Ever try to sit still for a few minutes just listening to your breath?

Many women find meditation relaxing while some women don’t get anything out of it. Doctors recommend it, therapists too as a way to quiet the mind, eliminate the chatter and find “yourself”. While it might be useful for some women I don’t believe meditation is for everyone.

If you are a type “A” person as I am, it is close to impossible to practice meditation. I feel like either I am not doing it right or there must be more to it then just sitting there breathing while sneaking a peek at the clock. If you feel that way too, it’s OK. You’re OK. The last thing any of us needs to do is to feel we failed at breathing!

I recently read an interview from the famous Manolo Blahnik, king of the “Sex and the City” shoes among others. He has been an icon in the shoe industry long before Jimmy Choo, or Christian Louboutin, (though if you never heard of these guys, no surprise as the shoes cost a small fortune)

In this interview, Mr. Blahnik states that “Flats make women walk like reindeer” Now I realize the man knows shoes, however I have a question for Mr. Blahnik; have you ever wore high heals and if so, how do your feet feel?

I used to love wearing heels, that is until I ended up having bunion surgery. My podiatrist blames those same high heel shoes (along with my flat feet) so now a year later, I swear by flats.

I have a friend who has had two bunion surgeries yet still insists on wearing stilettos! She loves the look the heals give her legs and I can understand that but for me, I have to sacrifice style for comfort.

So I appeal to Mr. Blahnik to make shoes that are comfortable and wearable no matter what the circumstances. Please make a sexy flat shoe that does not make us walk like reindeer!

My Mom has worried about the stock market since the recession began. Well into retirement, she somehow is still in the stock market thanks to her adviser who thought at 78 years old she should have some of her portfolio in stocks.

She needs a certain amount of money a month to live and over the last few years has purchased annuities. Years ago when she bought her first one she was guaranteed payments for life, now the type of annuity she originally purchased is no longer in existence.

What is her investment strategy? That the market rebounds to where she can at least break even then take the money and buy CD’s and more insurance policies.

I recently discussed this strategy with her and feel for her situation, this is a good way to go. She is in good health and is an active person. Her adviser has an insurance representative who tried to sell her product but when we found out what his commission was charging for these insurance products (9%), I suggested the following pointers so that she doesn’t overpay for things that she does not need and to review all of her policies to make sure they are the right fit for her situation.

Here is what we found the most helpful to her:

1. Shop around. You can cut your costs just by doing a little research and comparison.

2. Change your lifestyle. Stop smoking. It will cut your premiums close to 1/3 off the price.

3. Read the documents. I know this sounds boring, however if you have ever been ill, you need to read the pre-existing conditions part of a policy to be sure you will still be covered.

4. Learn the language and terminology used in the policies.

5. Sign nothing without a trusted person reviewing your decision.

The younger investor maybe more astute in understanding the different insurance products that are available to them. In many cases they may decide to self-insure because they are young or don’t believe in insurance; however this is not an option for someone who has already retired.

Insurance as an investment has been on the rise since insurance is perceived as risk-adverse. There are so many types of insurance coverages out there that this can be daunting. This does not mean, however, that insurance salespeople have a license to charge outrageous fees to consumers.

Take advantage of these pointers no matter what type of insurance you are looking to buy!

The question I hear most from women audiences when I speak is “how do I get taken seriously, or how do I make myself heard?”

Here are three tips to help you get ahead whether you are talking to your spouse, your employer or anyone else for that matter!

1. Effective communication includes verbal as well as non-verbal skills. Remember that body language speaks volumes.

a. Look the other person in the eye as you speak.
b. Speak at the same rate as the other person, not faster and definitely not slower.

2. Consider coaching to help you be an effective communicator. This is especially important in the business environment.

3. Never interrupt the other person. Put your opinion out there then listen attentively to what the other person is saying. By really listening while the other person speaks you might find them to be more open to hearing you when it’s your turn.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well it takes practice! I have a strong personality and at times will interrupt to get my point across, so number three is the hardest one for me. I have to keep practicing!

Wise women don’t allow others to manipulate them, however sometimes the softer approach is the better one!

An alternative to investing in mutual funds, stocks, bonds and other traditional assets in your IRA or 401 (k) plan is the self-directed plan, meaning you select the investment directly and control the investment choice.

Investors are caught between a volatile economy, the scammers and a struggling banking industry. You can no longer afford to allow others to control your assets. By diversifying your portfolio to a truly self-directed IRA, you have the ability to invest in what you directly select. A few examples of these investment types include:

- Real Estate

- Precious Metals

- Oil and Gas

- Green Investments

- Syndications or partnerships

And much more.

Besides the fact that self-directing your IRA has been around since 1975, few investors know that this is an option for compounding wealth in a tax-deferred or tax-free (in the case of the ROTH IRA) plan.

I am not suggesting that one move completely out of their existing accounts to a self-directed account. What I am suggesting is that NOW is the time to learn more about how you can control your retirement plan and allocate a percentage to self-directing in alternative investments that you control and makes sense in today’s world.

After all, who is in the best position to decide what is right for your portfolio? I would hope the answer is YOU.

To learn more about how to self-direct your IRA visit with one of the local Entrust Offices. The Entrust Group, the nation’s largest administrator of self-directed retirement plans is the only company with local offices nationwide to help educate investors on the important component of investing. Visit The Entrust Group for a local office near you.

Wise Women Investor is proud to be a sponsor of The Norris Group’s “I Survived Real Estate 2009″ event benefiting the Orange County Susan G. Komen for the Cure on September 11th in Yorba Linda, California.

As women, we all either know someone or have personally faced a serious health issue. With so many charities and foundations it’s difficult to determine which one to support. This event is one that I can wholeheartedly support.

There will also be a Race for the Cure on September 27th. Please join me in sponsoring Team Entrust and Women in Real Estate as we take on this challenge.

On June 29th Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Is this chapter done? Not likely. Perhaps we won’t see investment scams to the degree of the theft that Madoff committed, but sadly, there are others waiting in the wings ready to offer those “too good to be true” investments that will entice those looking for the “road to riches”. However, as we have learned, the “road to riches” can be a bumpy ride without proper due diligence.

You must use common sense, really investigate any investment opportunity, and most importantly, never allow others to make decisions on what you do with your money.

Remember, all investments carry risk and you may still have losses but at least you did your homework.

Do you know what is the most common password used on a hacked site? It’s 123456. While you might be more creative with your passwords the truth is that most of us use the same password for all of our online accounts. While this is helpful for remembering how to access an online account, most technology gurus will tell you this is a mistake. They recommend changing your password every 30 days to avoid online identity theft.

What’s a better choice when selecting a password? Robert Graham, CEO of Errata Security, a cyber-security consulting firm suggests having a password with at least 10 characters, alternating upper and lower case letters along with numbers.

Good advice for all of us. Now start changing those passwords!

Need to dig up an old family favorite recipe? Technology has evolved even in the cooking department! The Demy, a new digital recipe reader stores up to 2,500 recipes and organizes them however you want and includes helpful cooking techniques, lists food substitutions and more!

Never use a 3×5 recipe card again! If you are a cook check this out on Amazon!

Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, CD’s, all of these investment types are ones most of us know something about. Lately however, these investments make us nervous. Either a low interest rate return or a loss on our investments encourage us to look for other opportunities. You never know from one minute until the next what is going to happen to your portfolio. I have decided that further diversification from my tried and true investment strategy is something I need to consider.

I wanted to diversify my investing in something I would buy and hold (like I do my real estate). I don’t know about you, but when I was in the stock market, I would constantly be looking at the newspaper to see if the market is up or down and drive myself crazy because my timing might not have been perfect.

I was interested in something that will always have value and won’t go out of business. I decided to visit the precious metals front and see if this would be an area of interest to me. Precious metals can be tracked daily, but at least the rise and declines have not been as severe as the stock market. After some research, I narrowed it down and dccided to explore investing in Gold.

There appears to be a lot of confusion on Gold. Some believe that Gold will be the future currency of the world, that it will be the only asset you will ever need. Some believe this commodity can be used to trade for items such as food (should everything else in our world go down the tubes).

Many investors buy Gold as a hedge against inflation and add as a stable “currency” to their portfolio mix.

Others look at it on speculative terms, buy low, sell high just like every other investment.

Gold comes in different forms. Bouillon, certificates, funds, stocks, etc. In addition to Gold, Silver is also a popular investment metal.

I decided if I were to invest in Gold I wanted to own the real metal, not a certificate. With that decision, I needed to have a few questions answered. How would I actually buy the Gold? Would I ever want to take possession of my Gold should I buy any? And finally, if I buy Gold and don’t take possession of it, how do I know I own any?

To get answers to these questions and others, I recently visited with the team at Gold Money. I was able to learn where the Gold is stored, how much of it is there, how does one make the right decision on whether Gold or Silver is the better investment for your portfolio and most importantly, how can I buy Gold in my IRA?

As with any investment, you must do your due diligence including checking out both the provider and the investment. If using a self-directed IRA you are in charge of making your own investment decisions. Neither I nor any IRA administrator recommend what investors should or should not buy. That’s why it’s called a self-directed account.

What appealed to me was the “hold strategy” that gold was not going to go out of business and that with the economy what it is, there was a good chance Gold would go up (of course no one has a crystal ball to predict what any investment would do but it makes sense to me).

Using my IRA to invest in Gold was a good decision because:

1. I don’t need my IRA in the short term, so I can give it time to grow.
2. The amount I set for myself was reasonable so if in the event Gold went down I could afford to lose the difference if I had to sell.
3. I am diversifying my IRA investments, which is something I want to do.
4. It makes sense for my particular investment strategy.

I am not suggesting that you rush out to buy gold. This like any other investment is one that can be taken into consideration and could make sense to the right investor. What I am suggesting is that investing with your IRA could reap profits (tax-deferred or in the case of a ROTH IRA, tax-free) if Gold goes up.

Again, neither I, nor Entrust recommend investments. That is the beauty of a truly self-directed IRA!

I am not a risk taker; I do things methodically and never want to be in a position where I lose money. Who knows how my Gold purchase will do in profit, but my IRA is investing for the long term in something we can all still believe it. Go Gold!