Over the last year, I have used Budget Bae to implore women to improve their financial literacy and take control of their futures. However, financial literacy is only possible through financial transparency. In order to learn from one another and share our experiences we must be open to talking about how much we earn, spend and save. This especially applies to women starting their own business.

The internet has made entrepreneurship easier than ever. Traditional workplaces have long under-valued women’s contributions, therefore its unsurprising that more and more women are interested in starting their own business.

While the internet has made working for ourselves easier, it can also distort our understanding of other’s success. An entrepreneur may look successful on social media, but the reality of their financial life is often very surprising.

Sharing details of our financial lives has traditionally been taboo, but by being transparent, we can make the leap into entrepreneurship accessible to more women.

One good thing about social media is how many amazing women I’ve met who are also interested in women’s financial independence. That’s how I met Nikki Ricks, founder of Feminest.co, a business coaching service for creative women-owned business! You can find her instagram here.

Recently Nikki was asked on Instagram to share details of her own finances. Soon after she shared, a few dozen people (yours truly included!) wrote to her asking to be part of a financial transparency resource for women.

I’m super excited to announce I’ll be collaborating with Nikki to create a blog series exploring the financial lives of women entrepreneurs. I’m stoked to be creating the graphics for this series, as well as contributing my own financial situation (eek!).

If you’re interested in contributing to the series, anonymously or not, fill out this form or email me at hello@elloisefoster.com.

xx

#BUDGETBAE the “fuck-off fund” is a secret, separate bank account with enough cash to cover a few months rent and basic expenses. Its the fund you only access when you need to quickly leave a bad situation (like a bullying workplace or abusive partner) and cover yourself until you’re in a new job or home. It’s a bit different from a rainy day fund, in that its specifically aimed at women, and recognises that women are more likely to get trapped in a bad job, relationship or living situation due to a lack of financial freedom. The “Fuck-off fund”: a girls best friend.

The term “Fuck-off fund" has been bouncing around the internet since about 2016, its been written about by Huffpost, Jezebel and Refinery29 among many others. Read more here: Jezebel and Billfold.

#BUDGETBAE Did you know that there’s an investment gap between men and women? Women don’t invest as much as men do, and we don’t invest as early as men, either. There’s nothing wrong with a solid savings account (Budget Bae loves a healthy savings account!) but while cash may have zero risk, it also has zero potential to grow over time like stocks do. In addition, its purchasing power declines over time as inflation pushes up the price of everything around it. This is calculated to cost women approximately $1million over a 35-year career (time.com). When women DO invest however, we tend to outperform men by about 1% per year, because we’re more conservative investors, don’t panic-sell in bad markets and are low-risk clients so we pay lower fees. 

We know we’ve traditionally been left out of conversations about money, but they only way to break this trend is to just start!

Start by educating yourself! There are heaps of explainer videos and articles online. Find a reputable source like Smart Investor, Time’s Investing pages or MoneyWise and dedicate an evening to learning the basics and learning your risk tolerance (how much money can you afford to invest). Your current bank should have an investment portal. If not, find one with low fees per investment (around $AUD 20 is normal) and then start small. A $50 investment is great experiment to learn the process and see how your investment performs. The key then is to keep doing your research, the share market can change quickly, but its the best place to start learning how to make your money do more. 

Invest your money and invest in yourself!

#budgetbae GUEST POST by @homsweethom:

“I grew up hearing this lyrics from Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women” over and over again, and little did I know I had a hidden knack for it. When I was 8 and my brother was 5, I used to charge him 5 cents to cook him breakfast. Some would say I was a bad child for not doing it for free out of the goodness of my little heart, but what if 8 year-old me simply valued her time and skills enough to ask to be compensated? My parents like to joke that it was the start of my entrepreneurial journey. 

While not every act needs to come with a price tag, the point of me sharing that childhood story is this: know that your time is valuable, and you can charge for it if you want. My path to financial independence has been largely due to figuring out different ways to make more money, not just save it. 

You probably have SO many skills (that could be helping to pay the bills) that you aren’t tapping into right now. Whether that’s taking photographs for friends, planning parties and events, making art, or a variety of other valuable strengths you possess, I encourage you to try to monetize them! Sometimes it’s as simple as changing the way we talk about our hobbies to others, ie “I just do calligraphy for fun” vs. “I run a side business doing custom calligraphy”. You’d be surprised at how many people start taking you seriously when you start taking yourself seriously!

Here’s to all the honeys who makin’ money and all the mamas who profit dollas’.” Artwork and description by @homsweethom.

Lauren Hom has long been an inspiration to me, in fact I even started Budget Bae by doing Lauren’s Passion to Paid course last year. Thank you, Lauren for contributing to Budget Bae ❤️

Ever had a big night completely ruin your budget for the next week? Instead of going out to socialise, become a hostess-with-the-mostest and invite your friends over. A bottle of wine and an oven-bake pizza cost the same as one drink at a regular bar, let-alone somewhere pricey. Save the big night out for a special occasion. Choose a sweet spotify playlist and organise a potluck, a movie night (+ film-related drinking game!) or wow everyone with your cooking skills. Being on a budget doesn’t mean no social life. Budget Baes have it both ways.

Make Money Moves

Work your side hustle, ask for that raise, apply for that job, shut down that mainsplainer, book that trip, support your friends, and always, always punch a nazi. I believe in you.

Women aren’t more likely to be in debt, in poverty or otherwise financially insecure because we’re bad at managing money. We suffer from financial inequality because we face bias from our bosses, recruiters, bank staff when applying for a loan, our teachers and even sometimes our families! We’re repeatedly left out of conversations about money, aren’t hired because recruiters think we’re less committed, aren’t promoted because we’re “maternity risks”, aren’t taken seriously by clients- meaning it appears we’re not as good at our jobs as Dave is. The problem is compounded for women of colour, who face the double-threat of sexism AND racism in the workforce. In the US, black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar a white man earns, that’s 17% less than a white woman. In Australia, migrant woman are 7% less likely to be employed than women born in Australia; and only 58% of Indigenous women are represented in the workforce (Victorian Women’s Trust). The pay gap is not just gendered, its also racist as fuck! Disabled women have a similarly difficult experience in the workforce, they are less likely to be employed and when they are, they’re paid up to 30% less than their able-bodied women counterparts (Human Rights Commission). I couldn’t find much data on financial inequality for trans-women in Australia, but in America trans-women face 15% unemployment (3x the national average) and close to 30% live in poverty (Bustle). The list goes on! Women are hard workers, we’re smart with money and we’re ambitious as fuck, but we’re part of a system that continues to disrespect us, and no amount of hard work and badass-ery can dismantle a whole culture that doesn’t value us. We must recognise women’s hard work, HIRE and PROMOTE them where their brilliance can be seen, we must support women-owned businesses and call-out every little micro-aggression - especially if you’re white or male - this is everyone’s responsiblity! Budget Baes, our work is only just starting!

The Defining Decade is a term coined by American psychologist Meg Jay, PhD. In Jay’s book and TED talk she identifies our twenties as the most transformative period of our lives, where our careers, relationships and earning potential (among many other things) are exponentially effected by our choices in this period. Take advantage of this period in your life to capitalise on your freedom to take risks, find your dream career, a partner that loves and uplifts you, and make choices that will set you up for the rest of your life. It’s not to say your life is over at 30!!! However the older you get the more responsibilities you tend to take on, and this often makes it harder to take a risk like career change, moving to a new country or starting a business. Budget Baes take advantage of your Definining Decade! 

WATCH TED TALK: https://www.ted.com/talks/meg_jay_why_30_is_not_the_new_20 

Life happens: Sometimes unexpected expenses come at us, like a broken down car, dentist bill or just a friend’s birthday present that we hadn’t budgeted for. Recently, I had several big, unexpected expenses that ate up all my savings for that week. It happens, but my savings are on track and that one week will be unnoticeable in my overall savings plan. 

Don’t beat yourself up about it, just keep on track. Consistency is key and a few slip-ups won’t drastically alter your savings goal. Remember: what you do all the time matters more than what you sometimes. 🌺 paper flower templates from @anyonecancraft

Goals are a great motivation to focus on saving money. Whether it be a house, a holiday, or just a new pair of shoes, goals give you a saving plan and schedule. Want to buy a $2,000 laptop in 3 months, you need to put away $170 a week until then. Want to buy a house in five years? Work out an estimated deposit for your dream digs and calculate how much you need to save each pay going forward. 

This is also a great excuse when a friend asks you to go to an expensive outing with them. You can say “actually I’m saving for (goal) can we do (cheaper alternative) instead?”. 

My process is: first, WHAT IS MY GOAL. Then CALCULATE BUDGET ÷ WEEKS TO DEADLINE = WEEKLY SAVING AMOUNT. In a future post, we’ll go over smart ways to manage transfers into your savings accounts, but until then think about your savings goal. I’m saving for a holiday, what are you saving for? Tell me your goals #Budgetbae