Get serious about your money, honey
To say money is a touchy subject would be an understatement. Money ends marriages, wrecks friendships, tears families apart, and public conversations about it are still largely taboo. Money has power. And the people who have it are powerful.
In the winter of 2017, I attended a talk given by Ellevest CEO and Co-founder, financial guru and all-around badass Sallie Krawcheck in New York City. Dozens of women (and a few men) showed up to learn how they, too, could invest wisely for tomorrow and become more powerful, using the facts we have about women in the workplace today.
Facts like:
· Women of color make even less
· Our salaries peak at an earlier age (don’t we die after 40?)
I immediately went home that evening, upped my retirement savings by 4%, paid off a credit card and started thinking much more seriously about my future.
In my financial frenzy, I checked the retirement planning calculator on my 401k provider’s website. I was shocked to find that even by putting 14% of my income away plus my company’s generous contribution match, I was still earning only half of what I’d need to retire. It then occurred to me that I was not married (I am now, but that's a whole other story) and how interesting (and terrifying) it was that as a successful (IMO) party of one, I was only hitting half of my financial goal.
I’m just going to say it. Ladies: Whether you’re married, partnered, single or have 10 kids, there is always the chance you could end up alone. I urge you to get serious about looking out for number one (that’s you) and muster up the bravery to take a closer, more educated look at your money.
Yes, it is tough out there. Yes, it is challenging. Yes, talking about money is uncomfortable. And yes, it sucks knowing your vagina makes you less valuable for doing the same work as those endowed with the almighty penis. But despite the aforementioned facts and the slow uphill battle to salary equality, the tools we need to educate ourselves about our money are out there—we just have to be willing enough and brave enough to use them.
Check out Ellevest. Do your homework. Buy your first stock shares. Talk to a financial planner. Have those uncomfortable conversations. Increase your 401k contribution by 1% now (come on, you probably had a $5 latte this morning). Push through it all. Your future literally depends on it.
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