Money Musings 💭 Alexander McQueen x 6
Have you heard the story about Tiffany Haddish’s $4,000 Alexander McQueen dress?
She first wore it to a movie premier in 2017 and went on to wear it five more times at high profile events - as a presenter for the Oscars, the MTV movie awards and when she hosted Saturday Night Live. The scandal!
She said on Saturday Night Live: “I spent a lot of money on this dress! This dress cost way more than my mortgage," she said, relatable as ever. "It’s an Alexander McQueen, it’s a $4,000 dress. I’m gonna wear this dress multiple times—you might see this dress in two sketches tonight."
Not only was this very relatable, it brought attention to the stigma around re-wearing red carpet gowns and the pressure to purchase or borrow many multi-thousand dollar dresses.
It’s not just a red carpet celeb problem. I’ve felt this pressure (to not wear the same outfit more than once) for weddings (or other special events), TV and media appearances, and even out with friends.
This got me thinking a couple things…
1. Do you know Tiffany Haddish? I’d love to interview her for my book!
2. What other stigmas or commonly supported rituals infiltrate and harm our money lives, causing us to spend on things we'd rather allocate elsewhere or don’t have to spend?
Seriously, though. I’m asking you. Hit reply and let me know.
PS This Saturday I'm speaking at the Create & Cultivate Money Moves Summit (a day of money conversations and workshops). 🥳 The first 100 people from the Fiscal Femme community to use the code ASHLEY100 will get their ticket free. #sponsored
PPS Next week I'm hosting a free investing workshop with Public. Sign up here and learn more about the event below!
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
GET START INVESTING.
Did you know... Studies show women invest less than men, on average, but when we do we’re usually better at it?
Because I can’t help myself. Chew on this:
A Goldman Sachs survey found that women-led funds and funds with more diverse leadership are outperforming male-led funds.
Another study found that women were better than men at stock picking, largely because they tend to trade less and be more long-term in their focus.
Why am I sharing this? Investing doesn’t need to be a white boys club. That’s why I joined and am partnering with Public.com, an investing social network and app to host a workshop Grow Your Money - Investing 101. It’s a completely free event and we’ll be covering everything you need to know to get started with investing.
During this workshop we’ll:
Cover important investing basics
Debunk the most common investing myths
Demystify investing jargon
Help you better understand investing risks
Answer your investing questions via a live Q&A
Here’s why I’m partnering with Public:
They’re creating a new culture around investing. Their community is 40% women and 45% people of color. They believe that to truly democratize the stock market, you need to build a more inclusive culture around it.
You can align your investments with your values by investing in their “themes” of stocks. I’m a fan of Women in Charge, Combat Carbon, Plant-Based Movement, and Reuse and Reduce.
They are transparent. Public doesn’t sell your trades to third-parties and does not use Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) as a revenue generator for its business. You probably heard about PFOF if you followed the Gamestop saga.
There are no commission fees for standard trades and you can invest for as little as $1.
The app educates. Potentially risky securities are labeled, you can tap on keywords to get definitions as you go, and you can learn from a broad community of investors.
We learn by doing. If you’re ready to get started, we’re giving each member of the Fiscal Femme community $10 of stock. Get yours here.
*This is not investment advice. Valid for U.S. residents 18+ and subject to account approval. See Public.com/disclosures/.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
DEFINE VENTURE CAPITAL (VC), PRIVATE EQUITY (PE) AND HEDGE FUND.
These are all types of investments and investment companies. Here’s the breakdown and differences:
Define: PRIVATE EQUITY. Private equity is composed of funds and investors that directly invest in private companies (vs. public). You can buy and sell public company shares through your brokerage account or 401(k). Private equity firms invest in companies that are not publicly traded (i.e. they’re private) to earn money for their investors (their clients).
"Fun" fact: In Pretty Woman, Richard Gere’s character worked in private equity. He would buy struggling companies and sell off their parts.
Define: VENTURE CAPITAL. This is money invested into startups. These are riskier investments so venture capital firms are looking for big returns (i.e. lots of growth). There are entire companies (venture capital firms) that exclusively invest in startups, often focused on specific sectors. Larger investment firms and banks may have a venture capital fund, among many other types of funds. In venture capital, investors make their money back when a startup goes public and they can cash out.
“Fun” fact: Venture capital is a form of private equity.
Define: HEDGE FUND. A hedge fund is also a company that invests money for its clients (investors), but it has much more flexibility in where it can invest. You probably saw Melvin Capital in the news around the Gamestop saga recently. They were “short” Gamestop stock, which is something investors do when they are betting a stock will go down.
Define: SHORT. A short position or “short” for short (pun intended) is when an investor borrows shares of a stock to sell them. Then once the price goes down, they buy the shares back at what they are hoping is a lower price. In the case of Gamestop, the opposite happened. The price went up astronomically and hedge funds needed to borrow money to buy back the shares.