By: Ashleigh Lowe, W*SS Intern
This past month I have been reading Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build A Life You Love by Tori Dunlap. Dunlap wrote Financial Feminist to combat the financial literacy and wealth gap. As young girls, women are less likely to earn a holistic financial education, and as adults, women earn less than their male counterparts. Additionally, women of color earn less than their white counterparts. The lack of financial literacy faced by women is an intersectional issue because white wealthier women often had more opportunities as children to gain a financial education from their parents. Dunlap combats these inequities in finance by creating an accessible and easy-to-follow financial literacy guide that seeks to challenge these system-based gaps in education. Dunlap has also founded Her First 100k to help women overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their financial freedom.
According to Dunlap, a financial feminist is someone who “embraces the power they already possess to help themselves and those around them reach financial equality” (xii). So as you gain your own personal wealth you find ways to help your community and other women. Financial feminism provides women with the freedom of choice and the ability to decide what their life looks like.
Dunlap discusses how money is psychological and how this psychology impacts how we use our money. First, as we grow up we often absorb one or several of the five money narratives. The five money narratives are:
You should know how to money
Talking about money is impolite
You’ll be rich if you just work hard enough
Unless you’re a man wanting money is selfish
Money can’t buy you happiness
These money narratives keep us from seeking personal wealth and often reinforce the systems, such as capitalism, that limit social mobility. It can be helpful to think about what narratives you may be influenced by. Another way to combat your money psychology is to try to remember your first memory surrounding money. This can help you understand why you use money the way you do. For example, Tori Dunlap’s first memory was of saving her pennies to buy a ticket. In her present money psychology, she believes that she has to work for what she wants. Once you’ve understood the influence of this memory you can decide of its positive or negative in your life. If it's negative imagine what your life would be like if you changed this aspect of how you use money. By analyzing the impact money has on us, we can change how we use it in the future.
If you’re interested in these ideas, Tori Dunlap also has a Financial Feminist Podcast. Her podcast features two styles of episodes interviews and action items. Her action item episodes feature financial literacy tips that you can implement in your life. Her podcast may be a more accessible source for financial feminism than her book since you can listen anywhere.
I hope you take an interest in your financial education because it can provide you with the freedom to choose.
Kommentarer