Spend, How They Save, and How To Be One Yourself

Book preview

Introduction

Who are the ladies with loot?

They are secure, confident women who budget appropriately and reap the benefits. Ladies with loot are not drowning in unsecured debt (i.e., credit cards) or living paycheck to paycheck. They can support themselves as well as contributing financially to the family unit, and they sleep well at night knowing that they have a safety net in place, even if the worst happens. Ladies with loot are not beholden to anyone, and they do not need to pass up opportunities for lack of breathing space in their budgets.

In my career as a financial professional, I work predominantly with women who have salaries ranging from $45,000 to $145,000. Despite the differences in their economic situation, many of my clients have the same financial problems. One might expect the women who are making $145,000 to have a more robust savings account. In reality, they just have a bigger pile of frivolous purchases. Many of these women want desperately to live the ladies with loot lifestyle, but they are sabotaging themselves and the worst part is, they don’t even know it. There are so many destructive financial habits that women are trained to think are normal and even thrifty that counseling my clients is sometimes more like de-programming them!

I wrote this book because there is certainly no shortage of financial self-help books out there, but few of them talk frankly about the reality for women. The truth is, women do face unique pressures and challenges when it comes to spending—or saving—their hard-earned cash.

I am no exception and will not pretend that I’ve never made a bad financial decision, but I have learned from those mistakes. In my life and my career, I’ve committed myself to finding ways to spend smarter, save more, and protect the things that are truly valuable.

This book represents a comprehensive approach to financial education (or, in many cases, re-education) that will allow you to recognize bad fiscal habits and correct them. If you think seriously about these ideas and work them into your daily life, you can recover your safety net, your independence, and your financial self-confidence!

Who are the ladies with loot? You are.

PART ONE

If Women Are So Thrifty,

Why Don’t They Save More Money?

chapter 1

Do You Need It?

Or Do You Just Want It?

Think about how you wake up any given morning. Perhaps you check your e-mail, clicking through advertisements from Macy’s, Bath and Body Works, Groupon, and assorted other retailers. 50% off at Banana Republic! SALE on Summer Dresses!

Then, maybe you flip on the TV just in time to catch Today’s Steals and Deals segment, where Jill Martin is exhorting you to buy yoga pants. As you eat breakfast, you flip through the paper, past coupons for downtown restaurants.

Before you have even taken a shower, you are inundated with, potentially, dozens of advertisements. To be more specific, you are inundated with deals. Women, even more so than men, are encouraged to take advantage of a good deal. Think back on how many advertising campaigns have been founded on the idea that a savvy woman is the one who uses the most coupons!

Deals seduce us in a couple of ways. First and foremost, they present a false sense of scarcity. When we see Summer Sale! Half price on ballet flats!, we immediately think: those ballet flats are going to be gone soon! The summer is over in two months!