Meet The Women Of The Financial Independence Movement

I love reading other financial blogs, and like most everyone else here, I initially stumbled upon the idea of financial independence through a couple of those blogs. I think the online space is just incredible for motivation and finding a community of like minded individuals who cheer when you write about running to work on dark rainy mornings or line drying our laundry in order to tread lightly on the planet and to reach big financial goals.

A few months ago though, I was reading through a list of personal finance bloggers and there was literally one female listed. When someone asked in the comments below, this blogger said he didn’t know any others, which is absolutely crazy, because there are so many fantastic women in this space.

There is also a huge list of male financial bloggers, especially, male (software) engineers, starting with the original Mr Money Mustache. I think part of the reason stereotype of the white male tech FIRE blogger persists so strongly is because that is who first kicked off the movement in a big way, but it’s also more than that. When it comes to finance in general, that’s the default expectation across the board (except for maybe the specific career choice).

I am most definitely not a male engineer, but who knows about what the kid will grow up to be

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But not everyone who is interested in finance independence (and early retirement) are men with huge salaries, and I think it is so important to read different perspectives than fit in that narrow box.

Millennial Boss has a great list of FIRE bloggers who are not male engineers, which is awesome for those of us who don’t make the big bucks and can’t possibly save 90% of our incomes. If you haven’t read this list, I would highly recommend checking out everyone on that list.

However, I’ve yet to see a specific list for the women, so I’ve decided to put one together here. I lived in a very progressive sorority at my liberal arts college as well as playing on the varsity softball team, and I know firsthand the power of a supportive and encouraging group of women. The female personal finance community feels very similar in this regard. The women here celebrate each other’s successes and empathize with the heartbreaks. I can only hope to meet many of them in real life some day.

Ps – this shouldn’t be surprising as women are overwhelmingly beginning to handle their family’s finances. The notion that men handle the money and women are just there to blow it is one that needs to finally die. These women are part of the movement that should finally change that archaic perspective.

I have plenty more to say on this topic – and maybe one day I will – but for now, go check out some of the content that has been produced by these awesome women.

And then go and read this follow up by Erin at Reaching For FI for a behind the scenes look at what it took to create this list, as well as the amazing and disappointing things that have come out as a result. And a year later, I’ve written a follow up to this post: The Year of Women in the Financial Independence Community – so many amazing things happened for women and money in 2018, and this list was just one of them.

Finance Blogs Written By Women

**I have been absolutely blown away from the response to this post and have taken some time to update the list to make it easier to find the kind of content you’re specifically interested in. With the incredible help of Erin from Reaching For FI, we have split the categories into:

FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
FIOR (Financial Independence, Optional Retirement – term coined by the wonderful Mad Money Monster)
Debt Repayment
General Finance
Money Coaches
Podcasts
Books

DINK – Dual Income / No Kids

SINK – Single Income / No Kids

DIK – Dual Income / Kid(s)

SIK – Single Income / Kid(s)

The idea of the male financial blogger is so ingrained even in me that I had honestly expected this list to top out at around 30 – it has now morphed into over 100. It goes to show how deep that bias is, even when you think you are aware of it. (This list will be updated regularly as I learn about new and amazing women who are writing and speaking in the personal finance arena online)

FIRE – DINK

FIRE – SINK

FIRE – DIK

FIRE – SIK

FIOR – DINK

FIOR – SINK

FIOR – DIK

FIOR – SIK

Debt Repayment – DINK

Debt Repayment – SINK

Debt Repayment – DIK

Debt Repayment – SIK

General Finance – DINK

General Finance – SINK

General Finance – DIK

General Finance – SIK

Money Coaches

Podcasts

Books

AgeProof, Money Rules, and Women With Money Jean Chatzky
Broke Millennial and Broke Millennial Takes on Investing by Erin Lowry
Clever Girl Finance by Bola Sokunbi
End Financial Stress Now and The 5 Years Before You Retire by Emily Guy Birken
Financial Fitness: 21 Easy Exercises To Get Your Personal Finances In Shape Fast! Dr. Vi Scott
Happy Go Money Melissa Leong
How to Be a Financial Grownup by Bobbi Rebell
Kids Money Habits by Amy Koit
Meet The Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk by Cameron Huddleston
Operation Enough: How to Retire Remarkably Early Anita Dhake
Quit Like A Millionaire Kristy Shen
Shoo, Jimmy Choo! by Catey Hill
Smart Mom, Rich Mom by Kimberly Palmer
Teach Your Child to Fish: Five Money Habits Every Child Should Master Holly Reid
The Broke and Beautiful Life by Stefanie O’Connell
The Feminist Financial Handbook by Brynne Conroy
The Financial Anxiety Solution by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
The Mindful Millionaire by Leisa Peterson
The Money Queen’s Guide by Cary Carbonado
The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom and Women & Money Suze Orman
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
When She Makes More: 10 Rules For Breadwinning Women Farnoosh Torabi
Work Optional by Tanja Hester (I wrote a review when it came out – check it out here)
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
Your Playbook For Tough Times by Donna Freedman

Interested in continuing the discussion? Join the Women’s Personal Finance (Women On FIRE) Facebook group.

Looking for even more financial content written by women? Check out Women’s Money Talk and Women Who Money for sister sites that are 100% for and by women.