Back to the Basics

This course is intended for women who want to go back to the basics and establish a strong financial foundation before they create or modify their investment strategy or make new investments. This 3-module course is offered intermittently throughout the year. It is free for Premium Members, discounted by 25% for Basic Members, and costs $100 on an à la carte basis.

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Course Structure

Back to the Basics: Financial Planning course was designed by two experienced Certified Financial Professionals (CFP®), who saw firsthand how many women, even those with considerable wealth, who did not understand the underpinnings of financial security and true financial independence.

The course is delivered through bi-weekly live sessions with one of the course creators, group discussions, and self-study.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will have: 

  • Established your financial wants versus needs
  • Determined your cashflow and built your budget
  • Figured out your future retirement nest egg
  • Established the savings and investment targets you need to meet your financial goals
  • Analyzed your risk tolerance and learned some tips to safeguard yourself

Prerequisites & Level of Effort

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Time Commitment: About 2 hours per week for 6 weeks

Approximately 0.5 – 1.5 hours of self-study is required prior to each live bi-weekly Zoom meeting, which are expected to last about 1.5 hours. The amount of time you spend on the pre-work will depend on the depth of your research. The more effort you put in, the more you will gain.

Course Content

In the first session of this course, you will examine your current financial situation – what you earn, spend and save , as well as a tally of assets versus liabilities. Then, in the second session, you will use this information to estimate your retirement spending budget. And finally, in the third session, you will address some of the obstacles that can trip you up along the way – such as not having and maintaining an appropriate portfolio or failing to consider other personal financial risks, such as inadequate insurance or lack of estate planning. 

  • Meeting 1:

    The Numbers

    This session gets you started with Baseline Planning, which is the process of figuring out where you are now financially. The information you uncover will be your starting point and is one of the most important steps of financial planning. Knowing your current financial situation increases the likelihood that you will reach your financial goals. And, it gives you a strong foundation for thoughtful financial planning, investing, and charitable decision-making. 

  • Meeting 2:

    Are You on Track?

    In this session you will put the numbers together, so you have a good idea of your retirement budget and investment needs. A long-used, and wise adage in financial planning is “the working years are all about saving and investing, but the retirement years are all about spending.” Thoughtfulness about both is one of the keys to retirement actually being the “golden years.” 

  • Meeting 3:

    Risk

    This session will be about risk, and we are not just talking market risk. Unfortunately, there’s more risk to your financial situation than just from your portfolio. Failing to plan or update your financial plan in the areas of insurance risk management and estate planning can have disastrous results. This session is about the things you or your advisor should be monitoring. Building on the first two sessions, you now have the information to know if your savings are on track.  But there are things that you need to do regularly to make sure you actually reach your ultimate financial goals. 

Course Creators

Eileen Freiburger

Eileen Freiburger, CFP®

Emeritus Partner, Abacus Wealth Partners

As she says on her LinkedIn page, Eileen is taking a pause before starting her next chapter. And that pause is well deserved because she spent almost 40 years in the financial services arena. She’s had roles in banking, brokerage, commodities, training, compliance, and auditing. During the last 20 years, Eileen formed her own investment advisory firm and later partnered with a larger value aligned wealth management company. We are delighted that she used some of her downtime to co-create this course.

Teresa Mitchell, CFP®

Founder, Lady Money

Teresa has over 20 years’ experience in the financial industry, with 12 years as a CFP and investment compliance officer. During those years, Teresa coached more than 1,000 women who felt frustrated and ashamed that they had not managed to successfully take control of their financial situation. Through Lady Money, the coaching business Teresa recently launched, she is now dedicated to teaching women to make better, smarter and more value-aligned choices when it comes to saving, investing and spending. We are excited to have her as part of the Invest for Better community.

Theresa Mitchell
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