From BlackEnterprise.com

Cindy McField-Asamoah views  herself as a minimalist. “I don’t carry a lot of makeup or other items in my purse. I have an iPad 2 that I sometimes carry, and a BlackBerry Torch that I carry everywhere.” The 37-year-old married New York real estate broker switches up her purses according to her outfits, but they’re all hobo style—large crescent-shaped handbags with a long strap. “I need a large handbag because I often travel with my son [2-year-old Kaleb].

I am carrying things for both of us.” A vice president with the Corcoran Group in Brooklyn, New York, she keeps her wallet or clutch organized. “It doesn’t have sections, but my money is grouped together in one area, my credit and debit cards are in another, and my receipts are all in another.”

Why should it matter what’s in McField-Asamoah’s handbag? Robin A. Young, a certified financial planner, says a “purse check” is one way women can do a quick financial assessment. Financial behavior often reflects how you feel about yourself, says Young, president of Women Behaving Wealthy in New York. Money is personal and emotional—and what you carry around every day says a lot about your relationship with it.

For more words about your money, visit BlackEnterprise.com.

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By Blair Bedford

As a career woman, being prepared for almost anything is key to landing the job you want, keeping and growing in the job you have, or moving on to the next job of your dreams. Another key to career success is putting everything around you in perspective, from the company you keep to the items you keep with you on a daily basis that can be last minute life savers.

What’s in your purse might seem like a personal matter, but making sure you are prepared professionally could begin and end right with what you have in your tote, satchel, hobo, bucket or shoulder bag. Things like your cell phone, keys and wallet are essentials in your purse for your everyday life, but keep these items in mind when you put your career success in perspective.

Business cards

Business cards are a necessity for any professional to carry around at all times. Whether you are hitting the gym, the office or even the bar after work, keeping your professional business card on you wherever you go (and plenty of them) helps you network successfully whenever the opportunity comes across. You never know when someone will surprisingly ask you the question outside of a networking event: “Do you have a card?” If your company doesn’t have the option to order business cards for you, many websites help you design and create your own for easy networking-on-the-go.

New Year’s Eve is one of the most anticipated party nights of the year. Outside of your birthday, this holiday is probably the one you want to look your absolute best for. Whether you are in Vegas, Miami, LA, New York or your own hometown, there are a few items you don’t want to be missing when the clock strikes midnight.

Oversized bags are overdone.  If Erykah Badu was referring to you with her classic song, “Bag Lady,” then consider this your intervention.  Pack only what you truly need for day (or night) in one of fall’s hottest handbag trends–the cross-body bag.

If you consider your style to be classic, bohemian, edgy, artsy or glamorous, then click through the slideshow to find a bag and outfit suggestions that fit you perfectly!

Trust us, the weight lifted from your shoulders (literally) will be heaven sent.

I’ve always believed that a true fashionista can make a $20 outfit look like it cost 10 times as much.  You won’t catch me putting a designer bag on easy payments just to be able to say I’m rocking a popular label or blowing my whole college refund check on shoes I otherwise couldn’t afford.  I love clothes as much as the next twenty-something urban trend setter, but at the end of the day, they’re just clothes.  But every once in a while, you’ll come across a certain piece that doesn’t fill your heart with buyer’s remorse every time you see it hanging in your closet.  It will usually be a timeless piece that fits you just right no matter how many extra pieces of cake you consume. It’s the one piece that takes your outfit to the next level, ties everything together and makes everything you own look super Hot, lush and expensive.  You don’t have to clear out your checking account in order to look fabulous; sometimes all it takes is a worthwhile investment in certain key pieces.

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