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Willow Talk

Inspirational stories from exemplary women, life journey discussions, and financial guidance where it counts.

Willow Spotlight: Miracle Olatunji

To me, Black History month is about celebrating the trailblazers who have gone before us and uplifting the present-day changemakers. I find myself reflecting on this and recognizing that while progress has been made towards equity and justice, there’s still more work we can all do to make the world a more just place for everyone. 

A Primer on Life Insurance

Simply put, life insurance can help give you peace of mind while you’re alive, and financial support for your loved ones should you pass. It’s something you should have…

Keeping the House

Should I keep my house in the divorce?
 
As you can imagine, the answer to this question is pretty complicated. As you make this crucial decision,  there are several factors to consider in both the practical and the emotional realms…

With clarity and planning, you can manage your risks, better prepare for unexpected life events, safeguard your financial status, and protect your loved ones. 

How Do We Address Unpaid Care Work?

Most of us know someone who grew up with either a stay-at-home mom or a single mom who worked while also managing the household mostly by themselves. It has been a product of our culture that emphasizes that women should work like they don’t have a family, yet take care of their family like they don’t work…

Legacy Planning For a Terminal Illness

Legacy Planning and talking to your loved ones about the potential of losing you is never easy, especially if you’re struggling with your health or have been recently diagnosed with a terminal illness. But from a practical standpoint, it’s important as an integral part of risk management. 

9 Concepts You Actually Need to Understand to Boost Your Financial Health

April is Financial Literacy Month! And while we could give you a list of technical finance terms to know—like amortization, margin, and Sharpe ratios—we thought we’d shed some light on financial concepts that most of us will encounter throughout our lives.

The Crucial Step You Don’t Want to Skip Over When You’re Trying to Improve Your Finances

For humans, making behavioral changes isn’t easy. And truthfully, most of us don’t try to improve ourselves or our finances out of the blue. There’s usually a specific reason, an event, or a guiding force that motivates us to change.

Keeping the House

Should I keep my house in the divorce?
 
As you can imagine, the answer to this question is pretty complicated. As you make this crucial decision,  there are several factors to consider in both the practical and the emotional realms…

Asking for a Friend: What’s The Best Piece of Advice When Going Through Divorce?

 

Willow Spotlight: Author Amanda Benchley on Why Money is Sexy

“When I was younger, I paid a lot of attention to my personal finances,” says journalist, author of three books, and documentary filmmaker Amanda Benchley. “I always thought it was important for women to be independent and to have their own money.”

“But when I got married,” she says, “I didn’t pay attention at all, not even to the money I was making. I just put it in a savings account and never checked my 401k.”

Preparing for divorce

Unfortunately, when paperwork and lawyers start to fill your days, things like working out and making healthy meals fall by the wayside.

Remember, YOU are your most important asset! Especially if you are also caring for your children or other loved ones. You must be healthy and strong to be able to be there for others.

Where Husbands Hide Money During Divorce

Without a doubt, 2020 has brought a new level of stress to many of our lives. The combination of stress from financial hardships, illness, homeschooling children, and more has put a strain on relationships.

One question women often have when things aren’t going well in their marriage is will my husband try to hide money during divorce? If so, where? Although no one really “wins” financially coming out of divorce, women are more negatively impacted than men.

Starting over after divorce

Divorce may be one of the most exhausting and overwhelming transitions out there, but it’s also an opportunity to assess your financial goals, identify what you really want, and ultimately get a handle on your finances.

Read about a three-step process that will get you there, and provide you with a sense of empowerment along the way…

Should I Freeze My Eggs?

Freezing your eggs is an extremely practical approach for a lot of individuals who want to have kids later in life. It has grown increasingly popular in the last few years. However, the process can be intensive and quite expensive.

Budgeting For Fertility

Now that you’ve decided which fertility treatment is the most suitable for you it’s time to understand your upcoming financial obligations. Furthermore, in the US often are not covered by insurance. While some private insurance plans cover diagnostic services, there is very little coverage for treatment services such as IUI and IVF, which are more expensive.

Choose the Right Currency to Teach Kids Financial Responsibility

Parenting has compelled me to do and say things I never imagined would be necessary. There was the “We don’t feed our sister dirt,” lesson, and then the “How well can you think on your feet?” challenge when my son got the mail and exclaimed with glee, “Look! Someone sent us some little pillows!” 

Managing Baby Product Expenses

Preparing for the arrival of a newborn is an exciting time as you “nest” in your home and envision your life with a new little one. With all of the adorable and imaginative baby products available, it’s tempting to indulge yourself by buying everything and writing it off as “self care.” 

How Do We Address Unpaid Care Work?

Most of us know someone who grew up with either a stay-at-home mom or a single mom who worked while also managing the household mostly by themselves. It has been a product of our culture that emphasizes that women should work like they don’t have a family, yet take care of their family like they don’t work…

Ally Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

Over the last several years, we have seen an increase in white Americans pledging to become better allies to people of color in their social and professional spheres. Often, we will ask “what can we do?” to improve ourselves, but as author Latasha Morrison puts it in her book “Be The Bridge,” a posture of humility for white allies will set the stage for us to…

Financing your Fertility

Everyone knows that having a baby is expensive, but if you have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy, the costs grow significantly, and can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

How do I talk to my kids about money?

Conversations with your kids about money should start early and be a normal part of day-to-day life.

 

7 Tips to Manage Student Loans for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

If you are a college student or the mother of one, the coronavirus pandemic has likely changed your life dramatically and forced you to rethink your financial decisions and how you manage your money. Despite classes shifting to remote study, tuition costs continue to be high, student loan debt feels more terrifying than ever, and many Americans are drowning in debt.

With clarity and planning, you can manage your risks, better prepare for unexpected life events, safeguard your financial status, and protect your loved ones. 

Legacy Planning For a Terminal Illness

Legacy Planning and talking to your loved ones about the potential of losing you is never easy, especially if you’re struggling with your health or have been recently diagnosed with a terminal illness. But from a practical standpoint, it’s important as an integral part of risk management. 

How to Support Grieving Employees

Americans are currently experiencing a “grief crisis”: more than 700,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19, leaving an estimated 6.3 million people grieving a close family member.

Many of those grieving are women. The loss of a spouse, in particular, disproportionately affects women: as of 2020, an estimated 11 out of 15 million widowed persons are women.

7 Lessons COVID Taught Us about Helping Widowed Friends and Planning for Our Own Futures

By now, it’s a cliché: the past year has been incredibly hard.

Every single one of us has experienced some form of loss—a job, a sense of control, a routine, a family member, or a partner. And this collective loss has impacted how we approach death and grieving.

Financial Planning For New Widows

If you’ve lost your loved one recently, you may be experiencing “brain freeze” brought on by the grief, and this could make any sort of decision-making difficult, if not impossible.

 

Negotiating Tips

If you’re looking for a fast way to put more money in your pocket, have you thought about negotiating? Here’s a primer on how to do it effectively.

How to Change Career Paths

Gone are the days when you needed to follow a simple trajectory of college, maybe graduate school and work a similar job for the rest of your career. With democratized knowledge – thanks to the internet – and the rise of online learning platforms, you have the option to learn and pivot your career path at any time you want.

All about HSA’s

If you receive health insurance through your employer you may have heard of a health savings account (HSA).  HSAs are financial accounts, not insurance products.   Participants enrolled in a qualified High Deductible Health Plan (qHDHP) can open and contribute to an HSA.  Employers may provide matching contributions to build employee incentives. 

Building a Diverse Team

In recent years, we’ve seen the buzzwords diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) gaining popularity. Research unequivocally proves that all three elements are essential to the growth of companies. But what do those terms mean from a practical application?

DE&I go beyond having gender, racial or ethnic diversity in your team.

How to Celebrate Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month is not just a time to celebrate the achievements of women today, but to remember the long struggle that women have had to go through even in the last 100 years to obtain voting rights, the opportunity to own property, get a credit card, and so many more things most of us take for granted today. 

Willow Spotlight: Smaiyra Million on Female Entrepreneurship

Smaiyra Million has spent her career building world-class luxury service businesses, including as CEO of Millennium Partners Sports Club Management.

Now, she’s dedicated to helping other women build their visions by positively influencing the entrepreneurial ecosystem of women-founded or -owned businesses

Willow Spotlight: Alex Lebenthal on the Power of Female Entrepreneurship & Mentorship

A passionate supporter of women in business, Alex Lebenthal is a legendary woman of Wall Street. She was named one of New York’s 100 most influential women by Crain’s New York Business, one of the top 50 Women in Wealth Management in 2009 by Wealth Manager Magazine, and included in Crain’s New York Top Women Owned Business list in 2011. She is a frequent commentator in the media.

Willow Expert Spotlight: Kameelah Benjamin Fuller

Meet Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller, Director of Equity, Diversity + Inclusion at Tripadvisor. She’s a single mother raising an 11-year old daughter, while also caring for her mother, who is battling dementia. 

How does she do it all?

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