Women & Co. Financial Tips (Press Release)

Get (Financially) Fit For Summer

Tips from Women & Co. for Financial Health

This summer, while focusing on your physical fitness, why not spend some time on your fiscal fitness as well? Like fitness, when it comes to finances, setting goals is a key to your success. A recent Women & Co. study found that 93% of affluent women set financial objectives. To help you define your financial future, download the Women & Co. worksheet, Set and Achieve Your Financial Goals. Then follow the five simple steps below from Lisa Caputo, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Women & Co., and Linda Descano, CFA^®, President and COO of Women & Co.:

1. Assess Your Health: Gather all important financial statements and review what you own, your assets, and what you owe, your liabilities. Look carefully at how you’re putting your hard-earned cash to work – what you’re earning, spending and saving. Then set aside some time every few months to file important papers and keep them organized.

2. Know Your Numbers: Your credit score is a key indicator of your financial health. It’s a primary criteria used by lenders to determine your likelihood of defaulting on a loan and that may impact your ability to get many types of loans, including a mortgage. Request your free annual credit report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com.

3. Set Your Goals: Once you know where you stand today, set goals. Short-term goals are those you’d like to accomplish within one year (e.g., pay off credit cards); mid-term goals, within 5 years (e.g., make down payment on a new home); and long-term goals, 5 years or more (e.g., save for retirement). Write these down, using the worksheet from Women & Co. to help you clarify and prioritize your financial goals.

4. Protect Yourself: Maintain appropriate insurance coverage; keep your beneficiary forms for your 401(k), IRA and insurance up-to-date; and put your wishes in writing by executing a will, living will, power of attorney and health care proxy.
5. Conduct Annual Check-ups: Review your finances at least once a year with your financial advisor. Keep in mind that life transitions such as having a child, getting married or divorced, or moving to another state, often bring with them financial, tax and legal implications.

Just like your physical health, your financial well-being requires on-going maintenance to stay in shape. Speak with a financial advisor or visit womenandco.com to access a suite of financial education resources and a vibrant community of financially-minded women.

About Women & Co.

Where wisdom, wealth and women meet.

Women & Co. is a financial resource program from Citi, dedicated to helping women achieve their financial goals. Women & Co. provides members with education on a vast array of financial and investing topics, which members access through womenandco.com. By accessing the site, members can read newsletters, listen to audio conferences, and find out about Master Class seminars in major metropolitan areas. For more information, visit womenandco.com.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management.

Women & Co. is a membership service that provides financial education and related resources intended for informational purposes only. No feature of the membership shall constitute an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security. Citigroup entities and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC pay an annual fee to Women & Co. for expenses relating to the delivery of membership services to clients. A member is not required to be a customer of a Citigroup entity or Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC to enroll. Women and Company, Women & Co., Citibank, Citi, and Citi with Arc Design are registered service marks of Citigroup Inc. Women & Co., Citibank, Citi Personal Wealth Management, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are affiliated businesses under the common control of Citigroup Inc. Citigroup Inc. and its affiliates do not provide tax or legal advice. To the extent that this material or any attachment concerns tax matters, it is not intended to be used and cannot be used by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

Life insurance is medically underwritten. You should not cancel your current coverage until your new coverage is in force. A change in policy may be subject to additional insurance and investment-related fees as well as increased risks, and may also require a medical exam. New surrender charges may be imposed with a new contract or may increase the period of time for which the surrender charges apply. Surrenders may be taxable. You should consult your own tax advisors regarding tax liability on surrenders.