No one knows how long the economic recession will last, but following a plan can create financial stability, a Detroit financial expert says.
Photo courtesy Gail Perry-Mason.
“We know tough times don’t always last, but tough people who are prepared in these uncertain times do last,” says Gail Perry-Mason, who is senior director of investments for Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. She is the keynote speaker at the Women of Color Task Force’s 28th annual career conference March 5 in the Michigan League, Rackham Auditorium and Modern Languages Building.
The conference is titled “Excel in Uncertain Times: Identify Resources & Maximize Opportunities.”
Open to all university staff and the general public from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., the conference will offer dozens of professional, financial and personal development workshops on a variety of topics, including leadership development, business etiquette, fitness and retirement.
Perry-Mason is well known in the securities industry for mentoring young women professionals, and for focusing her efforts on socially responsible investing. She founded and directed the original Money Camp for Teens and the first Youth Investment Club that is incorporated in the United States.
She also conducts a program in the Detroit Public Schools that includes teaching financial literacy and starting a business that exposes youth to finance.
Perry-Mason says people should “recession proof” their finances with a recovery plan, not assuming difficult financial times won’t happen to them.
“We have to go back to the basics of what our ancestors did regarding how they saved,” she says, adding that parents and grandparents in earlier generations often saved money in anticipation of difficult times, such as the Depression.
Many households live paycheck to paycheck, not having a “rainy day” fund for household or medical emergencies. Perry-Mason will discuss ways that women can stretch their paychecks by monitoring spending habits.
“It’s not how much you make, but how you manage it,” says Perry-Mason, who wrote “Girl, Make Your Money Grow.”
Managing finances includes setting aside one hour each week to review spending habits and eliminate unnecessary expenses. This might involve Perry-Mason’s three “C’s”: clothes, cable and cosmetics. She tells her clients to take clothes to consignment shops to earn extra income. A household can save money with a basic cable plan rather than the more expensive cable packages. Women, she says, also can buy inexpensive cosmetic brands.
The early registration cost is $60 for university members for the conference only ($80 with luncheon) and $70 for non-university participants ($90 with luncheon). On site registration with no luncheon is $75 for U-M employees, $85 for non-U-M attendees.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice Provost, Human Resources and Affirmative Action, the U-M Health System, the Center for the Education of Women and Borders.
Early registration is available until Feb. 19. For more information and class descriptions, go to www.cew.umich.edu/WCTF/WCTF1.htm, or contact Janice Reuben, WCTF program coordinator, at 764-6005 or [email protected].
