to be positive. This morning is gray and wet and the news about our incredible deficit is so defeating.
Even more defeating is that so many of our elected officials are more concerned about re-election than they are about the future of our nation and our children.
So, I needed an antidote – a quick fix. Once again, I turned to the material I acquired at the More Reinvent Yourself Conference. (If this sounds like an ad for this conference, well, let’s just say I got my money’s worth).
Almost all the speakers had written a book. Have you heard that the Internet is going to do away with the written word? I don’t think so! You can’t make notes on Kindle or Sony ereader and sometimes you just need to turn down the corner of a page.
At any rate, I attended a talk by Jean Chatzky who has written a book called ‘The Difference’. Wells Fargo was one of the sponsors of the seminar and they gave away free copies. I rushed right over to get mine, because Jean made so much sense in her presentation.
She cited research that says that people who are financially secure rate their happiness level at about eight out of a possible ten.
Here’s the kicker that you didn’t expect. Those who ranked nine and ten are NOT as successful. They are just a little too optimistic – pollyannas, perhaps.
If you are a seven, you are close to getting there.
The reason I picked up this book on this gloomy day is – I wanted some good news! Jean has it for you. She’s saying that wealth is less concentrated than ever and that most of the currently wealthy didn’t start out that way.
We all know that women do not get equal pay, but there are indications that the tide is turning – and that women can help make that tide turn faster, by being more assertive in their demands for equal pay. Right now, the average woman earns 81 cents on the dollar compared to men. The prediction is that the average woman will outearn the average man by 2030.
This doesn’t matter much to me, because I won’t be around then, but I hope my daughters will read and take advantage of this information.
Back to Jean’s premise, which is backed by research, that people have behaviors and personality traits, goals and attitudes, that combine to make The Difference in earning power. The study that she undertook along with Merrill Lynch and Harris Interactive is called the 2008 Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study.
One of the key points she made is that very successful people employ social capital to their advantage. That is, they know a wide range of people that they can turn to when they need help.
The statistics they uncovered indicate that the wealthy are at about 3%, the financially comfortable are at 27%, the paycheck-to-paycheckers are at 54% and further-in-debtors are at 15%.
The lifestyles of the ones who are successful possess a specific set of attitudes, behaviors and goals that are a formula they live by.
This book is easy to read, just as Ms. Chatsky is easy to listen to. She is an excellent communicator and the book won’t bore you as so many heavy tomes on finance may have.
More importantly, it tells you what you can change about your attitudes to improve your finances and gives you exercises to help you on your way.
Since I counted myself as a seven, I have some work to do, so I’m going to get back to the book and the exercises now.
