Intuit offers financial health tips for women

Female entrepreneurs, stay-at-home moms, and women graduates across the country share a common thread – dreams. And with the country facing economic uncertainty, women are also united in their determination to achieve their dreams and thrive in any economy.

To help women manage the critical, yet complex tasks of personal and small business finances, Intuit Inc., maker of QuickBooks, Quicken, and TurboTax software, offers a series of timeless tips designed to help them achieve their goals.

The tips are part of Intuit and the company's Financial Freedom Foundation sponsorship of The Women's Conference, the nation's premier forum for women and the largest gathering of women in the country. The event, led by California first lady Maria Shriver, is going on this week in Long Beach, Calif.

Intuit's advice:

• Go for it – Every day, 1,600 women entrepreneurs in the United States take a leap of faith to start a small business and become their own boss.
   
• Embrace technology – Tap into the multitude of online communities, social networking tools, and free services that help women network, start a business, and manage finances. Advances in technology give women looking for work-life balance the flexibility to work on their time and their own terms, according to the Intuit Future of Small Business Report.
   
• Know your limits – Avoid costly overdraft fees and spend within your means by tracking finances.
   
• Invest in you – Invest in your education and a healthy lifestyle to extend your possibilities and life span.
   
• Organize and prioritize – File receipts in one place to save time and stress at tax time.
   
• Lend a hand – Give back to the community with time or household items. This both helps those in need, and creates valuable tax savings.

About the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation

The Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation is dedicated to economically empowering disadvantaged, lower income, and underserved people and the nonprofit organizations that serve them. By donating Intuit software and online services, the Foundation helps them master their finances and bridge the digital divide. The Foundation's signature programs are the Intuit Tax Freedom Project and the Quicken and QuickBooks Product Donation Programs.