AARP Closing the Savings Gap

On this episode, we’re going to talk about dealing with life when it happens. Liz was coping with two stressful life events: being laid off from her job of 13 years and caring for her aging parents. Her new job offers no retirement savings plan. Caregivers, two-thirds of whom are female, look a lot like Liz and a lot like many of us. Listen and learn how Liz looks for other ways to save and takes steps to pay down some of the debt incurred while she was laid off.

Millions of women go through divorce each year. The question is how do you recover, get back on track, and still close your retirement gap? We’ll meet Karen who is considering taking on a side gig to increase the flow of money coming in, but needs advice on where to start. Listen to how Karen learns the ins and outs of replenishing her emergency cushion, paying down her credit card debt, and rebuilding her financial life anew as a single woman.

On this episode you’ll meet Narda who tells us she’s planning to work well into her seventies, which sounds like a great plan and one that many of us are banking on. The problem is that nearly half of all retirees leave the workplace sooner than they planned due to health problems, job loss, or other circumstances out of their control. Listen and learn how Narda takes the necessary steps to protect herself and her family from income loss, increases her contributions to her 401(k) plan, and opens a 529 plan for her daughter’s education.

Join us for this episode as we explore the challenges that arise when you forget to pay yourself first, or put off saving for retirement simply because you have other things on your plate. We’ll meet Hilda who is facing the challenge of needing to save for her retirement while simultaneously pursuing her dream of starting her own business and feeling a responsibility to help save for her kids’ college education.

How many of you have access to 401(k)s through your jobs? Many private sector workers do not. Entrepreneurs and people who work at smaller companies are even less likely to have a plan, and of course, retirement is never the only responsibility on our plates. Listen to how Kem takes the necessary steps to navigate life’s competing financial priorities, including budgeting, and learns to put herself first.

On this episode, we look at what happens when WE becomes I. Millions of women find themselves at a crossroads, needing to re-learn how to live and manage their finances alone following a death or divorce. What do I do with the house? Should I consider investing? Listen and learn how Michelle dove into her finances to formulate a money-savvy plan for her new life.

Join us for this episode as we meet Shaun and Kimberly, and explore a common financial challenge — the lack of a safety net. Some 55% of Americans have no emergency savings whatsoever. When we aren’t prepared, we’re more likely to pull out the plastic to charge our emergency expenses, digging ourselves into an even bigger hole. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Shaun when she was faced with unexpected medical bills. What’s the solution? Budgeting. It’s absolutely essential when it comes to having enough for your eventual retirement. Although budgeting isn’t a skill that Shaun was raised with, she’s on board to learn so she can close her retirement gap. We were thrilled to pair 42-year-old Shaun — a junior art director in New York City — with Kimberly Foss, founder of Empyrion Wealth Management and author of the book Wealthy By Design. Tune in to this episode to hear Kimberly guide Shaun through the maze of paying off back-taxes, student loans, and credit cards — all while creating her first budget, and taking the first steps toward planning for a stress-free retirement.

Closing the Savings Gap is a podcast series hosted by AARP Financial Ambassador Jean Chatzky. We’re talking to real women as they work to close the financial gap that may be holding them back in saving for retirement. We help them conquer common financial roadblocks like debt and overspending. Each woman is matched with a financial planner who provides step by step guidance to help them make the changes they need to retire with confidence, so that you can do the same.