When life abruptly changes, some women who’ve chosen not to be involved in household finances, feel ill-prepared and overwhelmed by their new role. (iStockphoto)

As a financial adviser, I work with individuals and couples. Typically, when a couple engages me for financial services, one person is more in tune to the finances than the other. In many circumstances, the woman in the relationship may pay the bills, and then steps back, relying on her partner to make the more impactful financial decisions.

This process may feel comfortable for the couple, but it will come to an end in the event of a divorce or death. Often, when life abruptly changes, the woman, due to her lack of involvement in the household finances, feels ill-prepared and overwhelmed by her new role.

But what can you do about it? So that you will never feel helpless, learn to be accountable for your finances. First, you need to analyze your monthly cash flow. Budgeting will help prioritize spending, earmark money to save for the future, and plan for short- and long-term goals. Are you living within your means or spending more monthly than income allows?

The goal of a budget is to ensure you are meeting those basic needs — and some wants — without spending more money than you receive as income.

Manage credit and debt

Credit is borrowing money to buy goods and services with the promise that the money will be paid back by a specific date. Credit cards are easy to access and, if properly managed, are a good way to establish credit. When you apply for a credit card, it’s important to understand the terms. Often, the fees and interest rates are not obvious when you are signing the application.

Even if you intend to pay off your credit cards monthly, know what the current interest rate is on the card. The annual interest rate on your credit card will be nowhere near the 0.05% interest rate the bank is paying on a savings account but closer to a range of 14% to 26%.

When you apply for a credit card, a loan, or insurance, a file is created on you. This file is managed by credit reporting companies, and the information is called your credit report. Payment histories and the amount of credit are tracked over your lifetime. Credit history is important, and without a credit score above 720, it can be difficult to finance a home loan.

Credit card reporting agencies know that when a consumer carries high credit card balances, their default risk increases, and the agency will penalize the consumer by lowering their credit score.

If your credit history is poor, perhaps because you are not making your loan payments on time or at all, it can take up to seven years for the data to be removed from your credit report. Some negative credit issues, such as bankruptcy, can last 10 years on a credit report.

Leasing a vehicle

When you lease a car, you will usually have lower monthly payments than if you finance a car with a loan. You can transition to a new car every two to three years by simply returning the car to the dealer at the end of the contract.

The debt will have to be refinanced or the outstanding balance paid if you want to keep the car when the contract has reached its term. Additionally, lease-holders can be penalized if they terminate a lease early, exceed the allotted annual mileage, or damage the vehicle through excessive wear and tear. Before you lease a car, understand the long-term ramifications of this decision.

Watch your Investments

The objective of a quarterly investment statement is to help you understand how investments are allocated and if they are increasing or decreasing in value. It is a tool to help you manage and maintain a portfolio.

Do you need to sell a stock that has lost value? Will you be paying income tax on capital gains? Are your equity investments losing value when the stock market is up?

Review your statement every month. If something does not seem right, do not be afraid to do a bit of research or ask your adviser questions until you feel satisfied with the answer.

Save for retirement

Delaying saving for retirement often means you will be working well into those golden years. There is not a simple solution if you are in this situation. If you are over 50 and have not established a retirement account or have one that is dangerously underfunded, take the time now to meet with a financial adviser to implement a retirement savings strategy.

If you wait too long to fund your retirement, you may have ignited a fire that you will never be able to extinguish.

Before committing to financial decisions that could negatively affect you in the long term, evaluate your financial position. Carefully think about the outcome to your finances if the action backfires. Place your needs first and learn to say no when it is in your best interest. Remember that in retirement, you will need assets and income sources to maintain your current standard of living.

Insurance limits

Review your property and casualty insurance policies with insurance agents to determine if the coverage is sufficient. To minimize premiums, many auto or homeowners policyholders carry very low liability coverage limits. California only mandates 15/30 automobile liability coverage, which insures you for $15,000 per person or a total of $30,000 per accident.

If you have accumulated any assets, this coverage is insufficient. Do not assume that, just because you are paying for insurance, you are adequately insured. Confirm with your insurance agent or financial adviser that the insurance you are paying for protects your assets.

Review tax returns

Filing a tax return and paying taxes is not anyone’s favorite task. Gathering data to submit to the tax preparer is a chore and waiting for the results can be laden with anxiety. When the tax preparer calls and provides an update, good or bad, make sure to spend a few minutes reviewing the data.

What is your household income? Does the information on the tax returns look accurate? If reading your tax returns is completely foreign to you, ask the tax preparer to explain the information you are reviewing.

You may not prepare your state and federal tax returns, but you will sign the documents and are accountable for accurately reporting the information to the tax reporting agencies.

Learn to negotiate

Strong negotiating skills are beneficial when seeking a raise or a promotion and when buying a home or a new vehicle. However, people are often intimidated by the prospect of having to negotiate. Spend some time to learn and practice the key steps to fine-tune this art. Fortunately, many free resources are available online. Successful negotiators learn to control the process, coming away with an outcome that feels equitable and favorable to their objective.

Being more engaged with and vocal about finances will not only increase your confidence, it will also empower you to maintain control of your financial life over the long term, which is especially important as women continue to live longer than men.

Teri Parker is vice president for CAPTRUST Financial Advisors. She has practiced in the field of financial planning and investment management since 2000. Reach her via email at Teri.parker@captrustadvisors.com.