OnTrack WNC helps women activate financial super powers through Women and Money Conference

 

OnTrack WNC’s Women’s Financial Empowerment Center (WFEC) will host its second Women and Money Conference on Saturday, October 5, 2013 at First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St., Asheville, NC from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. The event will feature financial literacy presentations and workshops tailored specifically for women. The presenting sponsor is Starks Financial Group.

The Women and Money Conference, with the theme “Activate Your Financial Super Powers,” is designed for women interested in improving their personal finances or small businesses strategies.  It will provide knowledge, tools and support to women in Western North Carolina, empowering them to take control of their financial lives, achieve economic self-sufficiency and take a step towards realizing their short-and long-term financial goals. 

Workshop topics include investing, developing a spending plan, stopping overspending, avoiding predatory loans, assessing insurance needs, creating a small business marketing plan, and financing a business, just to name a few. Cheri Britton, a high-energy motivational speaker and author of the book BOOM Thinking: The Gutsy Guide to Breaking Out of Old Mindsets, is this year’s keynote speaker. 

Conference preregistration is required.  To register and view the full schedule for the Women and Money Conference please use the following link http://www.ontrackwnc.org/women.html or call OnTrack WNC at 828-255-5166. There is $15 registration fee that covers lunch and all workshop materials.     

Celeste Collins, Executive Director of OnTrack WNC stated, “The need for women-centered financial education and counseling programs is evidenced time and again through statistical data. This is an opportune time to teach women how to be financially savvy and improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.”

A 2012-2013 research study by Prudential, "Financial Experience & Behaviors Among Women," reveals that while women are more in control of their finances than ever, they face significant challenges with financial decision making. For instance:

• 53% of the more than 1,400 women surveyed were primary earners, as a result of partners losing jobs during the financial crisis, divorce, and deciding to marry later.
• Only 23% of these women feel “well prepared” to make financial decisions compared with 45% of men.
• Only 10% of female breadwinners feel very knowledgeable about financial products and services, and are only half as likely to feel well prepared to make wise financial decisions as men.

• Baby Boomer and younger women are “not prepared” for retirement, but women under 35 show more interest in both financial empowerment and the value of financial advice.

Furthermore, according to the latest findings from the 2013 “Women, Money, and Power Study” from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, women feel more responsible for financial decisions than ever since the financial crisis. Yet, more than 40 % of the women surveyed by Allianz said they don’t feel any smarter about how to manage their money than they did before the crisis.

The Women and Money Conference and offerings through OnTrack WNC’s WFEC are part of the Women’s Financial Empowerment Initiative which helps low and moderate income women increase long-term savings and create a plan to reach their financial goals using the skills and expertise of financial professionals. 

For more information about OnTrack WNC’s Women’s Empowerment Center visit www.ontrackwnc.org.

For a listing of all OnTrack WNC’s classes, see our education schedule online at http://ontrackwnc.org/education_schedule.htm.