An hour of empowerment on wealth management: Sage Advice Live with Kate McCallum
Thank you to our Second 50 expert member, financial adviser and author Kate McCallum for sharing her vast knowledge during our member-only Sage Advice Live session. It was an hour of education and empowerment that inspired both reflection and positive action for women keen to optimise their wealth management for now and the future – whatever the current situation.
The live session wasn’t just about money though. Kate set the context by sharing research to explain how major life changes that women face from midlife onwards can impact our physical, mental and financial wellbeing. She also explained the specific financial challenges that women face. Then, within this context, she laid out a whole suite of positive, practical and simple ways to make the most of our money.
Context: what challenges do midlife women face?
I hadn’t expected to learn so many facts and insights around Second 50 life changes in this session, but Kate knew how important this is in any woman’s financial planning process. What I’ve highlighted below doesn’t touch the surface of the research she explored, but at a high level, the 4 themes around life changes were:
1. Changing family dynamics – including navigating divorce, managing ageing parents and in-laws, launching children into independence (or dealing with boomerang kids), as well as dealing with re-partnering, stepchildren, shifting sibling relationships, deaths and more.
2. Changing self – encompassing physical changes, as well as psychological impacts on self-esteem and perceptions around goal attainment; as well as more developmental and spiritual focus for women.
3. Changing work dynamics – issues like redundancy and the difficulty of re-employment, job boredom and the transition to retirement, including the shift from earning to drawing on accumulated capital.
4. Resources – including questions about income and assets to support a desired lifestyle, costs and health costs (including adult children), decisions about where to live as well as upsizing and downsizing.
Kate shared many insights and anecdotes around how these changes can impact us, but there was also a key message around action: “The main thing I want you to take out of these four challenges is that if you’re facing any elements of any of them, it is completely normal. It can be overwhelming, but don’t let the overwhelm stop you from taking positive action.”
So, what does positive action look like?
One positive action is aligning your spending and saving with your personal values (for those with partners, this means navigating both sets of values).
Kate shared a tool (see below) to help you do that, noting: “If you want to be happy with how you manage and spend your money, the secret is to spend in line with your values. Identify what's most important to you – not to your neighbour, your best friend, or your siblings – but what matters to you.”
Another action Kate encouraged is to set some goals and priorities for the next 5-10 years, and to do this in the context of the major milestones and changes that might happen in your life. She’s gifted us a tool to do that too (see below). She said: “It’s a simple framework, but it's surprisingly helpful, so I encourage everybody to have a look at the priorities and goals mapping exercise. And if you've got a significant other, sit down in a relaxed spot and start to map it out.”
Don’t let lack of confidence prevent action
A key message repeated throughout the session is not to let a lack of confidence prevent action.
“The academic research shows that a high percentage of women report feeling very anxious about money and that becomes a barrier to action. So, my number one thing is to accept the challenges as real, but don’t let them stop you. Make them an opportunity to act, to get some help and get moving.”
Kate said she often reminded people who lack financial confidence that you don’t need to be a mechanic to drive a car. “Nor do you need to be an expert in investing to invest confidently. You just need to know enough, and you need to have somebody you can trust that you can ask.”
This Sage Advice Live was packed with information and encouragement to get moving. This included the importance of scenario planning for the unexpected; clarifying financial gaps; the ‘jigsaw puzzle’ of insurance; using the ASFA retirement standard to help you work out the lump sum needed at retirement age for a comfortable lifestyle; smart ways to top up super, including the benefits of catch-up contributions for women with a total super balance of less than $500,000. Kate also explained how to take stock of your finances (without comparing to others), why it’s important to spend on some ‘guilt-free’ pleasures, and how to determine how much you can save for your future self and enjoy your life today. And so much more.
If you want to gain the full benefit of Kate’s ‘sage advice’, members can watch the recording for yourself, but Kate’s overall message was clear: By aligning your spending with your values, taking stock of finances, and planning for the future – Second 50 women can be more prepared and resilient for whatever challenges arise. You’ll also get more joy out of whatever money you have!
Watch Kate’s Sage Advice Live session here (member log-in required)
Download Kate's tools in the Learning Hub Library (member log-in required)
Kate has generously shared four high-value tools to help our community members take positive steps towards a financially empowered future.
About Kate McCallum
Kate McCallum is a financial advisor and director of award-winning firm, Multiforte Financial Services. With more than 30 years’ financial services experience, she is also a commentator in the money media and has a regular gig on ABC Radio’s “On the Money” segment. Kate holds post-graduate qualifications in Commerce, Applied Finance & Investment, and Financial Planning; and is an SMSF Specialist Advisor. Kate was awarded AFA’s 2014 Female Excellence in Advice Award.