Women and Investing Alumnae Panel Reflection

In an effort to strengthen Holy Child’s alumnae network, the Alumnae Council hosted its first educational panel last week in Bethesda, MD. The panel was the investing class everyone wished they had in college! The discussion featured three panelists (Giselle Cruz Colavita ’96, Sarah Novak Nesbitt ’00, and Jaci Appel ’00) from different industries including financial planning & investment, family law, and real estate,. Liz Palka Minukas ’04, did an excellent job posing questions to initiate an engaging discussion.

For those that missed it, I felt that there were important takeaways that each panelist provided as advice through their experience: (Maybe consider making this “For those who couldn’t attend, here are the important takeaways from the panel:”

• Investment & financial planning
  1. Let your money work as hard for you, as you work for it.
  2. Investing doesn’t need to be complicated and there’s no better time than now to have a blended portfolio.
  3. If you’re interested in getting started in investing your money, look for a firm like Charles Schwab who employs salary-based financial advisors rather than commission-based.

• Family law
  1. There are three documents everyone should have today regardless of your age:
     1. Your will would make it faster and easier for your family to gain access to your assets upon your death. This document can grow with you as you get older; a will can start as general and get more specific over time.
     2. A living will (now known as “Advance Medical Directive” is necessary in case something happens to you that requires someone else to make a medical decision for you. The living will can incorporate a decision maker, specify consultants (where the decision maker has to consult certain individuals), and specific treatments you may want (i.e. how to treat an unborn baby).

• A power of attorney so that when you are unable to make decisions for yourself, this allows an individual to be appointed you guardian and have access to your accounts and assets.

• Real Estate
  1. Is putting down 20% a myth?
     1. Putting down 20% for a house is obviously great but it’s not required. Most of Jaci’s clients put down 10%.
  2. If you’re getting ready to purchase a house, start with understanding how much you can afford and go see multiple lenders. You’ll want to see who has the best products/loan to offer. Seeing a lender is a necessary step so that the real estate agent can show you homes that you can afford to buy.

The panel was also streamed on Facebook Live for those who weren’t able to be there in person. I encourage everyone to attend the next panel which will be announced soon. Thanks to Holy Child, we have an incredible network of women with the confidence and work ethic that is hard to come by in the workforce today. Please help support these events and give the future HC Alums something to look forward to after graduation!

Written by: Lindsay Edgerley Gleason '10