Being a Couple Financial Coach, I get ask this question time and time again, especially when I am dealing with a more mature couple (over 30-years old) or a couple entering into a second marriage.

I get into long debates with traditional "Christian" women that swears that all the money should go into one pot and the "my money" becomes our money.  Unfortunately most men don't see things that way, or better yet the person that makes more money doesn't see things like that.

My now ex-husband and I tried in the beginning of our marriage to put all our money in one checking account, but soon it got ugly.  I wanted to know why he spent so much on video games and crazy items that meant nothing to me.

I can honestly say that money wasn't the reason for our marriage ending and we are still on friendly terms.  But money is in the top five reasons for divorce.  I would have probably been in the statistic if we hadn't used the "You, Me, and We" method.

Basically, we were able to keep our individual accounts while creating both a join checking and savings for our household expense and future goals.

If you would like to know more, go to our contact page and enter "You, Me and We" method.

Written by: Dina Harbour
Women Obtaining Wealth, Women Financial Empowerment
W.O.W. on Blog Talk Radio  (Every Sunday @ 6P EST) 

Can someone please tell me where I can find the Joneses?  I’ve been hearing about them all my life just like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.  How is it that we get so caught up in these notions and adopt them into our belief systems?

While married I noticed that my husband was always talking about the material things we needed to buy. We purchased our house after being married just one year and I was trying to turn “our house into a home” but things started getting very expensive.  My Mom told explained to me that everyone starts off slow in the beginning and decorating a home takes time and money.

So I exhaled a sigh of relief and took my time.  Why did I feel so pressured to rush out and buy things that I could not afford? I think I was trying to compete with the Joneses, people I’ve never met.

Now that my mind has been renewed, I notice other people’s conversations and the lifestyles they portray.  Sad but many of those same people are loosing or have lost their homes, are in a mountain of debt, and/or getting their cars repossessed. Whew! Thank God I left them Joneses alone and just stayed the person that I truly am.

Are you related to the Joneses?

Definition by Wikipedia:
"Keeping up with the Joneses" is a popular catchphrase in many parts of the English-speaking world. It refers to the desire to be seen as being as good as one's neighbours or contemporaries using the comparative benchmarks of social caste or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority.
A related British phrase is "keeping up appearances"

Being an African American in the year of 2008 is a very proud moment in time.  I know many of us feel this sense of pride knowing that we have a bi-racial or as some call him an African American Presidential nominee.

Although I am truly impress with Mr. Obama, I am more intrigued with his wife Michelle.  I won’t go into all of my reasons, but I will say that she is a positive role model for not just African-American women, but all women.

Here is my concern however.  Mr. Obama cannot save the African-American race.  We cannot put the burden on him to improve our communities, strengthen our families, and educate our children.  We are the true leaders. This is where wealth comes into play.  Since women make so many financial decisions, we need to do the right things with our money!  We need to own a home, stay out of debt, and teach our children that buying $200 shoes with someone else name on them is not a sign of wealth.

I think the Obama’s are truly inspirational, but we need to be careful not to relying on him or anyone else for that matter to lead us.  We all need to be leaders in our communities and start with understanding the importance of OWENRSHIP and true WEALTH.

Now be a leader with your day!

The Fear Is Gone!

I think this saying is the title of B.B. King’s song –lol-.  Anyway I was talking with my niece yesterday and we were discussing the economy.  I told her that while everyone is in a “Fear Mode”, smart people are getting richer.  Yes they are.  I saw this same panic happen back in 1987 when the stock market crashed.  I was new to the financial/banking world at the time and didn’t benefit the way I should have.
I remember getting a stock tip from my boss and mentor.  He would get dozens of dividend checks on a weekly basis and I would go down to the bank to deposit them.  I remember thinking “who would want a check for a 1.57” but the total amount of his deposit would always shock me.  Most of the time it was over $100 each deposit.

He told me to invest in Citibank stock.  At the time (1987) I hadn’t heard of Citibank. They weren’t in the West Coast at that time.  The stock price was about $5 a share and guess what?  I didn’t buy a single share.  Well, we all know who Citibank is now –right- ieeeeeeee
My point is every 15-20 years the economy does something crazy in a particular industry.  Then it was banking, now real estate.  Usually greed is the fundamental cause.  Currently, I am purchasing real estate at auctioning prices as low as $1,000.  Can you believe this? Oh well some see obstacles, while others see opportunity!