I’m a Finance Expert: Here’s How Women Can Feel Empowered in Their Finances
Written by
Lieza Klemm
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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The topic of personal finance can be daunting. According to a 2023 GOBankingRates study, 57% of Americans believe “a lack of financial understanding has impacted their ability to be financially prepared for the future.” The journey to mastering personal finance isn’t easy. For women, the expectation is often for someone else to handle it.
For some people, talking about finances is an uncomfortable topic. And looking through the eyes of women and people of color, those spaces haven’t always been open to them. In a recent Richer Way Podcast interview, Olympic track star and financial planner Keturah Orji shared how women and communities of color can gain control over their finances. Her insights highlight the importance of inclusive financial education and the need for more diverse representation in the financial industry.
“When I look at the financial industry, I think the industry is about 76% men,” Orji said. “And so you don’t really feel like you belong there.”
Orji said women are usually not invited to discussions about finances. “It’s expected for men to be able to manage money,” Orji said.
Get the Right Community
Orji believes that representation and having a supportive community are important when taking charge of personal finances, and she started her financial planning coaching service to solve that.
“When I started my financial coaching business, it wasn’t really for the money,” Orji said. “It was just to create some structure around people who need help with money.” She believes that clients who have real-life examples of success through coaching or community become more empowered to take control of their own financial journeys.
Change Your Beliefs
Once clients have the information and the tools to understand their finances, Orji said the next step is to believe that change is possible. “When I talk about my personal growth, I think that’s what inspires them the most to actually take action, over just educating them.”
Get an Overview of Your Spending and Cut Back
After committing to taking charge of your finances, Orji recommended looking at total spending and determining areas to cut back. Planning ahead and staying organized can help make sure there’s no overspending.
“You overspend on eating; it might be because you didn’t go grocery shopping and plan your meals out, or you’re purchasing an item over and over again,” she said. “It might be because you own it already, but you can’t find it and it’s stuck in clutter.”
Being honest and reaching out to friends for support is a great way to stay on track. “I think it’s really important to communicate those goals with your friends,” Orji explained. “They can hold you accountable to them and not be shy about the fact that you’re trying to.”
Write Down Your Financial Goals
Telling friends about goals can hold you accountable, but Orji said writing down goals can make you more likely to accomplish them. “Try to make it as specific as possible, and try to make your goals positive,” she said. “So not like ‘stop sending’ or like, ‘don’t do this.’
“Talk about what you want to do versus what you don’t want to do,” Orji said.
Writing those positive goals down and putting them in eye-level places can help with motivation. “Some people put it on the mirror. Somewhere that reminds you, that you see often,” Orji said. “That’s going to remind you why you are doing what you’re doing.”
For Orji, accomplishing money goals opens up options. “It really just comes down to doing what I want, when I want, with the people I want.”
“I can freely do what it is that I really want to do,” Orji said. “That’s like financial coaching and helping people, especially lower- and middle-income people, improve their finances.”
Amen Oyiboke-Osifo contributed to this article.
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