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Family Financial Planning
Caroline Kruse: Your Worth is brought to you by GenWorth Financial. Visit them at genworth.com.
Jacquie Chakirelis: You are listening to Family Matters Radio with Caroline and Jacquie, I'm Jacquie.
Caroline: And I am Caroline. You know, Jacquie, one of the biggest challenges facing women today is that balance between work and family life.
Jacquie: There's a balance? I lost that somewhere. And we hear that sentiment from our listeners all the time and it's really one of the reasons we created Family Matters Radio, so that we could continue our careers and our passion and still be there for our kids. And our next guest knows that push and pull all too well.
Juli Inkster is a mother of two and an LPGA Hall of Fame golfer. And for the third year, she's partnering with Genworth Financial to increase awareness about the importance of family financial planning. Juli, welcome to Family Matters.
Juli Inkster: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
Jacquie: This is a big question that a lot of women are facing, what are some of the characteristics women need in order to successfully manage career and a family?
Juli: Well, I have a very supportive husband, so that helps. Another thing is, I follow what is in my heart. I'm very fortunate that my kids traveled with me from six weeks on. You know, I would take them out on the road, we had day-care out on the road and my husband would come out. We kind of made a pact that we wouldn't be away from each other more than two weeks.
I just tried to get a routine for the kids. I mean, it was a little different routine once the kids started school. I had my job that was a little different from most mothers at the school. I travel with my job, but I really found out -- and it was a long time coming because my mom was a stay-at-home mom -- that as long as the kids are with you, it doesn't matter.
And so I made sure that they were included in everything I did. And I felt I created a good bond when they were very young and then when they started school, I had a good rapport with the teachers. I'd pull them out on certain days and kept up with their studies and it just kind of evolved to what it is today. And now they are 18 and 14 and pretty established kids.
Caroline: Well, Juli, how do you prioritize these competing responsibilities? I mean, especially when you are out on tour or traveling and as you said, you tried not to be away from your husband or the kids for more than two weeks. But still, I'm sure that had to be difficult.
Juli: Yeah, it is. I mean, you have to let go a lot of your "me" time because I felt like I had two hats, like when I had my golf hat on, I was a golfer and as soon as I got done with golfing, I was a mom. There would be a lot of days that I wore the same clothes all day long until I dropped into bed at 10:00 or 11:00 or whenever it was.
And you know, the kids got sick on the road and I'd have to take them to emergent care during the middle of nights and stuff, everything that families go through, but it just happened to be I wasn't at home doing it. I struggled with my golf game, but I felt like I was doing the right thing.
And then once the kids got a little older and really understood what mom does, I started planning a little bit better. And once they started school, I could devote a little more time to practice and things just kind of worked out. But I think the main thing is, in your mind and in your heart, you've got to feel like you are doing the right thing.
Jacquie: And, Juli, when you look back on it, there must have been some things and maybe some tips that you can share about how a woman can manage her time between competing priorities, because we all are wearing multiple hats.
Juli: Yeah, and it seems like you always have a hat on, you never get to take one off.
Jacquie: And it's always half-way on.
Juli: Yeah. And I think that is what I really struggle with. I really struggled when my oldest was born in 1990. I didn't feel like I was being a good golfer, I didn't feel like I was being a good mom, I didn't feel like I was being a good wife. It felt like I was doing everything kind of half-way, but looking back on it, I think I was doing as good as I could have done.
I mean, it's hard. It's hard finding that balance. But I think these days these kids are brought up, they have to be a little more self-sufficient. They got to learn to maybe get their breakfast in the morning or they have got to learn maybe to make their lunch for school or maybe throw a little wash in. I never did any of that growing up because my mom was always there, but my kids know now how to do wash. They know how to do their lunches and they can make dinner. So they are a little more self-sufficient than I ever was.
Every year I'd come home and I'd say, you know, "What do you think? Do you think I should keep doing this?" And they're all for it. I mean, they want me to do what I love to do and they love being part of it.
And I think when they can see role models like that -- it is not easy, they know how much work I put into both. But they are also, I think because I traveled with them and I have been one-on-one with them for so much, they are also like my best friends. And it turned out a lot better than I thought it was when they were little babies.
Caroline: So it sounds like it was really a family decision?
Juli: It was, because my husband has a full-time job, so he couldn't get out there as much as he'd like to get out, but he has never said, "Juli, you need to quit." He was always very supportive: "We can do this, we will make it work." We have given up a lot of the husband and wife vacations or the dinners, because when I am gone, he goes to all the kids' games and when I am home, I go to all the kids' games, so we always have some supporting cast.
And you know, it helps when you have family. A lot of working mothers don't have husbands, a lot of working mothers don't have family around. And I tip my hat to them. How they get it to all work is really impressive.
Jacquie: Well, Juli, thank you so much for sharing this information with us and peeking into your life a little bit.
Caroline: And if you want more information, you can visit our website at familymattersradio.com.
Announcer: Your Worth has been brought to you by Genworth Financial. Visit them at Genworth.com.
Caroline Kruse: Your Worth is brought to you by GenWorth Financial. Visit them at genworth.com.
Jacquie Chakirelis: You are listening to Family Matters Radio with Caroline and Jacquie, I'm Jacquie.
Caroline: And I am Caroline. You know, Jacquie, one of the biggest challenges facing women today is that balance between work and family life.
Jacquie: There's a balance? I lost that somewhere. And we hear that sentiment from our listeners all the time and it's really one of the reasons we created Family Matters Radio, so that we could continue our careers and our passion and still be there for our kids. And our next guest knows that push and pull all too well.
Juli Inkster is a mother of two and an LPGA Hall of Fame golfer. And for the third year, she's partnering with Genworth Financial to increase awareness about the importance of family financial planning. Juli, welcome to Family Matters.
Juli Inkster: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
Jacquie: This is a big question that a lot of women are facing, what are some of the characteristics women need in order to successfully manage career and a family?
Juli: Well, I have a very supportive husband, so that helps. Another thing is, I follow what is in my heart. I'm very fortunate that my kids traveled with me from six weeks on. You know, I would take them out on the road, we had day-care out on the road and my husband would come out. We kind of made a pact that we wouldn't be away from each other more than two weeks.
I just tried to get a routine for the kids. I mean, it was a little different routine once the kids started school. I had my job that was a little different from most mothers at the school. I travel with my job, but I really found out -- and it was a long time coming because my mom was a stay-at-home mom -- that as long as the kids are with you, it doesn't matter.
And so I made sure that they were included in everything I did. And I felt I created a good bond when they were very young and then when they started school, I had a good rapport with the teachers. I'd pull them out on certain days and kept up with their studies and it just kind of evolved to what it is today. And now they are 18 and 14 and pretty established kids.
Caroline: Well, Juli, how do you prioritize these competing responsibilities? I mean, especially when you are out on tour or traveling and as you said, you tried not to be away from your husband or the kids for more than two weeks. But still, I'm sure that had to be difficult.
Juli: Yeah, it is. I mean, you have to let go a lot of your "me" time because I felt like I had two hats, like when I had my golf hat on, I was a golfer and as soon as I got done with golfing, I was a mom. There would be a lot of days that I wore the same clothes all day long until I dropped into bed at 10:00 or 11:00 or whenever it was.
And you know, the kids got sick on the road and I'd have to take them to emergent care during the middle of nights and stuff, everything that families go through, but it just happened to be I wasn't at home doing it. I struggled with my golf game, but I felt like I was doing the right thing.
And then once the kids got a little older and really understood what mom does, I started planning a little bit better. And once they started school, I could devote a little more time to practice and things just kind of worked out. But I think the main thing is, in your mind and in your heart, you've got to feel like you are doing the right thing.
Jacquie: And, Juli, when you look back on it, there must have been some things and maybe some tips that you can share about how a woman can manage her time between competing priorities, because we all are wearing multiple hats.
Juli: Yeah, and it seems like you always have a hat on, you never get to take one off.
Jacquie: And it's always half-way on.
Juli: Yeah. And I think that is what I really struggle with. I really struggled when my oldest was born in 1990. I didn't feel like I was being a good golfer, I didn't feel like I was being a good mom, I didn't feel like I was being a good wife. It felt like I was doing everything kind of half-way, but looking back on it, I think I was doing as good as I could have done.
I mean, it's hard. It's hard finding that balance. But I think these days these kids are brought up, they have to be a little more self-sufficient. They got to learn to maybe get their breakfast in the morning or they have got to learn maybe to make their lunch for school or maybe throw a little wash in. I never did any of that growing up because my mom was always there, but my kids know now how to do wash. They know how to do their lunches and they can make dinner. So they are a little more self-sufficient than I ever was.
Every year I'd come home and I'd say, you know, "What do you think? Do you think I should keep doing this?" And they're all for it. I mean, they want me to do what I love to do and they love being part of it.
And I think when they can see role models like that -- it is not easy, they know how much work I put into both. But they are also, I think because I traveled with them and I have been one-on-one with them for so much, they are also like my best friends. And it turned out a lot better than I thought it was when they were little babies.
Caroline: So it sounds like it was really a family decision?
Juli: It was, because my husband has a full-time job, so he couldn't get out there as much as he'd like to get out, but he has never said, "Juli, you need to quit." He was always very supportive: "We can do this, we will make it work." We have given up a lot of the husband and wife vacations or the dinners, because when I am gone, he goes to all the kids' games and when I am home, I go to all the kids' games, so we always have some supporting cast.
And you know, it helps when you have family. A lot of working mothers don't have husbands, a lot of working mothers don't have family around. And I tip my hat to them. How they get it to all work is really impressive.
Jacquie: Well, Juli, thank you so much for sharing this information with us and peeking into your life a little bit.
Caroline: And if you want more information, you can visit our website at familymattersradio.com.
Announcer: Your Worth has been brought to you by Genworth Financial. Visit them at Genworth.com.