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Barbara Stanny spoke at the Power of the Purse event in September, hosted by the University of Northern Iowa’s Foundation and Women’s Philanthropy Council. (courtesy photo)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 1:07 PM CST
Financial fairy tales
Speaker urges women to learn about money
By EMILY CHRISTENSEN, Image Staff Writer

CEDAR FALLS - Barbara Stanny may have been born into money, but she is the first to admit she wasn’t always smart about her finances.

Stanny is the daughter of Richard Bloch, the “R” of H&R Block. For her 21st birthday, her parents flew her to Las Vegas in a Learjet where a limo met her on the tarmac. They were waiting for her in the penthouse suite at Caesar’s Palace. There, her father presented her with a trust fund filled with H&R stock.

“From that moment on the only advice my father gave me was ‘Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,’” Stanny said. “And I was fine with that. Money was confusing, and all I wanted to do was spend it.”

Today, Stanny is the queen of her own financial castle, and she works endlessly to empower other women to take charge of their money, too. In September, Stanny was the keynote speaker at the second Power of the Purse event hosted by the University of Northern Iowa’s Foundation and Women’s Philanthropy Council. The event attracted more than 200 women of all ages, all interested in furthering their financial savvy. The theme of this year’s event was “Financial Fairy Tales: Prince Charming Isn’t Coming.”

Those who attended applauded the breakout sessions for offering wise words for women in all stages of their life and the committee for securing Stanny as the lunchtime keynote speaker.

“She’s just so full of knowledge, it was almost impossible to assimilate it all,” said Dottie Plager.

During her speech Stanny said Prince Charming doesn’t necessarily have to be a knight in shining armor. Prince Charming can be a wealthy grandmother, a winning lottery ticket or “anything that we think will rescue us financially,” Stanny told the packed ballroom.

“We can still have our prince, we just need to change his job description,” she said. “He shouldn’t be our rescuer, but our partner, because Prince Charmings die, they leave and they aren’t always good money managers.”

Stanny got this education the hard way. Her first husband, a financial planner, was also a compulsive gambler. He bet away Stanny’s savings and left her with a $1 million bill for unpaid back taxes.

Despite her familial wealth, Stanny was forced to stand on her own two feet. Her first move was to hire a financial adviser who could help her manage what little she had. Then she relied on her own determination and journalistic talents to learn everything she could about all things money related.

She talked with women who were making six figures to find out what they were doing to maximize their earning potential. And she read. At first it was just a few minutes a day with the financial section of the Wall Street Journal, but eventually, as her understanding grew, so did her interest in the topic.

“I didn’t want to just get smart about my money, but I wanted to teach other women how to handle their own,” she said.

While women should be smart about their budgets and investments, they also need to realize that they don’t have to do it alone, Stanny said.

“The six-figure women I interviewed told me one key to their success was social activism,” she said. “Even my mother, who is in her 70s, set up an investment club. Managing money is like losing weight — we all know how to do it, but sometimes we need some help.”

Like those on a food diet who are told to eat less and exercise more, those on a financial diet are also given a set of guidelines for maximum results: spend less, save more, invest wisely and donate generously.

“When enough of us smart women come together, we have the value and sensitivity to heal this planet and change this world,” she said.

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