Prince
Not So
Charming
byKathleen Grace, CFP, CIMA
2013 Excelsior Capital Holdings, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may beused or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the caseof short quotations used for critical articles or review. This book is a workof fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, andincidents either are a product of the authors imagination or are usedfictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, as well asevents or locales, is entirely coincidental. Although the author and publisherhave made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of theinformation contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors,inaccuracies, omissions, or inconsistencies herein. Any brands, products,companies, and trademarks that appear in this book are stated for illustrativepurposes only. Their mention in no way expresses explicit or impliedendorsement or approval of the content in this book.
Nothing contained in the book Prince Not SoCharming should be misconstrued as investment, financial, legal, tax orother professional services advice, but is general information only. Nor is theinformation provided in the book being offered by United Capital FinancialAdvisers, LLC, its parent, or its subsidiary entities. You should seek theservices of a competent professional before beginning any improvement program.The story and its characters and entities are fictional. Any likeness to actualpersons, either living or dead, is strictly coincidental.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.owns the certification marks CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CFP(with plaque design), and CFP (with flame design) in the UnitedStates, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board'sinitial and ongoing certification requirements.
Investment Management consultants association (IMCA)is the owner of the certification marks CIMA, and CertifiedInvestment Management Analyst. Use of CIMA orCertified Investment Management Analyst signifies that the user hassuccessfully completed IMCAs initial and ongoing credentialing requirementsfor investment management consultants.
Published and distributed by Excelsior CapitalHoldings, LLC
Cover design by Delphine Levesque Demers
For ordering information or special discounts forbulk purchases, please contact Excelsior Capital Holdings, LLC at 925 SouthFederal Highway, Suite 125, Boca Raton, FL 33432,
Telephone 561.353.4440
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013940106
Printed in the United States of America on acid-freepaper
12 13 14 15 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
First Edition
eISBN: 978-0-9893978-1-0
W ith all my love, this book is dedicated to my mother, MargaretGrace, for all she endured in order to keep our family together. And to mybeautiful daughter, Margaret Katherine, who I thank God for each and every day!May she grow up to be a confident, proud, financially and emotionallyindependent woman while maintaining her sweet, loving disposition.
And to all thewomen who find or have found themselves with a prince who is not socharming. May you have the strength and fortitude to make a change and to beempowered and independent!
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
I am trulyblessed to have so many wonderful, talented people in my life who havecontributed in one way or another to this book. I have no doubt that withouttheir patience, understanding, encouragement, and help, I could not havepersevered.
Ithank my writer and friend, Donna Peerce, for her creativity in weaving thisbeautiful, romantic tale and for her undying patience with my edits, reedits,and edits to the reedits. Without her, this story would have never come tolife! Donna, you made this so much fun.
Iwould like to thank the gifted artist, Delphine Levesque Demers, for hergraciousness and expediency with the absolutely beautifully detailed coverartwork and for her ability to make real exactly what I had envisioned.
Thankyou to the women in our firm and in our industry who improve the lives of thosein their communities, as well as clients, each and every day. And thank you toour fearless leader, a tremendous role model and visionary.
Hugsand kisses to all my fabulous loving friends and to my loyal business partnerand best friend, whose immense love and compassion has seen me through somedark days. Thank you for your encouragement to turn this idea into reality inorder to make a difference in the lives of other women.
Mydeepest gratitude to my dear friend and confidant, Lawrence Ineno, writer and editorfor being so loving and understandingyou are a true prince! Thank you for yourpatience in dealing with this obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist Virgo andyour dedication and resolve to shepherd this project.
Introduction
F or over twenty years, I have worked with countless women whorepresent a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. What I have found isthat, regardless of whether someone is a corporate executive or stay-at-homemom, a womans dream of finding her own Prince Charming is near universal. Weall wish for that perfect love! But after hearing story after story ofdisappointment and heartbreak in relationships, I have come to the unfortunateconclusion that Prince Charming exists only in fairy tales.
Despite theprofessional boundaries that women continue to break through as we become CEOsof Fortune 500 companies, senators, state governors, high-profile athletes, andmilitary leaders, women continually fall prey to the consequences of what Icall the Prince Charming syndrome.
Many of us are castunder the spell of finding the perfect matesomeone who will fulfill usromantically, financially, and emotionally. In and of itself, there is nothingwrong with this aspiration. After all, the union between two people who loveone other is the bedrock of our society. The issue, however, comes when womencede control of their financial lives and emotional well-being to someone else.I am referring not just to women who are financially dependent on a breadwinneror have little monetary means on their own or both. I am also includingdoctors, lawyers, business leaders, and others in prominent roles within theirprofessions and communities. For example, I have met professionals and businessowners that are victims of verbal or physical abuse.
Listening toheartbreaking stories motivated me to provide tools to empower women. Bycombining the insight I have gained working with clients who represent diversebackgrounds with my experience as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional,I have reached the following three conclusions:
Giving PrinceCharming full financial control also hands over your power. When someone hascontrol over your financial future, you are vulnerable to a financial crisis.Counting on Prince Charming to pay the bills exposes you to being controlledfinancially or otherwise. Knowledge and involvement in the daily expenses andincome will help prevent becoming a victim.
Anything can happento Prince Charming, so be prepared. He can die, become disabled, be a spendthrift, or turn out tosimply be a jerk. Relationships may be perfectly romantic in the beginning. Theunfortunate truth is that they often come to an endgiven the current divorcerate is over 50 percent.
When you arefinancially independent, you are better equipped to deal with the emotionaldevastation of a breakup. Getting over the loss of Prince Charming, in and of itself, istough enough. But it is exponentially more difficult when you are dealing witha breakup