Financial Education Empowers Women to Master Money Management and Live Their Best Lives

In a Nutshell: If you have bad credit or struggle to stick to a budget, then you might benefit from tips about money management. But if you’re proactive about your financial education, you can avoid experiencing money problems in the first place. Ms. Money is a website that offers financial education to help women plan for their futures and avoid financial roadblocks. 

Money can mean different things to different people. Some people say that money makes the world go around while others counter that money is the root of all evil. In 1990, a rhythm and blues tune about the wonders of money called “I Wanna Be Rich” became a hit on music charts around the world.

Money management and financial wellness aren’t subjects that were taught in schools while I was growing up. Without a formal education to turn to, some of us learned about money from family members, friends, or songs we heard on the radio.

Ms. Money is a website that provides personal finance education and money-related life skills to help people lead more fulfilling lives. We caught up with Ms. Money’s Founder, Tiffany Joy Basse, to learn more about how she helps guide readers toward financial freedom. 

Tiffany grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Chicago. She told us there were people in her community who had to wait until they received their weekly paychecks to buy food for their families. 

When Tiffany went to college, her friends exposed her to another type of money problem — amassing too much credit card debt. Tiffany told us her friends continued to accumulate debt through their twenties as they took out loans to buy cars or pay for more education. 

Credit card debt can pile up quickly, especially if your card has a high annual percentage rate. Tiffany told us witnessing women mismanage their money led her to purchase the domain name Ms. Money when she was 26 years old.

“My ‘aha moment’ came when I realized that it was part of my life’s mission to teach people, specifically women, about financial empowerment,” Tiffany told us. “From my experience, men aren’t caught up in fast fashion and this sense of always needing to have a certain image, but women tend to spend more. They’re the CFOs of their household 85% of the time, and if they bring their bad spending habits from college into a marriage, it can be a reason for divorce.”

Though Ms. Money provides content geared toward married couples, most of the site’s advice can benefit unmarried people, too. Tiffany told us her goal for the site is that it be a one-stop shop for everything about money.

Ms. Money contains articles that help people based on the stage of life they’re in. For example, if you’re a young person looking to open your first credit card, you can be overwhelmed by the number of options available to you. Ms. Money’s content can help you find a credit card that suits your financial habits and lifestyle.

The year 2000 was a milestone year in many peoples’ lives. For starters, no one on Earth at the time had ever lived through a year that began with the number two before. For Tiffany, 2000 was memorable because it was the year she launched Ms. Money.

The site contains more than 500 articles that cover money from numerous angles. Tiffany told us she hired the top 30 women who had written books on women and money to help her form the site’s content. Though she wanted the voice of the site to be women-friendly, she said that more than one-third of the site’s visitors are men.

In addition to managing the site, Tiffany has helped banks and other financial organizations build their own financial resource centers that assist women. Tiffany told us Ms. Money also aims to aid families.

“Ms. Money is a place where women can bring their spouse or their children to learn alongside them,” Tiffany told us. “We’ve got some great empowerment articles that are simple enough that a mom or dad can use them to start educating their kids about money. We also have some pretty current YouTube videos we link to since people like short-form content these days.”

Some of the YouTube videos Tiffany referenced feature writers who’ve contributed content to Ms. Money. But she also links to videos from people who specialize in presenting complex financial topics in interesting and easily understandable ways. Tiffany told us she points people toward engaging content because some financial topics, like accounting or tax preparation tips, aren’t that exciting to many of us.

Tiffany draws from her own experiences to inform the content on Ms. Money. Five years ago, she met with a broker to establish an investment account. Though she asked the employee to set up the account in her name, they ended up creating it in her husband’s name.

“If you meet with a broker who’s used to working with a lot of men, then they’re going to be talking at you more than having a dynamic conversation with you,” Tiffany said. “And that can make women more tentative to ask the right questions.”

Ms. Money arms women with the tools and confidence they need to handle interactions like the one Tiffany had when opening a brokerage account.

Investing can be an effective way to grow your money to pay for a big upcoming expense or build a nest egg for retirement. Sure, you could just sock any extra cash you have left over at the end of the week under your mattress, but that money won’t grow over time. In fact, due to the effects of inflation, a dollar you save today will probably be worth less in the future.

Tiffany told us women need to feel confident that investing their money can benefit them. She said many people in the U.S. don’t invest because they’re afraid they’ll lose money. 

You can put your money into a CD, and it’ll grow over time. But Tiffany told us the best way to build wealth in the U.S. is by investing in the markets and real estate.

“So many women carry an aversion to risk to their understanding of investing and the markets,” Tiffany told us. “When you’re risk averse and living in fear, then you don’t want to invest in anything at all — not even a blue-chip stock like Apple. But when you prioritize learning about financial empowerment and read one of our articles every day, then you start to understand that maybe you should take a little bit of your income and invest it.”

Ms. Money offers investment advice that’s tailored toward specific age ranges. Because younger investors might have decades until they retire, they may be able to weather the ups and downs of riskier investments better than someone who’s set to retire in a few years.

Women can face unique challenges in life that limit their ability to earn a steady income. Tiffany told us she speaks from experience in that department, and Ms. Money can help women plan for life’s curveballs.

“Some women take a lot of time out of the workforce to care for their children,” Tiffany told us. “I started having kids when I was in the prime of my career. I had to dial things back a bit just to be able to bring calmness into my life and have a beautiful pregnancy.”

Companies can grow their customer base if they’re flexible to adapt to changes in the economy and consumer preferences. Streaming giant Netflix once specialized in providing customers with digital video discs (DVDs) by mail before pivoting to take advantage of new technologies that rendered DVDs all but obsolete. 

Tiffany diversifies her services by offering coaching sessions to CEOs and executives charged with making big decisions. She told us her coaching involves more than just going over business strategy. Tiffany works with leaders to help them be more productive at work and live a more balanced lifestyle when they’re away from the office.

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“I try to help people align their life’s mission with their career,” Tiffany told us. “If I’m working with someone who isn’t in love with their career, I’ll help them channel their energy into getting a job they love while keeping their finances in check. If you’re used to making a lot of money in one job, but you want to work in one that pays less, then maybe you need to take on a little more risk with your investments so you can earn some additional cash.”

Tiffany uses meditation in her coaching sessions to help her students clear their minds of distractions and focus on improving themselves. She practices mindfulness in her personal life, and she encourages others to take a break from their busy schedules to rid themselves of their anxieties and fears. Tiffany told us that setting aside even one minute throughout the day to calm and recenter our minds can be beneficial.

“You’re worth taking one minute to remind yourself that people love you and you love yourself,” Tiffany told us. “And when women have too much anxiety or sadness, I advise them to go help someone. It will nourish you so much that you’ll break through some of those sadness patterns.”