I’m generally an optimist. I used to be an eternal optimist but the current state of the world is really challenging that. 😭 Despite it all, there’s actually one thing I’m grateful for about this current administration... 

We’ve experienced hate, misogyny, backwards policies, and attacks on women and their rights, but this has also galvanized women and ignited a new resurgence of feminism. 

Trump has ignited my feminist voice and the voice of so many other women. 

When I left my investment banking job for a job that would afford me a better lifestyle, I took a big pay cut. At first, I had no idea how I was going to manage the switch because I had never made a budget and knew nothing about personal finance. It was worth it to me to spend more time with my friends and family and have time to take care of myself, so I figured it out. 

I asked my friend Jamila Souffrant, who hosts the incredible Journey to Launch podcast (they just reached 1,000,000 downloads! 🎉) to weigh in because she had her first Homecoming experience last week. Here’s what she said: 

“In a world where we are often one of the only ones in the room and considered the minority, a HBCU (Historically Black College & University) Homecoming experience allows us to reconnect to our roots. We get to channel the energy of those who have come before us and those who are poised to come after us. There is an immense sense of pride and belonging because we can completely; show up as who we truly are, celebrate how far we’ve come and have hope for what lies ahead.”

During my college summer internships and in my first job, the companies I worked for offered great training on everything from excel shortcuts to writing client emails and understanding our benefits. But no one talked to us about money. 

For many of us, it was the first time we were earning and managing our own money. We had no idea what we were doing and we made lots of mistakes. 

This Wall Street Journal article talks about new research out of Columbia Business School that suggests women are less likely to delegate than men, are more likely to feel guilty about it when we do, and actually have less courteous interactions with subordinates when delegating because we just want to get the conversations over with. I’m sure social role backlash has something to do with it!

A couple of weeks ago, in a keynote talk, I shared one of the most impactful realizations I’ve ever had -

It’s already more than enough. Or it’s never going to be enough.

Now I want to qualify this - this only applies to those of us who have our needs met. We have enough food to eat, a roof over our heads, and we are safe.

But if our needs are met, we get to make this choice.

A couple months back, many of you shared feedback on our Money Musing via a survey which led to our new and improved version. Thank you! I’m personally obsessed with it and we couldn’t have done it without you. 🙏

Something that was mentioned in over 70% of your responses was accountability. You want more accountability around your money. And it makes complete sense. We can have the best of intentions, know what we should do, and still see the days come and go without taking any action (or as much action as we’d like!). 

I know managing and paying down credit card debt is a topic that’s on many of your minds. And you are not alone. 

In the US, the median household income hit $63,179 in 2018. That’s $20K+ increase from what it was in the year 2000. Woot! But what’s changed is our debt. The typical household now carries an average debt of $137,063, up over 250% from $50,971 in the year 2000. Whaa??? 🤯

Ever since I did this Fast Company interview, I’ve been thinking a lot about the cost of women’s personal care and grooming. The premise of the article is whether or not these expenses should be categorized as needs or wants (an exercise we do in The 30-Day Money Cleanse). 

Society tells us that our beauty expenses are frivolous (and many personal finance experts concur). We end up feeling shameful about them, but in reality (unfortunately) our appearance is tied to our career success. 

I spent last week in Washington D.C. at an event called FinCon which brings together 2,500 personal finance nerds, media, and brands for a week of content, schmoozing, and celebrating. This might sound like a personal hell for many 🤣but despite the overwhelm, I had a great time connecting with fellow financial feminists (they do exist!) and learning about the latest financial technologies and products. 

One of the shifts I see in my most successful clients is that they switch from a fixed to a growth mindset around money. What does that mean? Instead of believing their abilities with money are fixed (saying and thinking things like “I am just terrible with money. This is not something I can do.”), they start to believe that they can improve and get better at it with practice. And of course, we can!