Long-time financial columnist Martha Harris Myron is no stranger to the need to be frugal. Born in Bermuda, her father operated a sewing machine sales and repair business on Wesley Street during a time when many families struggled to make ends meet. Her upbringing instilled in her a lifelong sense of the importance of counting every penny and value of planning for your long-term health and financial future as early as possible. 

Moving to New England to live with her grandmother at the age of sixteen afforded Martha the opportunity to study medical technology and an internship at the Boston City Morgue. Her eclectic career path has also included working in garment design and the construction industry before finally obtaining a degree in accounting and a Master of Law degree once her own children had completed college. 

It was then that she embarked on a career as an international professional finance consultant to Bermuda residents, advising both their multinational families and businesses on cross-border financial planning; ultimately specializing in assisting with the unique financial challenges for international citizens living, working, and straddling what she refers to as “The North Atlantic pond” (the territory comprising the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and the island of Bermuda). 

It’s no wonder then that Martha’s no-nonsense approach to personal financial management makes her twenty-year financial column with the Royal Gazette an enduring success because she has lived through five major recessions and appreciates exactly what it takes to recover from setbacks in a complex financial jurisdiction. 

“Bermuda does not have an independent financial planning website like Yahoo Finance. There’s a huge need for a place for people to obtain trustable financial facts to help them make financial decisions without trying to sell product,” she says. 

Now in her seventies, Martha’s days are busier than ever. In addition to writing her weekly column, she has recently released her first digital format book entitled “The Bermuda Islander Fundamental Financial Planning Primer”. This book, which is the first in a series of seven that she has planned, focuses primarily on personal financial matters for island residents – and future titles will include information and topics ranging from risk and insurance, to investments. 

She is also in the midst of recording a series of “Fast Fact” audio tracks to accompany the various segments of her eBook on The Royal Gazette and is looking forward to participating as a regular panellist on a new video series entitled “Leaders in Action – Looking Ahead” which is being produced by Olderhood Productions International to air on social media around the world. 

When asked if she had any thoughts of slowing down, she laughed and confided that the secret to a fulfilling later life is to find something that you are interested in that promotes your own sense of purpose and identity and enables you to continue to contribute to society. 

In Martha’s mind, planning for your financial future requires taking a good hard look at a lot more than your bank balance. “Many people don’t have a sense of purpose when they leave work, and this frequently leads to unhappiness, marital discord, and spending money excessively or inappropriately.” In fact, given that older people still have so much to offer, she questions whether many people should really retire at all. 

“I really don’t think this later phase of life should be called retirement at all,” she said. “People really need to start planning what they are going to do next at least 3-4 years before they leave their current job. It’s essential to figure out what you can do either part-time or full time to maintain a sense of personal value.” 

Rather than think about retirement, Martha advises, “Just think of this as another change in your journey; and if you really are going to retire make sure you practice first – practice how you will live, what you will do, and experience how it will feel to either spend time with your spouse 24 hours a day, or how it will feel to be alone all the time depending on your circumstances.” 

Our later years can be lengthy, so having a purpose in life is essential, and while it can change over time, it is the bedrock of our later years. Every individual is different in many respects – we have our own individual standards and character. Moreover, the things we enjoyed when we were younger may not hold the same appeal as we age. What we planned to do in our later years can change – due to not enough money, not enough energy – or simply because our goals have changed. 

Finding purpose in life is something to plan ahead of time and continually review and revise, as necessary. “And above all, make sure you realize that later life is not just about money – the key to a long and prosperous retirement is to stay connected and stay involved.” 

The post Creating Value in Later Life: A Conversation with Martha Harris Myron appeared first on RG Magazines.

This time of pandemic has been a great challenge, and an amazing testament to our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to carry on toward a new normal. 

No matter our community outcome of this challenge, it is always helpful to assess where you are in your personal life. 

Being financially healthy means that you are in harmony with your relationships in work, retirement, family, relatives, community, and your money. 

In other words, you must take care of you first before you can take care for others! 

The general financial components of a financial health review are: 

Cash management 

o Do you have enough cash savings to draw on? 

Advisors recommend three-six months of current expenses, however, in this current environment, a year of savings is a more comfortable goal, particularly if your extended family needs assistance. 

Is it easily accessible? 

o Do you keep some cash at home in a safe place? 

We won’t quickly forget the Friday blackout where digital cash and credit was unavailable while old-fashioned ordinary cash worked. 

Debt management efficiency 

o Do you still carry debt? 

o What is your percentage of good debt and bad debt? 

Appreciating assets are low interest rate borrowings: home, education, vehicle, etc. 

Bad debt is using high interest rate credit cards to purchase ordinary household items, food, etc. 

o Can you reduce or eliminate bad debt payments? 

Risk / contingency planning 

o Life insurance – Do you own any? 

Struggling to pay premiums on a life policy? Rather than cancelling the policy, can you convert to a term policy to keep the protection with a lower cost? 

o Property insurance – Carry as much replacement value coverage as you can afford. 

Remember Hurricane Fabian – 50% island of our island roofs were covered in blue tarps! 

o Health insurance – A valuable benefit if employed. Challenging cost if unemployed. 

Do yourself a favour to protect yourself as best you can. Start now to work hard to maintain good physical health. It will place less demand on your valuable resources. 

Asset appreciation in investments, tangible property, and your human capital 

o Investments – are they diversified enough? 

Stressful personal financial times don’t support investing in highly volatile securities, e.g. penny stocks, bitcoin, or large amounts in one security. 

o Your pension should have same thought process – diversified. 

If still working, put away that voluntary one-two percent, you will never miss it – and it will be welcome extra cash at retirement. 

o Real estate may be your biggest life-time investment. Make it a premium goal to pay off your mortgage before retiring, before any other investing! 

o But your human capital is an even greater appreciating investment. It lasts forever – no matter how dire your circumstances. Keep up life-long learning and continuing education to further enhance your problem-solving skills. 

Your estate legacy 

o Check pension and life insurance beneficiaries, executing a will, and correct titling on all assets – make sure they reflect your wishes! 

Achieving equilibrium in your financial health can lead to powerful changes in confidence, better family and personal relationships, significant career successes, and a more comfortable retirement. 

The post Are you financially healthy? appeared first on RG Magazines.

In prior generations, before the Baby Boomers transcended the accepted social norms, our mothers and grandmothers seldom worked outside the home. Overseeing the family budget was tightly controlled.

Bank accounts, borrowings and finance-related transactions were denied without a co-signature, usually the head of the household. Little to no privy participation was allowed in planning family assets, or joint tax return disclosures, while unequal rights to the family estate was the law.

That was way back then. Four generations later, we are in the 40-year olds stratosphere now.

Mainstream women today may not have it all, but they do it all. They are visibly employed – the majority workforce in some countries – in all facets of the global spectrum, including outer space.

Contemporary definitions of work and family have changed. Two incomes for most families is a modern necessity. Single contemporary women are choosing independence, acquiring assets, operating businesses, possibly raising children while navigating careers. Future responsibilities hovering, too, over 40-somethings’ plans, are their impending sandwich-spread thin responsibility for eldercare.

Women of today not only manage their own finances, but as career finance professionals, nurture and manage their clients’ money.

In a far-ranging discussion with two successful 40’s finance career professionals, an Encore Age Baby Boomer met with Pearline McIntosh, VP, TEP (Trust & Estate Practitioner), ACIB, Private Banking, Butterfield and Dianne Blais, VP, CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and Canadian Securities License holder, Wealth Advisor at Butterfield.

Our topic sharing covered the gamut: family background, money habits, mentors and career development, longevity, achieving excellence with continuing education, work/ life balance and success attributes, all of which intertwine and contribute to personal and financial success.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Our mothers’ influences. Regardless of our generation gap, we discovered many similarities in our backgrounds.

Coming from limited means households, we were all proud of, and felt fortunate to have, mothers who:

• were extremely convivial, enjoyed family, friends, relatives and community events, all positive communication skills that develop self-esteem for the whole family.
• cheerfully managed the family finances, not the least daunted in accepting a thrifty, modest lifestyle in order to save for the future, assuring that each child received a good education.

It is well known statistically that positive parental attitudes towards money management are extremely influential for children as they grow. The subliminal message resonates – with personal ingenuity and forward planning, one can accomplish any financial goal in life.

LONGEVITY AWARENESS IS PART GOOD MONEY MANAGEMENT

Women, now in their forties, can have an estimated lifespan to 100 years of age, including 15-20 years of time alone. Every woman must now take responsibility for her own financial happiness.

MONEY HABITS AND MATERIALITY

No surprise at all that we had a universal agreement about money habits.

• Save before spending.
• Start saving early. Any small amount adds up: extra change, cookie jar accumulations, say $25 dollars a week, $100 a month, compounds exponentially in twenty, thirty years, forty, fifty years.
• Set up an automatic debit plan so that you will save before spending.
• If you cannot pay cash, don’t buy it.
• Acquiring things actually creates more stress than satisfaction. You really don’t need much to be happy.

Having said that, there is no single way to manage money. Everyone deserves a treat, occasionally. Consider spending on experiences instead of those fabulous shoes or that bag; out of style and worth pennies on the dollar twenty years on.

WORK/ LIFE BALANCE

We are only human. Today’s 24/7 work environment can be very isolating.

• Planning is vital for managing stress, and multi-tasking between work and home. At the end of each week, take time to review accomplishments, then plan for the next week – to keep work and family life in balance.
• Keep in mind that your life is not all about the money.
• You need your people contacts. Do your best to maintain family and friend relationships.
• Stay as physically active as time permits. Use those family backgrounds that encouraged sports activities to stay active.

CONTINUING EDUCATION IS A MUST!

Every finance individual Encore Age has known believes totally in the vital ingredient for career advancement and financial success – continuing education.

Our finance world evolves every minute, day, month, year. You must always be prepared to be current in your thinking or be left behind.

Limited family finances can try to torpedo a dream. Never let hurdles stop your progress. Make your own opportunities. The results: Professional designations: CFP® and Canadian Securities Licenses. TEP, ACIB – UK banking designation.

ATTRIBUTES FOR SUCCESS

• Never be afraid of the next step in life.
• Persevere through every roadblock. Keep that end goal at the top of your mind.
• Create a passion for excellence in all facets of your life!

GRATITUDE TO MENTORS

Having supportive, experienced, wise, leaders-in-their-field mentors has been a wonderful gift for both of our interviewees.

In a classy, grateful, tribute to their wonderful mentors, both Dianne and Pearline are using their powers of professionalism, experience, and commitment to excellence, to perpetuate the tradition of mentoring younger peers starting out in their respective finance professions.

Martha Harris Myron JSM CPA – Pondstraddler Life Financial Perspectives for Bermuda Islanders – Financial Columnist since 2000 for the Royal Gazette – Senior Advisor, Olderhood Group Bermuda

The post Money Habits of Successful Women in Their Forties appeared first on RG Magazines.

Having read Dr. Klonz’s article (Do You Have a Money Disorder?) you are probably in a state of shock and bewilderment, wondering which of the “money disorders” he described you may have succumbed to- and why. How could it be?

However, the better response would be to take a step back and do some mental stock-taking.

Yes, money and financial matters generally can create a real cognitive dissonance between what people say, what they do, and what they actually believe, or think they know.

As John Maynard Keynes (a “rock star” economist, before rock stars existed!) said:

“The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognized for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease”

And there lies the nub of the issue.

Money does not care whether you exist or not. It is neither good nor bad; it is simply a means or a tool which one can use, or regard, wisely or not.

In other words, it is your attitude to money that matters as much as how much or little you have.

Of course, those who are truly financially stretched and unable to afford a decent standard of living for themselves and their children have every right to feel angry, stressed and aggrieved- and there are still too many families on this expensive Island in that situation. However, beyond a certain level, money ceases to become a literal necessity, and appears to mutate into something to be desired, coveted and hoarded.

There are also, as DR. Klonz points out, a number of behavioural pathologies that either prevent an individual from having a healthy relationship with money, or cause behaviours that are harmful to them and/or others. As he also points out, these are symptoms of factors of which the individual may not consciously be aware, or which they deliberately block. Clearly, that is unhealthy.

So, what are the steps to addressing a money disorder?

1: Acknowledge it exists. Stop pretending to yourself and others that “it just ain’t so”. Some behaviours are clearly addictive and well as destructive

2: Ask for help. Oddly, given how much distress money issues cause, there seem to be very few professionals experienced in addressing the pathological and addictive aspects. Gamblers Anonymous exists and does fine work; but financial planners, bankers and the like are not really trained and equipped to help individuals develop a healthy relationship with money. Talking to someone whom you trust, who you know has your best interests at heart, and has demonstrable experience with money, investing and finance should help

3: Think about what would represent to you a healthy and sustainable outcome. Wishing to be a millionaire, or win the lottery, or receive a large legacy is idle nonsense. Look within (if necessary with the help of a trusted friend) and examine your needs, wants and desires. Only then, can you start deciding how to move forward.

We would be interested in readers’ comments (we suggest anonymously) on their own experiences; and will try to address or refer any specific questions.

We shall also write further articles on the fraught topic of “money and its discontents”.

Click here to learn more about money disorders and the affect it they have on health.

The post Money Makes the World Go Round appeared first on RG Magazines.

By Dr. Brad Klontz

Just about everyone has a complicated relationship with money. Financial strain has been found to reduce relationship satisfaction, worsen depression, and lead to emotional problems, health difficulties, and poor work performance. With record-high debt and record low savings rates, could you be suffering from a money disorder?

Money disorders are persistent patterns of self-destructive and self-limiting financial behaviours. Whether it’s a childhood of poverty or want, a message about money subconsciously internalized from a parent, a nest egg lost to an economic downturn later in life, or someone rushing in at the last moment to save the economic day, everyone has experienced a financial flashpoint in their lives.

Recognising the problem is the first step in stripping them of their power, and overcoming our money disorders. Then we can learn to identify our money beliefs, spot them when they are creeping into our minds, and revise them into healthier, more productive ones.

There are three categories of money disorders:

1. Money Avoidance Disorders (also includes Underspending and Excessive Risk Aversion):

• Financial Denial: When, rather than face financial reality, we try to minimise money problems by refusing to think about them all together (e.g. avoiding looking at a bank statement or paying a credit card bill).
• Financial Rejection: The experience of guilt whenever money, of any amount, is accrued. People with low self-esteem are particularly prone to this disorder, and it leads to a whole host of financial and psychological troubles.

2. Money-Worshipping Disorders (also includes Pathological Gambling, Workaholism, and Overspending):

• Hoarding: When stockpiling objects or money provides a sense of safety, security, and relief of anxiety.
• Compulsive Buying: Compulsive buying is overspending on steroids. Compulsive shoppers are consumed by their money worries. They often learned, early in life, that the ritual of shopping provides a temporary escape from worry and anxiety. When they think about and anticipate the pleasure they will feel when they shop, dopamine, a “feel good” chemical, floods their brains-only to wear off quickly, leaving them craving another fix.

3. Relational Money Disorders (also includes Financial Dependence and Financial Incest):

• Financial Infidelity: Telling “little green lies” about one’s spending or finances to one’s partner, like making purchases outside an agreed-upon budget or lying about the cost of a big-ticket item. Extreme examples might include taking out a second mortgage behind your partner’s back or opening a secret bank account.
• Financial Enabling: Giving money to others whether you can afford it or not; giving when it is not in the other’s long-term best interest; having trouble or finding it impossible to say no to requests for money; and/or even sacrificing one’s own financial wellbeing for the sake of others. A common example is when parents support adult children who should be able to support themselves. Financial Enabling becomes increasingly common among family members in a down economy, when there is a sense of guilt about less fortunate relatives.

The basics of financial health aren’t complicated, and we are all capable of mastering them, no matter who we are, or our level of wealth. When we identify our financial flashpoint experiences, challenge our distorted money beliefs, and practice healthy financial behaviours (e.g. maintain reasonable and low debt, have an active savings plan, as well as following a spending plan), we don’t just become materially richer, we become emotionally wealthier as well.

This article was originally featured in the 2019 edition of the rg Health & Wellness supplement.

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