Women's Money Wisdom

Episode 186: Financial Independence: A Midlife Woman's Guide with Nancy McKenna

• Nancy McKenna • Season 4 • Episode 186

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Get ready to be empowered! Our guest on this episode, Nancy McKenna, is here to help single midlife women take control of their financial futures. With over 35 years of experience in corporate accounting and a successful 17-year stint in real estate investing, Nancy is brimming with practical insights to help you navigate your financial picture. In this episode, Co-Host Melissa Fradenburg, CDFA®️, AIF® and Nancy discuss money management for midlife women, the necessity of financial literacy, and the sweet freedom that comes with financial independence. Nancy deftly demonstrates how financial freedom gives you the power to shape your life and extend a helping hand to others.  She encourages you to understand your net worth, set clear goals, and view your financial life through the lens of a full balance sheet. 
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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast. I'm Melissa Joy, a certified financial planner and founder of Pearl Planning. I'm Melissa Freidenberg, financial advisor. We dive deep into topics like work-life balance, financial planning, personal growth and the intricacies of the sandwich generation. Tune in for money conversations that every woman needs to have. Hello and welcome to Women's Money Wisdom Podcast. This is Melissa Freidenberg, and this week our guest is Nancy McKenna.

Speaker 1:

Nancy is a money coach with a passion for transforming the lives of single midlife women by helping them attain true financial freedom and independence. With more than 35 years of experience as a corporate accountant and 17 years as a successful real estate investor, nancy brings a wealth of knowledge and practical expertise to her clients. Nancy is the owner and coach at Midlife Money Mastery and we are so happy to have you here. Welcome to the podcast, nancy, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:

We've been chatting for a little bit. We have a couple of things in common. I'm from New Jersey, nancy's currently in New Jersey, so I love that right off the bat. But what struck me about Nancy and her is her passion specifically working with women in that middle-aged range. I work with all ages, men and women, but this is also my sweet spot of women that I love to work with because I love to watch them transform into taking ownership of their financial picture, knowing what they have and really feeling secure in it. I wanted to bring Nancy here today to speak to the importance of taking ownership as a woman, and specifically woman in your midlife. But before we get into the topic too much, I just want to see if you would share a little bit about background and how you came to be a money coach.

Speaker 2:

So my background is in corporate accounting I worked for I started out in the San Francisco Bay Area and then I moved back to New York 12 years ago. Through my corporate accounting I had a lot of coworkers that I came to admire their money management skills and some of them in particular were real estate investors. So I went down that path. I decided that was going to be my ticket for retirement, since I was not going to be getting any pensions. So when I moved back to New York, I worked for tech companies the last 20 years and unfortunately I was always the oldest one in the room and I think because of that and because I chose to have two children on my own, so I was responsible for both myself and my kids. I wanted them to have the college funds and the summer vacations and all the things kids with two parents had. So I took money really, really seriously and once I did, I just felt like you can build wealth pretty quickly once you put your mind to it and you're serious about it. And I realized that other women I worked with that might have been in their 50s as well. They didn't seem to be taking it quite as seriously and just felt like saying what do you think is going to happen? Like I honestly I don't understand it. I felt like there was a ticking time bomb on the corner of my desk, just like save, save, hurry, hurry.

Speaker 2:

You know, thing I mentioned is the three, what I call the three D's, and that's death, divorce and disability, and one of these things has probably happened to someone that you know. That's surprised, or worse, after 20 years. Or maybe you become disabled in some minor or large way, where you're unable to work like you used to. Or maybe there's a death, and in my case, my son died four years ago after a very brief illness. It was a total shock, total devastation, and I stopped working as soon as I could, basically, and so I didn't work for a while, and then I realized, you know what I want something productive to do, constructive, and I feel like this is a very underserved market. This midlife, single, midlife, women yes, so I think it's. You know it's important. There's no manual for any of this.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I also think it's really important to hear from not only a woman that has experienced, but just from a woman. I think there's just a different style in delivering information when it comes from a woman to another woman. I'm curious if this is your thought too. My experience maybe that sometimes women who aren't maybe having that urgency or that like feeling that they need to take agency for their finances, they have this like head in the sand syndrome, because they feel like they don't know what they're doing, so they just don't think about it. It's not even that they don't care, but it's almost like this.

Speaker 1:

But it's just been put in our heads that, like you know, this is kind of a man's job to take care of the finances, and historically it has been. And whether you never got married, like you mentioned, you just you had kids on your own, so you're always a single mom or you are surprised after years of marriage and find yourself ending up as a single mother. Women are absolutely capable of raising kids and you know, managing a household, managing the day to day finances and the long term finances. We just need a little bit of direction to get that financial literacy, and I'm so happy that women like you are out there doing it, so thank you.

Speaker 2:

I just hope more women just raise their hand and say, yes, I would love a little help, because I'm 55 and I don't know how much longer I can work. You know I'm not saying everyone should quit their jobs, but the point is, if you're financially independent, you can choose what you do and money helps you do so many things. You can help other people, you know, and I set up a scholarship with my son's name and I'd love to do more with that, and you may have family members that need help.

Speaker 2:

I really tell people money doesn't buy you happiness, but it does give you options 100%, and that's also the importance of the financial cushion that so many people don't have is you need to control what you can, because you don't know what life's going to throw at you, and I have prolonged job loss. So I just say, you know, control what you can. And a financial cushion is just so important because these job losses can last the amount of time or maybe the new job won't pay as well.

Speaker 1:

Well, I had women tell me they're going to just work forever, right, you know, there's disability, not just physical disability but in your case, like emotional disability, there are things that come up that change that. So your plan to just work till 75, that is not necessarily a good plan to have, right.

Speaker 2:

No, because you can't. You just simply don't know what's going to happen.

Speaker 1:

So would you say that you've always been this way, or like because of your accounting background? Is this something? Yeah?

Speaker 2:

I think that really helped and, honestly, I always had good jobs with good companies, but I don't think I really took my money seriously until I was in my early 30s. And once I did start taking it seriously, you know, within a year I owned my first home. And then, I know, when I was 35, I worked for a tech company out in the Bay Area and I had stock options worth a million dollars and I thought, with stock options, you know, that bomb thing happened, but I was okay because I think, luckily, my parents were really good money managers and so I had a really good model. And you know, I think the model is spending your money on things that are long term, like a home or a college education.

Speaker 2:

Everything else in my mind was not as important. And men, women, young, old they have no idea where they even are right now. So that's the first thing I tell women to do is I have a little spreadsheet it's old school, but I'm an accountant and just where are you right now? Like, what is your net worth right now? Most people don't know.

Speaker 1:

They don't. And I will say, as a financial planner, that's the first thing we do is get it on there and I compare it. I know it seems a little getting on the scale. It's the same thing when I know I've gained some weight and things aren't fitting as the way they should. That like taking the initiative to get on the scale and seeing how bad it actually is. And sometimes you get on there, it's not as bad, right. Sometimes it's like, oh okay, it's only like two pounds.

Speaker 2:

I mean the exact same thing and comparing it, because unless you get on a scale routinely, it's easy to let the weight creep on, and I shouldn't.

Speaker 1:

But I just think it's the same thing with your money, but yeah on that scale and figure out where you are right now, what is your net worth and what is your goal. For it to be Like how, in order to get there, you've got to figure out where you want to be and where you are in order to, like, make progress.

Speaker 2:

So, I think looking at that net worth, looking at your assets, looking at your liabilities and your debts is just. You'll figure out where your trouble spots are, and I think you know debt is is a huge issue for many Americans. But you simply can't retire if you're still carrying debt, won't have money to invest if you're always paying down debt.

Speaker 1:

And to your point about like Instagram and all the stuff, I get sucked into some of that, but I'm also a little bit cheap, so I don't spend the big bucks on. Botox and everything like that. But I do feel that it's starting younger and younger. Like I'm just like I'm girls and I'm like girl. You don't even have a wrinkle Like I can see somebody in their fifties being like I'm going to spend this amount every three months.

Speaker 2:

I know these women in their thirties. Like you know, I think it's. I'm a firm believer in personal responsibility and I think if you just own it and say, you know what some people choose not to spend money on certain things.

Speaker 1:

But what are some of the biggest money mistakes that you see?

Speaker 2:

women make For most people, men and women, both. They don't think enough about the future. Like I said earlier, you know we're not getting pensions. It's up to us and I don't know what people think that saves. A little like monthly cost being too high, People spending money on things that are not that important to them in the long run and then they don't have money for the things that are important in the long run.

Speaker 1:

Do you know how many people I meet with that are actually spending more than they have coming in every month and don't know it? They don't know it? Well, they don't. They feel like they probably are, because they have like 30,000 in credit card debt and they don't really know what they spent it on. But yeah, just sitting down and saying this is what we have coming in each month and this is what we have going out, that's one of the first things I do and I will say it doesn't seem to matter if they're making 40,000 a year or 400,000 a year, just as many people are overspending the lifestyle creep that you hear about.

Speaker 2:

I think another thing is an over reliance on financial advisors and other professionals. Oh well, my guy says this you know you've got to, like you said, you've got to understand what investments are. You know what the overall plan is that you're working toward, and is that the plan you want?

Speaker 1:

And I think financial advisors can be helpful. There's a whole gamut out there, people they call themselves financial advisors. You really want to look at somebody that's doing holistic financial planning, looking at everything. I mean we want to look at the full balance sheet. I don't feel like everybody should have all of their assets invested in the market.

Speaker 1:

I love having some real estate, some equity in your home, some cash in the bank. Cash is king for those emergencies that come up. So make sure, if you're working with a financial advisor and they're only focusing on the investment portion or only on the retirement accounts, make sure that someone whether it's you or a money coach is looking at the whole picture. So debt and cash savings, emergency savings, equity in your home, monthly bills, all of those things, because that's all part of your healthy finances and making sure that you know what you have and why. It's all part of that big picture. So I just like to plug that, because I see that you know where they have a financial advisor and maybe they sell them like a product or two and they don't care about the other stuff.

Speaker 2:

Right, Right. That's my concern because a friend of mine she said her son had a she called it a life insurance policy. The guy's 20 and it was a few hundred a month and I'm like what does he need life? And then I'm thinking it must be a whole life policy, because why would it be that much? But like he doesn't need life insurance, he's 20 and he's unemployed.

Speaker 1:

So if somebody is listening and they would like to find out more about your money coaching services, how can they locate you?

Speaker 2:

They can go to Nancy-McKennahcom and there's a button there where they sign up for to meet with me, and I'd be, happy to talk with them. I'd love to help.

Speaker 1:

I will link that in the show notes as well, and then any final thoughts. I know we kind of covered a lot of broad. We weren't as specific as I thought we may be, which is fine. I love that we covered a lot, but if there's anything that we really didn't talk about, like one piece of advice for women that are listening out there when it comes to their money, that we haven't covered, what would it be?

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm a big proponent of personal responsibility, so taking responsibility for your successes and your failures because once you do that and you stop blaming other parties, whether it's your boss or your ex-husband or the economy once you start taking responsibility, it's actually freeing because it's all you, you can decide. The sky's the limit and you can become unstoppable. As long as you are willing to take that responsibility and I think it's important- I love that.

Speaker 1:

yeah, key takeaways here that we've talked about figuring out where you are, your net worth today, taking responsibility if you're not where you need to be right, yes, instead of blaming circumstances and then preparing for those circumstances that are beyond your control. So, building up enough of the savings so that, if life throws at you, did you the three Ds right Three.

Speaker 2:

Ds death, divorce or disability.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely. And I like to tell people, if you are listening and you are dealing with one of those Ds right now and feeling well, life seems to be like a game of shoots and ladders. I don't know if did you ever play that with your kids? They were younger. So don't focus on what other people have and you don't. Whether your friends are married and seemingly have a great relationship, life happens. There are gonna be things thrown at them. If you just happened to have just gotten off that shoot and you're starting back from the beginning, pick yourself up. You can feel sorry for yourself for a little bit, but get back on that, start rolling the dice again and get back to that ladder. And you know, don't focus on what other people are where they're at in the Nancy McKenna. She is the owner of Midlife Money Mastery. Thanks, melissa ["Money.

Speaker 1:

Mastery"]. Thank you for listening to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast. If you found value in our conversations, please take a moment to like, follow and subscribe. Wherever you're tuning in from. It helps us continue to bring these valuable insights every week. Head over to women'smoneywisdomcom. There you'll find tools, tips and a supportive community to help you gain financial confidence.

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Melissa Joy, CFP

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