Financial Adulting. Ashley Feinstein Gerstley
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you really happy. You can spend on the nonessential things you really want without feeling guilty because it's all part of the plan.
Now we're talking.
A Financial Adult Understands the Critical Context of Equity and Personal Finance, Recognizes That Privilege Can and Should Be Used to Help Close Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps, or Realizes That They May Be Starting at a Disadvantage Due to Historic and Systemic Obstacles
We can't talk about personal finance without talking about equity. While much of the work you'll be doing in this book is about transforming your own financial well-being, that doesn't mean there aren't systemic inequities at work.
We don't start on an equal playing field. BIPOC communities face significant disadvantages compared to white communities, LGBTQ+* communities face discrimination and costs that straight communities don't, women are not on an equal playing field to men, and BIPOC women, specifically Black women, Latinas, Native women, and mothers, face both systemic racism and sexism. There are racial and gender gaps in earning, debt, investing, homeownership, and the list goes on and on.
Financial adults understand this critical context and recognize that their privilege can and should be used to help close racial and gender wealth gaps. Financial adults also understand they may be coming from a place of disadvantage due to historic and systemic obstacles.
I am by no means an expert and still have a lot of learning to do, which is why I'm excited to turn to the experts in the coming chapters in this book. What I do know is that the more BIPOC, feminist, and anti-racist people who build individual wealth, the more we'll see the institutional changes, changes in leadership, and changes in policy we want to see.
Time to Get Started
That's it. That's what it means to be a financial adult. Doesn't it sound powerful?
I do this work because I know that when more feminists are financial adulting and can build meaningful wealth (yes, I want you to be wealthy!), we'll solve many (if not most!) of the problems we face in the world.
The following pages take you through how to get there step by step, exercise by exercise. There is space to work through the exercises in the book but you can also fill them out in a separate notebook if you don't like writing in books or are going through a second (or third) time. I'm a big believer in action so you'll also find a checklist of action steps at the end of each chapter. I reference additional resources and goodies throughout the book that you can get at financialadultingbook.com. There are also special callouts with specific tips and ideas for those navigating financial adulting with a partner.
I definitely recommend reading the book from start to finish but I hope it also serves as a resource you can come back to again and again.
When it's time to revisit your 401(k), you can turn to Chapter 7 for everything you need to know. When you are ready to start negotiating your next promotion (hint: start ASAP), you can revisit the exercises in Chapter 4.
And when your bestie asks you how you got so confident about your money, you can send her a copy of this book so you can be financial adults together (see the power of accountability in Chapter 14). Isn't that why you have a gift budget in your financial plan (Chapter 5)?
Okay, here we go! Happy financial adulting!
Note
1 * When I use the term LGBTQ+, I am referring to anyone who identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and any other sexual identities.
2 1. Maury Backman, “Most Americans Don't Trust Their Financial Advisors. Should They?” The Motley Fool (July 11, 2017), https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/07/11/most-americans-dont-trust-their-financial-advisors.aspx#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20poll%20by,trust%20them%20%22a%20little.%22.
3 2. Selena Maranjian, “Surprise – There's a Good Chance Your Broker Is Ripping You Off,” The Motley Fool (March 9, 2016), https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/09/surprise-theres-a-good-chance-your-broker-is-rippi.aspx.
CHAPTER 2 Equity and Personal Finance
You might be wondering why a chapter on equity comes before any of the financial how-to in a personal finance book. After reading this, I hope you'll wonder why it's not the first thing covered in every single personal finance book.
Because, when the minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009 while prices of goods have gone up 27% since then,1 it doesn't matter how well you budget.
When you have an overall racial wealth disparity of 8 to 1,2 and a gender wealth disparity of 3 to 1 for women, 50 to 1 for Black women, and 100 to 1 for Latinas,3 explained by the enslavement of Black people and systemic oppression, that's not going to be resolved by investing alone.
When mothers are paid 30% less,4 just for being mothers, are offered no paid leave, and childcare prices are astronomical, women continue to struggle and those who can drop out of the workforce by the millions.
The Idea That You Can Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps Is a Scam
Black people are paid less, the things they own are worth less, but then you tell me to pull myself up by my bootstraps.
—Tiffany Aliche, The Budgetnista
Oof. This quote stuck with me during our interview. Tiffany Aliche (a.k.a. The Budgetnista) is a financial educator, bestselling author of Get Good With Money, and a Black woman. You'll be hearing a lot more from her (you're welcome). I was very intentional about featuring different voices, ethnicities, economic backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise throughout this book. Know that these are people I respect immensely. These are people I was giddy to interview. These are people I consider my financial adulting leaders and friends. You can find a list of where to follow and connect with each of them in the Financial Adulting toolkit (financialadultingbook.com).
Okay, back to scams. I repeat, telling people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps is a scam.
Financial education is important and we'll get into why and what that needs to look like, but until we see real significant changes from the top – I'm talking changes in government and corporate policy – financial literacy can't and won't solve our problems.
Mehrsa Baradaran, author of The Color of Money and professor at UC Irvine, shares, “I wrote my book to debunk the myth that you can leave the systems of credit, banking, and federal policy intact and you alone or your community can accumulate wealth, work hard, save your money, and close the wealth gap. Of course it works in individual cases but we take these individual cases