Blog — Sisters for Financial Independence

Mommy Money, Mom Series, Kids and Money, Financial Education

“A woman who dies without adequate life insurance should have to come back and see the mess she created.”

Momma (and dads out there), I want to talk about life insurance for a sec. I know it’s not easy to talk about life insurance because we associate it with death and death is never an easy subject, but this is real life and part of a good financial plan is to protect your loved ones should something happen to you. I’m not an insurance salesperson but here’s my perspective on it.

Jan 14
Jan 14 Sample Script on How to Ask Family and Friends to Make a 529 Contribution

Financial Basics, Kids and Money, Mommy Money

Dec 14

Dec 14 Die with Zero Book Summary and Review

Financial Books, Alternative Lifestyle

This month’s book is called Die With Zero: Getting All You Can From Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins. In short, the book is a personal finance book, but it doesn’t talk about saving, budgeting or investing like the majority of personal finance books though. This book instead talks about using your money intentionally to fund and find fulfillment.

Dec 1

Dec 1 Chase Sapphire Preferred: How I reached my 100k Bonus

Financial Basics, College Series

A look at how and why I decided to open a Chase Sapphire Preferred card as my very first credit card and how I met the 100K bonus for future travel.

Nov 28

Nov 28 How To Use A 529 Plan If Your Child Doesn't Go To College

Kids and Money, Mommy Money, College Series, Financial Basics, Financial Education

One of the big questions that many parents ask when it comes to funding a 529 Plan is, what happens to the funds if my child doesn't end up going to college? So imagine all of these years, you’ve been saving for college. Family and friends have contributed to the account. The account has grown thanks in part to your early saving and the stock market growth. Then the time comes for your child to go to college, but they end up not needing the funds for a host of many reasons. One may be that they have received a full scholarship and have no need for the funds, or they’ve decided not to pursue the traditional 4-year university route and instead go to trade school, or they’ve decided to take a break from school so that they can figure out what they really want to do. The good news across all of these scenarios is that you don’t have to forfeit any of the funds in the 529 Account.

Nov 24

Nov 24 Why I Opened a 529 Plan Before I Even Had Kids

Financial Basics, Financial Education, Kids and Money, Mommy Money

I opened a 529 account 3 months after my husband and I tied the knot in 2013. Call it intentional planning. Call it planned savings. Call it whatever you want, but it was just something I felt I needed to do given where we were financially. Having children also felt like our next big step after marriage.

Oct 19

Oct 19 The College Series: How to Get the Most out of the Library

A college library is often one of the most utilized, but also underutilized places on campus. You may find yourself spending countless hours studying for an exam, doing homework, or even sleeping, but what else can the library do for you?

Oct 15

Oct 15 How to build an LGBT-friendly investment portfolio?

Financial Basics, Financial Education, Socially Conscious Series

Earlier this week, we celebrate National Coming Out Day or NCOD. National Coming Out Day is an annual LGBT awareness day that celebrates and supports individuals who publicly identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. Many use this day as a way to share their coming out stories, support others who may keep their identity a secret, or celebrate those who are now sharing their gender identities and sexual orientation. Your identity has an obvious impact on your relationships, but it can also affect other aspects of your lives, like your job or career, and your finances.

So whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community, or are an ally, how can we build a more LGBT-friendly investment portfolio?

Oct 12

Oct 12 Book Review and Summary: The Debt Trap by Josh Mitchell

Financial Books

This month’s book is The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe by Josh Mitchell. It was written by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal who has years of experience writing about the economy and higher education.

The book covers the history of student loans and the creation of the college industrial complex. I didn’t know much about how the idea of student loans came about so the book was an insightful look at the players that eventually created a big business that impacted most of our lives.

Sep 29

Sep 29 A Financial Checklist for When a Spouse Dies

Financial Basics, Relationships

You can never be truly prepared when a spouse or partner dies. Don't be afraid to ask for help during this time. Keep in mind that the grieving process takes time and takes on so many different forms. On top of the heavy loss, there's also the need to contend with the current to-do list of life. This list focuses on the financial aspect, but as we know life is more than just about money, so please don't hesitate to find yourself the necessary therapy to help with your healing.

Sep 22

Sep 22 The College Series: Setting Yourself Up For Internship Success

Professional Development, College Series

The expert in anything was once an unpaid intern.

It’s the beginning of the spring semester and you realize that you’re going to have to face the realities of the real world in five months or so. It’s prime internship-searching season. You’ve googled “interview questions” dozens of times and are already anxious for your school’s career fair. This isn’t an article asking you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, nor is it a guide on what to look for in a company, but rather things to consider to ensure a more successful job searching experience. Whether you’re applying for summer internships or an internship over the school year, it’s important to think ahead and cover your bases when it comes to the internship applying process.

Sep 10

Sep 10 Why Young Teachers Need to Invest Outside of Their Pension

Financial Education, Financial Basics, Retirement For Teachers

Teachers are one of the single largest class of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, yet existing systems shortchange teachers when it comes to retirement planning and security.

According to a survey by EdWeek.org, more teachers are thinking about leaving now than before the pandemic. Younger teachers are more likely to leave the profession which means many of these teachers will not qualify for a pension. If they have only been relying on the prospect of a pension and not investing in alternative retirement plans, they’ll have some catching up to do.

In this post, we will look at why a teacher’s pension may not be enough and what investment accounts teachers can self-fund to ensure they have enough in retirement.

Sep 8

Sep 8 The College Series: What I Did With My First Paycheck

College Series, Financial Basics

"No matter who is watching or paying the paycheck, we are ultimately each our own boss."

A few weeks into my summer internship, my bank account was graced with a direct deposit. As a student still living at home with my parents, my expenses were minimal when it came to things like extraneous bills and insurance. It was pretty tempting, and fairly easy, to have just spent it all on new clothes, food, and drinks, (especially working in New York City) but with some thoughtful consideration, I realized I probably shouldn’t blow my first paycheck, or all of them for that matter. Here’s how I prioritized where all my money went and things I needed to consider as a student and emerging young professional.

Aug 26

Aug 26 Action Plan to Consume, Divest, and Invest for a Better Future

Conscious Consumer, Socially Conscious Series, SaveMoneySaveThePlanet, Alternative Lifestyle

As individuals, we all have the power to make a change. Today, money makes the world go round. That is an honest reality that we all must face, which means we need to be more conscious about what we buy, where we park our money, what we invest in, and how we go about changing a system that relies heavily on consumption and growth.

Aug 18

Aug 18 The College Series - Back-to-School Prep with Financial Independence in Mind

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

It’s that time of year...the Sunday of Summer. In the blink of an eye, your days of vacationing, interning, or working elsewhere become days of mental and physical preparations for back to school. August rears its head a lot faster than expected and you scramble to pack for move-in or buy books for classes. Across the country, students just like you are trying their best to get through back to school season and trying not to break the bank (or your parents’). Broke college students seem to be the norm, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Whether you already started classes or will begin in September, here are some helpful tips to get you in the money-saving mindset for back to school!

Aug 17

Aug 17 The College Series: Skipping Class is Costing You Money

The cost of skipping class goes beyond that of “Oh I missed the lesson for today, I’ll catch up eventually”. It’s a financial cost. Every time you skip a class, you waste money.

Each class has an individual cost and when you don’t show up you are wasting your money. If you are taking out loans, you’ve basically taken out a very expensive loan to sleep in or play video games. There’s a trade-off to everything so think about your future self and what they’ll have to pay off when you skip class and not take advantage of the learning and networking opportunities before you.

Aug 13

Aug 13 The College Series: Do you really need a meal plan?

In this article, we will cover the basics and questions you should ask yourself when deciding if you really need a meal plan. Many college students are already struggling to deal with the costs of tuition, room, and board, but adding the expensive costs of a dining plan makes it even more difficult.

Aug 11

Aug 11 The College Series: 10 Tips when Applying for Scholarships

Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, you should always look for new scholarship opportunities. There is a world of free money opportunities for all stages of the student. If you’re an incoming freshman or transferring to a new school, don’t just settle for your scholarship package as your only means of financial/scholarship assistance. Just because you are graduating soon, doesn’t mean there aren’t scholarships out there for you to help with your post-grad debt. If you’re anywhere in between, trying is better than nothing at all! Here are 10 tips when applying for scholarships.

Jul 16

Jul 16 How to Teach and Talk to Kids About Money