💁‍♀️ The Female Financial Dialogue #Finimized: L.A. Edition

Last week was huge for us. Finimize brought the ‘Female Financial Dialogue #Finimized’ from London to Los Angeles, hosting our first big event in the U.S.! 🙌 And we’re already excited for the next one.

Scroll down and give us your thoughts for round two at the end!

Forty L.A. locals gathered at OnePiece Work in Santa Monica to discuss investing and dive into common challenges, confidence around the subject and discrediting stigmas. We hosted four panelists that brought very interesting backgrounds to the discussion.

The panel was moderated by Melanie Lockert, author and founder of the blog deardebt.com and Lola Retreat in Los Angeles. We received great insight and tips from Kathryn Cicoletti, founder of Ms. Cheat Sheet, Amberjae Freeman, Impact Researcher at Swell Investing, and Stacey Shieh Lee, Founder of Solve Your Finances. All four women are passionate about empowering women in their personal finances, which made for an inspiring evening!

So, here’s what we learned.

1. Set goals for your finances

Much like you’d set a goal for your career, or fitness, goals should be set for your finances. Stacey, a financial coach, talked the first question she asks her clients.

“It’s about the why. Why are you working and giving up your most valuable resource of time and energy for money? What do you want to achieve with your money? Set goals for your finances, like wanting to take a year off when you’re 30, and use that to drive you to invest.” ~Stacey Shieh Lee

Without that drive, you’ll feel lost in the motivation for investing and general financial upkeep.

2. Economically speaking, investing will give you greater returns

Let’s talk economics for a second. Amberjae, having studied economics, talked about inflation and the basic law of money, stating, “what a dollar is worth today, is not what it’s going to be worth in 20 years. Inflation exists”.

Kathryn also added, “at the bare minimum, the returns on your investments should be equal to the rate of inflation.” It’s a simple fact that really energized and inspired women in the room to just get started.

3. It depends when it comes to investing & paying off debt

A lot of Americans are in debt, whether from credit card or student loans, just to name a few. The fact of the matter is, it deters a lot of people from taking the step to invest. Why would they invest if they could use that same money to pay back debt?

Well, it depends. “Even if you’re still in debt, think about it this way: if you can use capital to generate more capital that’s something to think about,” Amberjae explained. She added, “[and] when you get a tax return, see if you can invest that money, rather than using it to spend right away”. Obviously, everyone’s situation is unique to their own, but investing can be a part of the equation to help you pay back your debt faster.

4. Help combat analysis paralysis with a robo advisor

We ladies can sometimes be guilty of what Kathryn coined, analysis paralysis. We obsess over all of the possible outcomes, positive or negative, fearing that our lack of certainty keeps us from making a sound decision. She recommended using a robo advisor for getting started because it takes off some of the pressure.

Also, “you can know a lot, but you won’t know everything. But use what you do know to make an informed decision”, wise words from Amberjae.

5. Make investing fun by investing in your passions

To start this off, Kathryn set the stage, explaining that, “it takes groundwork, something that we all have to commit to. The information’s there, it’s just boring and confusing. So how can you invest and make it more interesting”?

We’re all passionate about something: be it tech, restaurants, whatever. At the end of the day, Stacey suggested investing in that passion to make investing fun.

“I’m passionate about tech and real estate. Make investing fun for you by investing in your passions.” “If I’m willing to spend $500 on a new phone, why am I not willing to invest that same $500 in the company that makes it?” ~Stacey Shieh Lee

6. Last but not least: invest in yourself!

You are your greatest asset. Investing in yourself via education, eating well, learning new things in all aspects of your life will help you find the financial goals that you want and help you pursue them too.

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Have an idea for the next Female Financial Dialogue? Let us know here.

~Anna, US Community Manager