Deborah Owens, of North Laurel, was only 18 years old when her mother retired from her job as an automobile factory worker, at the age of 50, and her father moved the family from Detroit to Hawaii, a place he'd always wanted to live. Not long afterwards, her parents separated and Owens moved back to Detroit with her mother.

"Although my father helped, I saw my mom's whole lifestyle change," Owens said. "I saw my mom go from middle income to barely making it. That had an indelible effect on me and I said at 18 (years old), I'll always have a purse of my own."

By that, Owens meant she would find a way to accumulate her own wealth so she would never find herself in a situation similar to her mother's or, she said, the 40 percent of women who live their golden years on social security checks.

After many years of hard work, Owens has accomplished that goal and is on a mission to help other women do the same through a nationwide Purse Club she formed and a new book she wrote, "A Purse of Your Own."

"There's a difference between women who build wealth and don't and that's what my book is about," she said. "Most people earn an income and spend it and have nothing left over. Many of us walk around dressing the part with an expensive car, but have nothing of real value in our purses (savings and investment accounts). Wealthy people add to what they already have and put money in their purse before they spend anything."

Owens, a wealth coach on My Generation TV and host of Wealthy Lifestyle Radio, a personal finance talk show on WEAA in Baltimore, understands that developing healthy financial habits can be a long process, but achievable.

"Anybody, no matter the level of income, can build financial wealth, but it requires knowledge of how it works. It's all about financial literacy," Owens said.

For Owens, gaining that necessary knowledge was a lengthy process that began when she dropped out of college, due to her family's financial problems, to manage a clothing store. Realizing that position would not help her attain financial independence, Owens applied for a job with financial giant Merrill Lynch and took a position as a receptionist to learn the business.

"I moved up to being a sales assistant, and during that time, the 1980s, I met the first African-American woman I'd ever met making six figures. She was a broker and I volunteered to be her apprentice," Owens said. "I told her I'd work for free so I could be a sponge at her side, but she paid me."

With a powerful mentor at her side and a thirst for learning, in 1986 Owens became a financial consultant at Fidelity Investments and quickly moved up to become the company's regional sales manager by 1989. Before later moving to North Laurel, Owens and her family moved to Columbia 17 years ago, when her husband, Terry Owens, became a TV news anchor on ABC Channel 2, in Baltimore. Deborah Owens became Fidelity's vice president in the area, and it was then that the bug hit her to spread the word about building wealth. She started the process by hosting a radio finance show, which Fidelity sponsored.

"I told the station I would have done the show for free because I wanted to reach more people because the financial landscape was shifting and people needed to have an understanding of how they would be affected," Owens said.

Owens later branched out to start Owens Media Group, which creates financial empowerment programs for companies and organizations. She eventually left Fidelity and began speaking at seminars and symposiums around the country on finance and wealth building.

"I've toured with Bishop T.D. Jakes, spoke at the National Association of Securities Dealers conference and traveled around the country speaking at mainly women's events," Owens said.

'Purse of Your Own'

Over the years, as her career blossomed, Owens invested her money wisely to create a healthy financial portfolio. She shares information on how she did it in "A Purse of Your Own," her third book on finance. In the book, Owens writes of personal experiences and those of others, lays out steps readers can take to assess and improve their finances and gives investment advice for people at various income levels.

"I'm on a mission, particularly with women because 60 percent of households are headed by women today and my mom's story was not the exception," she said. "We see too many women of retirement age still working or relying on Social Security, like my mom."

Owens' book also provides instructions on how her readers can set up purse clubs, which she started in January. They are designed to encourage women nationwide to meet in groups to use Owens' book and on-line videos as a guide as they seek solutions to help each other succeed financially. More than 50 people have signed up for the free purse club memberships .

"I launched this campaign, which I hope to go global with, to engage and enlighten one million women to become financially empowered," Owens said.

Annette Fisher, a marketing director in Baltimore, formed a purse club with six friends last month, after reading about it on line.

"I thought it would be a great concept to get together with my girlfriends, share resources, and encourage each other to stay focused in reaching our financial goals," Fisher said.

Fisher, who is 47 years old, wants to retire when she turns 60. To make that happen, she wants to pay off her debts, stop using credit cards and refrain from a major pastime -- shopping.

"I'm always in the mall, but since reading her (Owens') book, I now ask myself if I need an item," Fisher said.

Owens advises women that even if they don't have a large income, saving small amounts consistently will result in a large nest egg by the time they retire. She believes many women don't accumulating wealth because they often put others first.

"We take care of too many people at times and not ourselves. Our children will be in Ivy League schools and we'll end up living in our cars," Owens said. "The best thing we can do for our children is to be financially independent."

And if that means going back to school to become more marketable, Owens points out that she went back to school when she was 40 to complete her bachelor's degree and is now working towards an MBA.

She said she was able to accomplish the things she has over the years because of her strong faith in God and the support of her husband and two children. Just this year, her husband left his job as an anchor to work full time with her.

"I'm excited about this because both of our moms struggled and with knowledge, they could have built wealth because they were smart women," Terry Owens said.

And whether she's speaking before a large audience or a small church group, Owens tells her personal stories as an incentive to others to let them know that they can be wealth builders, but it will require changes and commitment.

"It means getting back to the basics. Our parents grew up in the Depression and they knew a rainy day would come," Owens said.

"So, spend less than you earn, don't accumulate debt and put something away for a rainy day because it will come."

For Deborah Owens' Web page, go to www.deborahowens.com. She will give a reading and hold a book signing on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland, 830 East Pratt St., in Baltimore.

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