Where to Begin …?

It is difficult to believe that women have only had equal access to credit for just over fifty years.

FIFTY. YEARS!

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 allowed women, regardless of marital status, to apply for credit without a husband or father co-signing for them.

In my career, while financial services still tends to be a male-dominated field, I cannot imagine a woman being told she needs to have her husband or her father come in and open an account with her.

Of course, women opening accounts with their husbands is very common … though, really, husbands tend to be the ones taking the initiative to set up accounts, make investment decisions, seek out answers to the best way to preserve assets for the future, and so on. The women I encounter often are in need of additional education regarding financial matters and most still defer to “whatever he says we should do is what we should do.”

Anyone who has worked with me knows that I respect this approach, but I still push every client to understand better what is happening. I work to support and assist in better comprehension of the complexity that comes along with the world in which I have built a career.

I have running in my mind frequently, the quote often attributed to Albert Einstein:

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

How often have we been in a situation where we are struggling to understand what a professional is telling us? Not only in finance, but in healthcare or government or legal matters … who do we trust? How do we know we are doing the right thing for our unique situations?

I often tell my clients that I do not have all of the answers. However, I also seek to help them understand enough to make decisions for themselves; I am simply a guide. I will do as much research as I can. I will get into the weeds as deeply as we need to get into them and I will help them find clarity in confusing, emotional, challenging situations.

However … an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better comprehension before encountering issues helps us when we do confront those issues.

With this blog, I intend to offer information that will be worthwhile to you. I am speaking to anyone who feels that they just do not “get it”, or that they “cannot get it”.

You can. You deserve to “get it”. One step at a time. We can walk on this journey together.

Sincerely,

~Jacqui O.