HerMoney Podcast: Investing Strategies, Career Growth and What It Means To Be a Female CEO

Imagine being the head of a company responsible for $8 trillion in assets for 30 million individual investors. That’s Abby Johnson’s job as the Chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments. (Yes, that same Fidelity Investments that runs 401(k)s, 403(b)s, health savings accounts, IRAs, 529 college savings plan and more.)

This week’s empowering HerMoney Podcast* is one you won’t want to miss. Jean and Abby have a wide-ranging conversation about career paths, work-life balance, CEO mistakes, and the role of reinvention to keep up in an evolving world.

And of course they dish about women and investing. Listen in if you’ve ever been intimidated by the jargon-riddled language investors use (to complicate really basic concepts) or have been fearful of stock market swings (they’re going to happen, but you can psychologically prepare for them).

In Mailbag, Jean and Kathryn tackle questions about balancing retirement investing and student loan payments, balance transfer credit cards, and the desire to have a baby and fund your future. Lastly, in Thrive, Jean dishes on how changes to your life in 2019 (including a marriage, a divorce, a new baby, a side hustle or retirement) may impact your tax return, and what to consider before you file on April 15.

Plus:
How Many Credit Scores Do You Have?
Most people think they have just one credit score, and that all lenders use this single score to measure your creditworthiness. Ahhh, if only life were that simple.

The truth is that you have many credit scores. The good news is that they’re all likely to move in the same direction — and that you can get your hands on them without paying a penny.

Jean explains the entire deal with credit scores — why you have multiple, FICO vs. VantageScore, which scores matter to you, and how to check your credit scorecard anytime and not pay for it.

6 Types of IRAs Every Woman Needs to Know About
If you’re juggling multiple savings goals — and stashing money away for retirement is anything other than your No. 1 financial priority — just stop. We know your heart’s in the right place, but, sorry ladies, we simply can’t afford to financially shortchange our futures.

An IRA — a tax-advantaged investment account — is a woman’s ticket to closing the retirement savings gap. But if you thought that your only choices were a traditional IRA (the classic little black dress of retirement savings accounts) and the Roth IRA (the modern-day LBD) — surprise! You’ve got other IRA options, including ones you can open if you’re a nonworking spouse, ones that allow you to stash away more money than your full-time working pals and and even one that you can open if your income is too high to qualify for the other types.

See our HerMoney Guide to types of IRAs for help choosing the perfect fit for your situation.

The Best Valentine’s Date Ideas on a $25-$150 Budget
It’s hard to get into a romantic mood if you’re forced to overspend on a Valentine’s Day date night. That’s why we came up with a list of affordable ideas — dinners, gifts and experiences — to make Feb. 14 with your significant special, no matter your budget.

Your Monthly Guide To Increasing Your Retirement Savings In 2020
Yay, we’re living longer! That’s great news — as long as you’re financially prepared to support yourself for 20 or 30 years instead of the 10 to 15 years previous generations needed to cover. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not there yet. It’s estimated that nearly half of citizens — 47 percent — have only $25,000 in retirement savings.

If we want any chance of packing up our desks and pulling out our Hawaiian shirts and passports in our mid-50s to early 60s, retirement savings deserves a spot on our monthly to-do-lists. Making these small, strategic moves every month of the year will pad your portfolio for the future.