How Mid-life Crisis became a Mid-life Quest

Having come of age inspired by “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar,” I cultivated a can-do way of life. Yet on the cusp of my fifty-fifth birthday, I had to admit I harbored a crushing fear of managing my money.

It was my ugly little secret. Outwardly, I was a capable, confident woman who had over three decades of business experience. A divorce bared the truth. For years, I had avoided dealing with personal finances. I didn’t want to. It had been easier to let my husband to take care of it.

Now I was riding solo. I paid monthly bills, but unopened bank statements piled high, insurance policies were chucked in a drawer and tax papers were buried. I had good intentions every time I set an envelope aside to review “later,” but later never came.

Prodding from a more financially astute friend, Mary Anne, helped me face my self-induced fears. Through our conversations, I discovered that I am not alone. Other women of my era share my contradictory attitude toward money – capable when responsible for other people’s resources, abjectly insecure when handling our own.

By merging Mary Anne’s financial planning philosophies with my own belief that God has gifted me with many talents, I slowly began to make positive financial management actions. My mid-life crisis unveiled an opportunity for an internal re-assessment that launched a mid-life quest. I began to uncover hidden potentials for my next phase of life.

And, that was the spark that helped me join Mary Anne's efforts to give birth to Women's Financial Serenity workshops.