Financial Feminist - 1. What is Financial Feminism?

Episode Date: May 17, 2021

It’s finally here! Welcome to episode one of the Financial Feminist -- a financial literacy podcast for women. In this episode, I’m sharing my “why” behind the Financial Feminist and dismantling the lies women have been fed by the patriarchy around money. If you’re excited for what’s to come, help us get the word out by sharing a screenshot of this episode on your socials and tag @herfirst100K. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review! Pre-Order “Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love”: https://bit.ly/3PpHvlC Official Financial Feminist Merch: herfirst100k.com/hfk-merch INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/herfirst100k/ TIKTOK: www.tiktok.com/@herfirst100k FACEBOOK GROUP: www.facebook.com/groups/362601367623070/ Not sure where to start with your finances? Take the Money Personality Quiz to get tailored resources for your financial journey: https://treasury.app/herfirst100k/money-journey-quiz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

team hello it's finally here hello hello hello welcome to the financial feminist podcast my name is toi Dunlap. I run Her First 100K, which is a money-included platform for women. I am a money speaker and educator, and I believe I was put on this earth to fight for women's financial rights. This is something that's been in the works now

for months and months and months, and I've been dreaming about for years, and y'all have been asking for for years. And I'm so excited to talk about money in a space that allows for nuanced, detailed conversations. I love the work I do on Instagram. I love the work we do on TikTok in these online communities, but 60 seconds is not enough. 60 seconds is not enough to talk about the things that I want to talk about. And so I am beyond excited to launch this podcast, which has been a labor of love for all of the Her First 100K team.

So to give you background as to why I do the work I do, why this podcast is launching now, I was lucky enough to have a financial education for my parents. I was lucky enough to grow up learning about money. I had parents who were very transparent about money, who were talking and walking me through how to make smart financial decisions. I literally saw my dad negotiate our cable bill once every couple months. My mom still to this day does this,

balances the checkbook on the 13th and the 21st of every month. I learned how to not overspend on credit cards. I learned how to negotiate my salary. I learned how to invest. And as I grew up, I thought, oh, this is the norm. This is what everybody learns. And of course, I realized very quickly that that wasn't the case and especially wasn't the case for most women. And that I was the friend, all of my friends were coming to, especially my female friends for financial guidance and advice. And I realized, oh, this thing that I thought was just completely normal is actually a privilege. And with that privilege comes a responsibility. Her first 100K started as a blog back in 2016. I graduated college in May of 2016. The election obviously

happened a few months later. And I was growing up, came into adulthood, came into womanhood in a very different America than I think all of us expected to be in. And the more I had conversations, the more I started reading and listening and learning about wealth and equality, did I realize that women are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to financial education and it leaves all of us behind. And I truly believe that we do not have any sort of equality until we have financial equality. But the interesting thing is, is we read these statistics around the wage gap, the investing gap, the wealth gap. We know money is important. We know that learning about personal finance is important. And yet we are consistently told that talking about

money is taboo. And I know you've heard this. I've heard this. I still get told this. I talk about money for a living now and I get told every single day that I shouldn't because it's tacky or it's greedy or it's impolite to talk about money. And just from the statistics side, we are actually more likely to talk about death, our sex lives, politics, religion. We are literally more likely to have a conversation about any other taboo topic before we'll talk about money and why is talking about money taboo well i have a theory the talking about money is taboo narrative is perpetuated by the patriarchy the patriarchy being these racist misogynistic unjust unfair inequitable system or systems that exist. And so if we have

the patriarchy telling us that talking about money is taboo, they are literally profiting off of our silence. So the more we believe the narrative that talking about money is bad or that wanting money as women is evil, the more they stay in power. They profit off of our silence. They profit off of our inaction. If talking about money is taboo, if wanting money is evil or bad, if money is just for men, guess what? The patriarchy, the systems that already have money, that already have power, they get to stay in power. The very act of getting your financial shit together is feminist. The very act of getting your financial shit together is feminist. So with this predatory financial industry that disproportionately targets marginalized groups like women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, differently abled

people, having a solid financial foundation in and of itself is an act of protest against a corrupt society. So in this historically male-dominated society, in this male-dominated space that we exist in every day, having a financial education, getting a financial foundation together, that is feminist innately. Paying off your debt, not being another statistic, is feminist. Pushing back against these predatory loan providers. Having enough money saved where you can leave a toxic situation you don't want to be in anymore. That's feminist. Investing your money. Growing your money. Helping bridge the investing gap.

That is feminist. Being able to have enough money to donate to causes you believe and start a business. Have kids or not have kids, travel, eat dinner out without even thinking about it, being able to retire early. All of these things are feminist because they are acts of protest against an inequitable, unjust society that continually tells us that we shouldn't have money. And then if we do want it, if we want money, if we want freedom, if we want freedom, if we want choices, which is what money provides, that that's bad. That is what this podcast is all about. That is what the financial feminist movement is all about. If we can get more money into more

women's hands, the entire world starts to change. If we don't have any sort of equality for any marginalized group until we have financial equality, then of course we need to learn about money. Of course we need to understand that a financial education is our best form of protest because it gives us choices. That is what I was put on this earth to do. I was put on this earth to give women actionable resources to better their money, to make talking about money less taboo, to provide nonjudgmental safe spaces to ask questions, to learn, to grow, to make mistakes. Because that's the other thing. If we do talk about traditional personal finance, unfortunately, the vast narrative has been the reason you're not rich is because you buy too many lattes, you buy too much

avocado toast, you didn't work hard enough, which of course is bullshit, complete and utter bullshit. The math doesn't work. The reason you can't afford a house is not because you have the audacity to purchase yourself coffee. It's also shaming and judgmental and misogynistic. And I hate it. I hate it. So when we have tried to talk about money, when we have tried to engage in these conversations, when we have tried to learn from other people, a lot of the people at the forefront of these conversations are shame-based, are straight white men, and who are not giving you resources while also acknowledging systemic oppression. That's what this podcast is going to be about. We're going to give you actionable

resources to better your money. We're also going to do the thing which is acknowledge systemic oppression. We are also going to have conversations that are vulnerable and deep and sometimes really messy about how money affects us differently as women because we can't gain a financial foundation if we also don't acknowledge a corrupt unjust system. This is what the financial feminist movement is all about. I've actually recorded the entire season. This is the last episode I'm recording. And let me tell you, I am so proud of the season we've put together. I am so proud of the conversations. I cry in every single one. So here's what you can

expect from the show. Mondays, we're going to do these short episodes. We are going to do these super actionable kind of quick hits for your week, whether that's how to boost your credit score, how to actually get started investing, how to overcome your psychological bullshit around money. And then on Fridays, we're going to have hour to hour and a half long conversations with some of my favorite women, not just in the personal finance space, but how money affects them differently. We're going to discuss MLMs. We're going to discuss the racial wealth gap. We're going to discuss sustainability. There are so many conversations we're going to have about money that are not being had anywhere else with really smart people who I admire and look up to

and many of whom I have deeply beautiful personal relationships with and I am so excited for this season I'm so excited for the work we're doing not only at her first 100k but with this show and we're so proud of it and in this kind of manifesto in this kind of theme of a financial education as our best form of protest, this show is testament to that. I'm so excited y'all are here, especially in this new medium. I just, I can't wait to get started. I want this show to reach as many people as possible. Financial feminism is a movement. You don't have to be a woman to be supportive of this movement. Anybody of any gender identity is welcome. And we want as many people be able to listen to the show to support the movement as possible. So here's a couple of things you can do to support that.

One, you can rate and review. You can subscribe to the show. And one of the fun things we're doing is we're requesting that in your review, if you don't know what to write, tell us the weirdest way you've ever made money. For me, the weirdest way I've ever made money is when I was in high school, I would go to the local golf course at like 930 at night, right when the sun was setting in the summer. And I would get golf balls out of the lake and then I would clean them and sell them on Craigslist with my dad. That's the weirdest way I've ever made money. So if you don't feel like leaving a detailed review, if you don't know what to say,

go ahead and tell us the weirdest way you've ever made money. And if it is like a not safe for work kind of situation, totally cool. But maybe so it doesn't get taken down, blur it out. Maybe call yourself an accountant. Not a bad idea. But that's the first way is subscribe, rate and review.

We so appreciate it. It helps boost our ratings. It helps more people discover the show. The second thing, talk about us on social media, especially with these episodes that are actionable, that are conversations. If you liked what you hear, if you took something away from it,

tell your friends, talk about it on social media. That's a huge support for us. And the third thing is just show up. Show up and actually do the work, especially around these actionable episodes. I really want you to not just be a passive listener. We have worked super hard as a team to be able to give you what we believe is a really, really great season, what we know is a great season. And with this work, I want you to be able to take this information and actually start changing your life with it. So please start thinking critically. So many of these conversations, it was the classic

moment of me learning something in real time and now applying it to my life, applying it to my work, applying it to my money. So I encourage you to do the same. I've said I'm so excited about this podcast like 62 times, but I'm just going to say it again. I am thrilled. I'm thrilled at this first season of Financial Feminist. I'm so excited to give you even more information in this different medium. I'm honored to highlight our guests this season. I am so thankful for your support and so excited to continue this movement, continue our mission. And I just can't wait to see you. Can't wait to see it. Can't wait to hear your feedback. So this is episode one on Monday. This is the launch baby. And we will see you back on Friday for our first interview episode. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being Financial Feminist.

And I'll catch you soon. Financial Feminist. Financial Feminist is produced and hosted by me, Tori Dunlap. Theme song and audio production by Jonah Cohen Sound. Administration and marketing by Olivia Colcana, Sophia Cohen, and Kristen Fields. Research by Arielle Johnson. Promotional graphics by Mary Stratton. And photography by Sarah Wolf. A huge thanks to the entire Her First 100K team and community for supporting the show.

For more information about Financial Feminist, Her First 100K, our guests, and our sponsors, go to financialfeministpodcast.com.