July Pick

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
WITH FRAN HAUSER

Celebrating female authors who inspire women to be their best selves with championing belonging, generosity, and strength. 

Each month, Fran picks a favorite must read. From the here-and-now to worlds far away, we will experience connection, beauty and life through the eyes of real women. We invite you to make a cup of tea and gift yourself a moment to join us on this journey! 

JULY PICK
THINK LIKE A BREADWINNER: A WEALTH-BUILDING MANIFESTO FOR WOMEN WHO WANT TO EARN MORE (AND WORRY LESS)

Jennifer Barrett is the Chief Education Officer at Acorns, a financial wellness app with more than 9 million users. Prior to moving into FinTech, she spent many years as a journalist and editor for some of the biggest media companies in the world including CNBC and Hearst. In Think Like a Breadwinner: A Wealth-Building Manifesto for Women Who Want to Earn More (and Worry Less), Jennifer shares how she went from being thousands of dollars in debt to growing her household net worth to more than $1 million. She uses her journalism skills to unpack history and the fact that women aren’t brought  up to think like breadwinners. In this book, she emboldens women to have a breadwinning mindset. “Nothing is more empowering than knowing you can take care of yourself and your future without needing to depend on anyone.”

What sticks with me:

  • The choices you make with your money and career should be based ono just one assumption: that you, and only you, are ultimately responsible for your future.
  • There’s a lot that’s been said about the gender pay gap, but the gender wealth gap is even wider. On average, single women in this country have just one-third the net worth that single men do.
  • Boys are more likely to be taught how to build credit and invest their money, while girls are more likely to be taught how to track their spending and budget.
  • What you earn is important but what you do with each paycheck is even more important. One thing Jennifer noticed among all the breadwinner-minded women she interviewed is that they diligently put a double digit percentage of ever paycheck straight into savings and investing.
  • Women generally have lower levels of financial literacy and we haven’t been taught to use credit to our advantage. (In the book, she gets into specific details on how to do this!)

Ultimately thinking like a breadwinner sets you up to have more wealth, more power, and more of a say in what the future looks like for you and for other women. If you’re financially secure you’re in a better position to share your knowledge and resources with those who aren’t.

Follow @fransbookshelf for book recommendations, giveaways and reading inspiration.

JENNIFER BARRETT

Jennifer Barrett started her career in financial journalism covering foreign exchange for The Wall Street Journal. She then moved to TheStreet.com and The New York Times, before joining Newsweek as a staff writer and editor for seven years, focused on health and personal finance. I’ve continued to write about money for a range publications, from The Washington Post to Forbes, where she is a regular contributor. She moved into management in 2009, but in her heart, is still a journalist. Her greatest joy comes from helping to educate and inspire people to make informed choices that will improve their quality of life. That’s what got her into journalism and what drives her to continue educating, writing and speaking on topics like financial wellness today.

VISIT JENNIFER AT WWW.JENNIFERBARRETT.COM 

FRAN HAUSER

Fran Hauser is a bestselling author, startup investor and champion of women. For more of her book recommendations, follow her @fransbookshelf on Instagram.