From Mary Claire Friesma, Director, Women's Financial Connection
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou.
We’ve all done it. We’ve done life the hard way, until . . . someone showed us a better way. Then happily we’ve gone on our way, scratching our heads, wondering why no one ever told us any differently. This applies to probably every area of life, but especially to our financial lives. Unfortunately, because “money issues” have traditionally been a taboo subject to casually chitty-chat with our family and friends about, we miss out on many learning opportunities to improve our financial well-being and future.
Additionally, there’s a negative social stigma that goes hand-in-hand with belonging to any financial class other than “upper,” that seems to keep us stuck where we are. We mistakenly believe that “financial planning” is something that only very wealthy people do. In reality, becoming adept at personal financial planning and money management is even more important for those of us with less money than the “rich and famous.
With a commitment to provide new opportunities for women and girls to learn about financial literacy and life skills, Women’s Financial Connection (WFC) a non-profit organization was founded by author, former financial advisor and broker, Debra Hadsall. She had felt limited by accepted policy and frustrated by the lack of support and materials so she turned to a time tested concept into an innovative system for serving and reaching an unserved market of women as investors and consumers of other financial tools and solutions “We have removed the fear and drudgery of learning financial concepts by teaching women and girls in a party environment, using real-life scenarios as teaching opportunities. It’s a party with a purpose!” says Ms. Hadsall, creator of Financial Freedom Party for Women (FFP), which provides educational parties and a personal financial analysis/ accountability process.
Ms. Hadsall emerged from the male-dominated financial planning industry with a fire in her soul to help women and girls without access to opportunities to “learn the basics” of forging their own paths to financial freedom and security. She made a calculated financial sacrifice to leave behind the highly regulated, yet lucrative world of wealthy investors, to freely share her knowledge with those who most likely would never have any other opportunity to learn a better way unless she stepped up to teach them. For her, it was simply her calling and the most responsible choice she could make once she sensed this was to be her mission in life. Her passion has attracted other like-minded women to join her on her path, as they together work to together to open the door of financial security to women and girls everywhere.
Women’s Financial Connection is a grass-roots effort seeking financial support from those who wish to “give back” through their tax-deductible financial donations to those in need of the life-enhancing education provided through the Women’s Financial Connection.
You can engage at any level; it’s fun and easy to sponsor a party or act as a facilitator using FFP materials, or by simply providing monetary support to maintain our outreach. Whichever avenue you choose, your donations will make a lasting impact on the women and girls we serve. More information about WFC and Ms. Hadsall available at www.womensfc.org .
Copyright©2018 by Women’s Financial Connection
