Avoiding Financial Disasters: Tips for Women

    When it comes to signs of financial problems, don’t put your head in the sand.

    FOX’s Carole Zimmer explains:

    Women who don’t pay attention to family finances could be courting disaster.

    Janet Lombardi was married to a lawyer for 25 years. They had two children. Then the family’s finances collapsed. Lombardi discovered her husband had credit card debt and there were liens against their Long Island home which had a big subprime mortgage:

    (Lombardi) “The watershed moment in my situation was when I called my financial advisor and I had no idea that my husband has been siphoning money out of the accounts and when I called him he said to me he said get yourself a good layer, a good accountant and a private eye.”

    Lombardi had to sell her home to pay off the $500,000 in debt her husband had accrued. Lombardi says she wants other women to be aware of financial warning signs like compulsive debt:

    (Lombardi) “Somebody who just not minding their finances, who just keeps using a credit card. Who thinks that magically there’s going to be some money to pay for all of the things that they’re buying”

    Lombardi says that experience has taught her that it’s a good idea for both partners in a couple to check on their finances on a monthly basis.

    She’s written a memoir about financial ruin called “Bankruptcy: A Love Story.”

    I’m Carole Zimmer, FOX News.

    Follow Janet Lombardi on Twitter: @LombardiJanet
    Follow Carole Zimmer on Twitter: @Carole_Zimmer