Down and Out in Beverly Hills

"Down and Out in Beverly Hills," a 1986 film directed and co-written by Paul Mazursky, came out the same time we moved to Beverly Hills.

The movie starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bette Midler, and Nick Nolte, is about a rich but troubled family who finds their lives altered by the arrival of a homeless guy.

I was experiencing the movie in real life.

My friends lived in houses that looked like the one used in the film.

They lived north of Santa Monica Blvd vs we lived in an apartment.

Housekeepers, lawn guys, and staff were always cleaning and working.

I was shy and awkward.

It was difficult to fit in.

By the time I was a senior graduating from Beverly Hills High School, headed for UC Berkeley,

- I felt hungry enough.

- I had no choice but to figure things out.

- I was empowered.

I felt I was going to make it out ok and on my own.

One of my best memories ever, was when I was a passager in a friend’s convertible BMW with the top-down.

- The sun was intense.

- It was shining down on me on Wilshire blvd …

It was this experience that drove my dream.

I studied economics, wanted to work on Wall Street and make money.

So many of my friends want me to teach financial literacy to their daughters, who are in their 20s and 30s.

I'm not sure I am the right person to do this.

Not everyone can experience what I experienced at such a young age.

Listening to a podcast by Howard Lindzon with Helene Meisler, who is a stock market technician, He asks her what we are doing wrong to get more women to participate in investing.

She gets that question a lot.

Most women are CFOs of their households, so women should be investing in Howard’s view.

Helene points out that the CFO handles the money in a risk-averse way.

It bums Howard out because, to quote him, “It's a joyous language and it shouldn’t be a language only guys get to speak.”

(oh yes, EBITDA, 401(k)s, ETFs, IRA, CPI, P/Es, PMIs a joyous language indeed. ;-)

But I’m finding more and more women are reaching out to me.

They are not just managing their household finances but also investing for the future and planning for retirement.

They are not putting their heads in the sand.

No one should end up like Richard Dreyfuss - who starred in Jaws, Close Encounters, and of course, Down and Out in Beverly Hills.

Richard squandered a fortune and ended up scrabbling around for work.

Quoted from an article in the Daily Mail, [why] "Didn't anyone ever tell you to take a portion of each salary and put it aside in a special account you can't touch?" [he] said, "No." Too bad for me. I didn't think about it."

Always have something set aside in a special account… that is for you and only you so you don’t end up Down and Out.

Please reach out if you would like some financial clarity.

Your Friendly Wealth Engagement Guide,

Tiffany Kent

Tiffany@wealthengagement.com

Empowering women to take control of their future!

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