Nancy Griffin is the CEO of Passionate Legacy Inc., a financial services company. She will be leading the discussion at the “Women, Wealth and Wellness” event on Oct. 8 (Courtesy Nancy Griffin)
The Chang School is challenging women to think more about how health and wealth are connected.
On Wednesday, the school is hosting a breakfast and lecture called, “Women, Worth and Wellness,” at the Peter Bronfman Learning Centre.
According to Nancy Griffin, a financial planner with more than 20 years of experience who will be leading the lecture, the event will focus on how “wealth and health run parallel to each other” and the relationship between “net worth and self-worth.”
Griffin says that in the same way that you wouldn’t do you own dental work, you shouldn’t make financial decisions without consulting a trusted advisor.
She wants more women to take control of both their finances and personal well-being.
“Do not let a day go by when you don’t know how well you are or how wealthy you are,” she says. “Step up and own your financial scenario.”
Elaine Lam, director of business planning at the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education and an organizer of the event, got the idea for “Women, Worth and Wellness” after reading a business article in the Globe and Mail. The article discussed the changing landscape of the financial service industry, and how it’s responding to the growing market of financially independent women who need their wealth managed.
“The whole conversation about women and money is not front and centre. It’s not a topic that gets as much attention as women and careers, work-life balance and the media,” Lam says.
But Lam also says it’s a conversation that more women should be having. According to the Globe, 90 per cent of Canadian women will take control of their finances at some point in their lives, and it’s something that younger women should be thinking about early on.
“This is the time period for women in their 20s and 30s, when they’re in the trenches,” Lam says. “They’re dealing with paying off loans, having a mortgage and thinking about the day-to-day costs of living.”
Managing your finances becomes especially important for women planning their last wills. Both Griffin and Lam stress the importance of a woman’s legacy — that is, the last choices she makes about her possessions, especially all debt and properties left at the end of her life.
“Your legacy is what you want people to remember you by. It’s more than just dollars and cents,” Lam says.
For professional women, financial planning is also more than just managing wealth — it’s a source of female empowerment.
“Having a good understanding of your complete net worth scenario…enhances your self-worth because you don’t feel vulnerable. You feel you have protection in the event of disability, death, job loss or divorce,” Griffin says.
Taking control of their finances gives women the confidence to make appropriate choices, Griffin says.
“They’re not leaving it up to a spouse, parent or relative to tell them what to do.”
Registration for the “Women, Worth and Wellness” breakfast costs $20 and can be accessed through Ryerson’s website.
Celina graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015.
