Introduction

I started Clever Girl Finance as a platform to empower women to take charge of their personal finances. I wanted to create a comfortable space for women to learn and have conversations about money without being judged, shamed, or pressed to show off. And most importantly, I wanted to provide a space that would allow us to be ourselves regardless of our backgrounds or our current financial or life situations. Today, Clever Girl Finance is one of the largest personal finance platforms for women in the U.S., and I’m so proud of how far we’ve come in achieving this goal of providing a space for women to learn and speak freely about money.

Creating a comfortable and nonjudgmental space has been of utmost priority to me because as women, in a world filled with standards and expectations, we keep so much bottled up. Sometimes being honest with ourselves and letting it all out is necessary.

We are more likely to talk about things like dating, relationships, sex, shopping, parenting, and reality TV than we are to talk about paying off debt, saving money, or investing – the latter of which is super-important to our long-term financial well-being and overall quality of life.

Why do we shy away from the money conversation so much? Well, as a woman I know how hard it can be to talk about money because:

• We don’t want to feel judged or shamed by the money mistakes we’ve made.
• We think other women are doing better with their money than we are because their lives look perfect in real life and on social media.
• Money is not a topic that we really grew up talking about, and so having those money conversations is not exactly second nature.
• We think talking about money is just way too personal.

These reasons plus several others are what get in the way of achieving our financial success.

Men, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. I mean, put five guys in a room and they’ll talk about everything from sports to business to beer to women to money and they won’t even give it a second thought. Why shouldn’t we, as women, be that comfortable about having those same conversations about money? We are just as smart, we are just as successful, and we most certainly work just as darn hard for our dollars.

As the Clever Girl Finance Tribe has grown, I’ve received a lot of flak about how good money management, saving, investing, and building wealth is not just a “woman’s thing.” But in all honesty, I’m really not fazed by that criticism. I do believe it needs to be a “woman’s thing.”

Yes, building wealth applies to everyone – there’s no dispute there – but I’m tired of our specific needs being ignored by the finance industry. I’m even more tired of seeing financial products and services designed by men from the male-dominated finance industry coated in pink and automatically termed “for women” because, well, that’s not how it works for us.

I mean, I love pink, but it takes more than a pink coating for money topics to be relatable to us as women and for our financial needs to be met. And in so many instances, the products and services that exist today just don’t cut it – especially in regard to the unique factors that affect us as women when it comes to our finances.

Those one-size-fits-all groupings that come with set standards? We don’t quite fit into them – sorry.

Given all the unique (and sometimes negative) factors affecting us as women when it comes to our success with money, we need to make money “our thing” and deal with it “our way” in order for us to be able to build wealth. And more importantly, we need to be able to live life on our terms.

But what factors am I talking about?

Well, for one thing, we are earning more money on average than we have ever earned before. Many of us are heads of our households or, if we are in relationships, many of us earn significantly more than our partners or spouses.

However, despite us earning more than ever before, we are paid significantly less for doing the same work as our male counterparts in nearly every single occupation and industry and we continue to face an uphill battle when it comes to equal pay. On average, women earn about 18% less than men.1 If we break it down by demographics, the numbers are even worse: Black women earn 36% less2 and Hispanic women earn almost 48% less.3 These numbers have not shifted much at all in the six years since I wrote the first edition of this book.

On top of that, we are living longer than men by an average of 5–10 years, which means we actually need more money for our financial well-being in retirement than men will. But stats show that, despite living longer, women have only 70% of the income that men have during retirement4 as a result of the gender wage gap and, in turn, the subsequent investment gap; and so, because we don’t earn as much, the women who do invest can’t invest as much.5

And I haven’t even gotten into the emotional side of things. As women, we tend to be more emotional beings – at least more so than men. That makes us big givers – not only are we more likely to give to charity and buy more extravagant gifts, but we’re less likely to fight for a promotion or ask for more in a salary negotiation.

But wait a minute, what about things like retail therapy? More women than men admit to shopping to make themselves feel better – and many admit to doing it because they want to make others feel happy. However, despite what might be perpetuated in the media and in popular marketing, just because we enjoy retail therapy doesn’t mean the stereotype that all women are frivolous and excessive spenders is true. In fact, according to a researched article by the New York Times, frivolous or excessive spending has nothing to do with gender6 and the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics prove it.7

Keep in mind that when we do spend, women are typically paying more for the same exact products and services, from insurance to dry cleaning, clothing and feminine care purchases to major expenses like insurance. And while many states have banned this gender-based price discrimination, also known as the “pink tax,” it continues to exist.8

I could go on and on with these factors, stating studies and statistics, but let’s not get carried away. It’s not a bad thing to be emotional, giving, or happy to spend. In fact, women are generally good with money. Like, really good with money. With the right tools, knowledge, and support, we are incredible savers and investors. The responses to our recurring Clever Girl Finance Women and Money Survey support the fact that women understand the importance of building wealth and are interested in investing, with 68% of respondents saying they actively invest for the future.9 We also take more calculated risks and are more patient when it comes to reaping returns. Being emotionally aware isn’t our downfall – it’s our secret weapon.

The majority of us want to learn more about or do better with managing our money. We want to do better with saving and investing – so what is holding us back from our financial success?

More than likely, ourselves: our self-doubt, discomfort, fear, lack of knowledge, lack of support – the list goes on. But here’s a secret:

If you really want to build wealth, regardless of whatever factors are at play, you totally can.

Yes, girl, you.

Regardless of where you are with your finances right now and despite all the factors I just listed, you can be debt free with solid savings and investments and live a fabulous life of your choosing while you’re at it.

My goal with this book is to help you take charge of your finances, ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth so you can be in control of the life you really want to live. You can shop when you want to, feel free to buy gifts you want to give, and show all the people who think you can’t succeed that you can. It might seem out of reach right at this moment, but you have what it takes to get there. You just took a major step by picking up this book.

Now that you’re here, I’m going to teach you exactly how to improve your relationship with money, create a plan to pay off your debt, and save some serious money so you can start living your life on your own terms.

I will, however, be honest and tell you right from the start that I have no get-rich-quick schemes or magic tricks to share with you. In fact, becoming financially stable is certainly not going to be easy. But I can tell you, firsthand, that I’ve done it. And if I can, so can you. You are more than capable of getting your finances to a happy...