Test Your Knowledge

Do you know where you stand in terms of Money Smarts?

The following questions are based on Oppenheimer Funds research. It only takes a minute to see how much you know about dealing with money.

1. Sixty-percent of all women end up managing their own finances at some point in their lives. T or F

2. Most women invest their portfolios in investments that are too conservative. T or F

3. Most stock market investors get wiped out at least once in their lifetime. T or F 4. Two thousand dollars is minimum amount needed to invest in a mutual fund. T or F 5. You need about 75% of your pre-retirement income to live comfortable during retirement. T or F 6. If a 45-year old woman plans to retire at age 60, she can expect to live 21 years in retirement. T or F 7. Between stocks, bonds and CD's, over last 30 years bonds have appreciated most out of any investment overall. T or F 8. If a woman can afford to invest only $50 a month she shouldn't bother. T or F 9. A 65-year old woman with an annual income of $50,000 can expect to have 50% of her income be replaced by Social Security. T or F 10. A woman's intuitive ability to manage her emotions around money is one of most important aspects of Creating Wealth over long term. T or F Answers: 1. FALSE- 90% of all women end up managing their own finances at some point because of increasing divorce rates, becoming a widow and because they live longer. 2. TRUE- Most women are too conservative in their investing. 3. FALSE- Historically not true. There are periods of decline but over last 50 years, market has shown overall long-term growth. 4. FALSE- You can open a Mutual Fund automatic account builder program for as little as $25 a month. 5. TRUE- According to studies by WEFA Group you need 70-80% of your pre-retirement income when you retire. That means if you earn $45,000 when you retire, you will need between $31,500 and $36,000 per year during retirement. 6. TRUE- According to National Center For Health Statistics, a woman that is 45 who plans to retire at 60 can plan on living 21 years, to age of 81. Because women live so long, good retirement planning can make a very big difference in how comfortably you live throughout your later years. 7. FALSE. According to Ibbotson Associates, over last 30 years stocks have been top performing asset class. 8. FALSE- a monthly investment of $50 growing at 8% a year would be worth $9,147 in 10 years and $29,451 in 20 years. 9. False- She can expect Social Security to replace 30% of her pre-retirement income or $15,000 if she had been earning $50,000 a year. 10. TRUE- You go girl! You KNOW it's true!! Information for this quiz was researched by Cynthia Fick, expert financial planner. Research findings come from Oppenheimer Women and Investing Quiz, Ibbotson Associates, National Center of Health Statistics and a WEFA Group Study.

Here are your results:

8-10 Correct

If we want to develop a deeper, subtler, way of perceiving situations, we need to be relaxed, open, confident, not expecting or demanding anything in particular. And we need to make friends with ourselves—not just casual friends, but intimate friends. Balancing our inherent feminine and masculine. The feminine – magnetic part of self that desires to be nurtured in all areas of your life. Is committed to trusting experiences that reveal self-knowledge. Seeks clarity, truth and authenticity beyond roles, masks and defenses. Feminine in male and female is both firm and yielding, requiring a need to go inward and trust essential parts of who you are. Inherent intuition is feminine in nature. You see, brilliant people rarely take time to reflect on what they do. Reflection assists you in learning from future as it emerges. When we are not consciously aware of our evolving self, we can get stuck in an old self-image.

Often we get caught up in speed and pressures of daily life, and our mind and body become disconnected. The mind is off thinking about something and body moves towards one goal after another on auto-pilot. When we start to slow down, we might notice that mind habitually ignores body. It jumps around, wanders disembodied and ungrounded. Or mind gives body a hard time— expecting, demanding, judging, and manipulating.

The Engaging Leader has presence as a natural expression, a natural creativity. We aren’t interested in struggling to squeeze out a product that is more clever than next person’s. All we need to do is allow our innate creativity to come forth. It is a dance of discipline and openness. It is a balance of form and freedom. We create boundaries and forms that allow for most space and freedom of expression.

We journey from stiffness to ease, from skepticism to delight, from seriousness to play. This is a step-by-step approach that creates a base of trust. People learn to trust themselves and situation. They cease to be locked into a solid sense of me and them, or “othering”. With soft eyes we see field or space. Then we see that space itself is dancing. We experience each other beyond credentials, opinions, and concepts. We experience basic healthiness and integrity of our community. We are ready for genuine communication and insight.