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By Michelle Clardie, Bankrate.com

Despite attempts at financial equality, gender continues to impact nearly every aspect of personal finance, including earning, spending, investing and consumer debt.

Men on average earn more than women, allowing them to spend, save, borrow and invest more. Women tend to be more cautious with money, which makes sense since they have less of it. Data is not as robust for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals, but emerging research shows a pattern of even greater financial strain for this marginalized group as they work to overcome prejudices and early setbacks caused by a lack of financial support that cisgender peers typically receive from family.

Whatever your gender, being aware of the role gender plays in personal finance can help you better understand your financial hurdles and those others are facing.

General differences in the finances by gender

Statistics only tell a small part of the story regarding finances by gender. Chromosomes, sex and gender expression do not affect someone’s ability to manage money, build good credit, use debt responsibly or invest for the future. However, external factors and societal pressure assigned to gender roles do have a financial impact. read more

The journey to building a larger Oviedo police headquarters has involved years of delays, discourse, voter approval of millions of dollars for construction then rejection of city requests for millions more in back-to-back referendums.

But earlier this week city leaders took a major step toward expanding the long-cramped police station.

Council members Monday approved building a 10,000-square-foot annex next to police headquarters off Alexandria Boulevard for an estimated $9.7 million.

“It’s nice to see something come to fruition,” said Chief Dale Coleman, who has long complained space is tight in the current 11,000-square-foot public safety building for the fast-growing Seminole County city.

Oviedo’s Police Department has 82 employees, including 73 sworn officers — nearly double when the headquarters was built in 1990. As a result, officers and detectives often must share cubicles. There’s also no storage space for evidence and or an area for K-9 police dog units.

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TALLAHASSEE — A 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off of social-media platforms came under scrutiny Friday, as lawyers for the state told a federal judge the measure is addressing a “mental-health crisis” and attorneys for industry groups argued the restrictions violate First Amendment rights.

The law, in part, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on certain platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 would be prohibited from having accounts.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, whose members include tech giants such as Google and Meta Platforms, filed a lawsuit in October, contending the law — spearheaded by then-House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast — violates speech rights and that parents should make decisions about children’s social-media use.

Lawyers for the state argue that, among other things, the industry groups do not have legal standing to challenge the law and that its restrictions regulate commercial activity — not speech. read more

Christine Benz of Morningstar

Emergency funds are an absolutely crucial aspect of any financial plan, regardless of the life stage or situation.

Once you establish a retirement account, such as an IRA or 401(k), you want to maintain your balances and obtain tax-free growth for as long as possible. When unplanned expenses arise, you don’t want to make withdrawals from your retirement accounts unless there are no other viable options.

If you do have to withdraw funds from your retirement plans, you need to know how to do so without incurring penalties.

There are now over 20 exceptions to the 10% penalty. Ed Slott, a retirement plan expert, believes that “early withdrawals from retirement accounts should be discouraged because they reverse the retirement savings process, and early distributions are the most expensive. They are highly inefficient as they can be subject to both income tax and the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty, which combined can erode half of the distribution. It would be better to take the necessary cash from a non-taxable account.”

There are three categories of early withdrawal exceptions: exceptions that apply to both qualified company plans and IRAs; exceptions that apply only to IRAs; and exceptions that apply only to company plans. read more