Have you ever felt like despite how much you work-work-work, your money isn’t working for you?

You might have old-school money myths holding you back. We're here to show you the truth behind them, and ways you can make your money work for you. 

👀 8minute read

📸: Giphy

When it comes to financial know-how, women don't have the same advantages as men. When it comes to finances, investing and planning, we face a systemic access gap. And when we finally take interest in money, we often face financial mansplaining that just leaves us more confused. (#The-Pain-is-Real)

We’re done playing by these boys club rules.

We need to build a new way for women to reach and exceed their male peers in financial success. We need to make institutional knowledge common knowledge. We need to bust old-school money myths and get the trade secrets out in the open.

The things NO ONE tells you.
The things that actually help you and your money grow.
The things the boys are doing that we are not.

MYTH: YOU NEED TO MAKE MORE MONEY

TRUTH: IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU MAKE, IT’S ABOUT HOW YOU SPEND

Obsessed about what your friends make? Healthy competition never hurt anyone. But at the starting line of life, making a million dollars is just not possible, no matter how smart and awesome you are. And as much as we’d love for you to win the lottery, we don’t want to leave your financial future up to chance. So let’s get real. 

Set aside at least $3,000 a year. Invest it. Use the rest in a way that fits your lifestyle.

Seriously. It doesn’t matter whether you are making $30K or $100K a year. If you’re 20-something and you start to put aside (and invest!) about $3K every year, that’s all you need for now. 

Think of the $3K per year as $250/month. You can do it! Lock in that $250/month for your future self, and use what’s leftover to spend on your apartment/house, and life. It is MUCH easier to start small, and pick one number to hit. 

We’re not going to go into the complicated math, but if you start saving $3K in your 20’s, you’ll hit the $1M mark by the time you’re 70 without having to lift a finger. That is a TON of money. For very little effort. 

Bottom line is, if you right size your expenses and find room to save and invest *just a little bit*, you can hit the million-dollar mark faster than anybody making the big bucks. 

Don’t believe us? Take our money quiz to see your earning potential.

Need help with your budget? Read these tips to get you from broke to woke.

MYTH: YOU NEED TO BUY A HOUSE

TRUTH: BUYING A HOUSE CAN MAKE YOU CASH POOR

Wish you could buy that penthouse apartment or dream house? Us too. One day you will. But that investment can backfire, FAST. And the dream life you wanted in your new dream home, up in smoke with it.

Buy a place only when you (and your purse) are ready.

Down payments are no joke. You’ll pay at least 20% on thousands of dollars, and that 20% cash is locked up for 30 years. Ouch. Think about how much you will miss that money, and what stress that might cause you. Who knows where you’ll want to be in 30 years from now?

Instead, think about how you can make your money work for you. Find ways to make that monthly rent payment less painful. Think about paying for rent on your credit card to get cash back, or asking for rent concessions if you sign a longer lease. When you travel, maximize your air miles. Look into Airbnb or Home Exchange options before you settle for the usual hotels (and their prices).

And bank those savings. So, when you’re ready to drop 20% of your hard-earned cash on your new home, you can live the life you wanted in it, too.

Curious if you can afford your next place? Take our money maker quiz to get the scoop.

MYTH: SAVE SAVE SAVE

TRUTH: INVEST INVEST INVEST

The most common thing we hear from women is “well my parents just told me to save, save, save.” Obviously saving is not bad. But it’s not enough. And better to know now, since TIME is the most important ingredient in your investing cookbook. You can’t out-earn or out-save time.

You can probably save LESS if you invest MORE.

When you save or invest money, you get interest – AKA free money. And the interest you make from keeping your money in a savings account is nothing compared to what you could make from investing.

Let’s say you put away $1K in your savings account. At the end of the year, you might make $5 in interest. Save $1K and make barely enough to buy a matcha latte . Now, with investing, you could potentially make $5 in growth & dividends PER WEEK. See how ridiculous the gap is?

And the earlier you start investing, the more chances it has to snowball into 2x, 3x, 4x your savings. Meaning you can actually save less (and have more money to spend today) and still hit that million-dollar goal before you’re 70.

Oh, and by the way, women are *really* good investors. This study from Goldman Sachs shows that female fund managers beat men at stock picks, yet men are retiring with way more.

Investing is the answer. We’ll show you how.

MYTH: MORE EDUCATION = HIGHER SALARY

TRUTH: SMART MOVES = HIGHER SALARY

Some of this is out of your control. You should get paid more if you have an advanced degree. At least that’s what we are taught to believe. At the same time, women should be paid the same as men. Yet that isn’t reality – the wealth gap is.

Investing in higher education doesn’t always pay off. If you have to take out student loans to pay for grad school, crunch the numbers. You will likely be paying 4-8% interest on $54k – 72k!! Plus, you are forgoing your salary for 1-2 years if you are going to school full-time. That is a lot of dough to make up for later. Dough you might not have, even if you do start earning more after your degree.

We believe in the power of education. That’s why we built Penny Finance, to show you how to make those smart money moves. Instead of jumping into grad school because you think it’ll make you richer, think about what kind of strain it might put on your finances. Does it equal out in the end?

See what your future looks like here.

MYTH: YOU JUST NEED TO PAY THE MINIMUM PAYMENT

TRUTH: YOU GOTTA PAY IT ALL OFF…

Breathe…We are talking about credit cards, not student loans. For student loans, the minimum payment might be OK. It depends on your exact situation. Credit cards are a whole different story.

Don’t get us wrong. We love credit cards as much as you do. They are a super convenient, nifty tool to pay for things we couldn’t afford right away – like that super-chic bag that finally went on sale. You can even make money from credit cards, if used right. But the one thing most people don’t get right is the monthly payment.

The minimum payment is not enough. You will incur 15 – 20%+ of charges every month if you aren’t paying the statement balance (aka everything that is due that month). When you rack up credit card points, you have to pay the statement balance in full. Or you pay a pretty penny. That can easily turn into an additional $200 of extra fees.

Thinking oh sh!t right now?? Watch this to see exactly HOW to pay your credit cards.

Instead of throwing money away like that, make sure you’re paying your credit card in full (or as much as possible) every month.

Find out how debt *really* works

MYTH: YOU NEED A FINANCE DEGREE TO UNDERSTAND MONEY

TRUTH: YOU NEED A PLANNING MINDSET

Ya, no. Just, no. Do you need a culinary degree to bake cookies? No. Exactly.

Mastering the world of finance is nothing more than street smarts and planning. And we already know women are master planners and smart as sh*t. 

It will feel hard in the beginning, because it’s new information, and things that weren’t taught in school. But the more you practice, and the more you learn, the easier it gets. Just like cooking.

Let’s cook up a boss financial plan for you

The world of finance isn’t as complicated as we were led to believe.

By improving the world of women’s financial intelligence, we can revolutionize and rebuild the boys club. By tapping into women’s existing but dormant financial superpowers, we can free women from the systemic access gap that plagues our society. 

All it takes is the first step. And you’re already killing it.

Tags

• money advice