The Trump administration is barely a month old, but we’ve already seen a rise in misogyny and erosion of civil rights. It’s hard not to feel powerless.
But Tori Dunlap of Her First $100K has a solution that’s simple, yet inspiring. Dunlap has turned her passion for blending financial literacy with feminism into a successful podcast and a New York Times-bestselling book. Her message? Money is freedom, and through creating their own wealth, women can change the world.
Below, Tori Dunlap shares her hope for women the next four years—and how we can achieve it.
“How are we going to survive another four years of this?”
That’s the question I’ve heard women in my life asking more than anything else.
We knew it was coming. The all-out attack on women, on queer folks, on people of color, and on disabled people. It’s a barrage, it’s exhausting, and it’s only just starting.
But I know the way we can survive it–and it doesn’t require a passport. It’s time for women to get rich. It sounds simple, and perhaps, you may think, unrealistic, but I’ve built my brand on finding empowerment through financial freedom, and you can do it too.
Money is our best form of protest. Money gives you options–the option to leave unsafe situations, put yourself in environments that respect you, travel to a safer state, make decisions about your own body, donate to causes you believe in, and live the life you want.
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It did that for me. The first time Donald Trump was elected in 2016, I was 22 and had just graduated college. After finding a job in marketing, I had visions of climbing the corporate ladder. I envisioned myself stomping the pavement in downtown Seattle, clutching a coffee in one hand and adjusting my work-appropriate pencil skirt with the other. (This is how I know this is a fantasy, because I’ve never worn a pencil skirt in my life.)
But soon, the rose-colored glasses came off. I was the subject of inappropriate sexual comments from male superiors and watched my favorite co-workers get screamed at by abusive bosses. I couldn’t quit, though, because I needed the money.
Then, I awoke one morning in November 2016, expecting to celebrate our first woman president. Instead, we all know what happened.
Donald Trump’s election lit a fire in me. I became entrenched in learning everything I could about money. I studied how to negotiate my salary, how to start a business, and how to build my savings. The next time I was in a work situation that didn’t respect me, the wealth I had accumulated allowed me the ability to exercise my self-worth and leave. In that moment, I felt true power.
I soon realized that I wanted every woman in the world to have that feeling.
So, I founded Her First $100K, a financial education platform for women, to fight financial inequality and give women actionable resources to grow their wealth. After years of building the company on the side of my 9-5, it became my full-time job in 2019. My mantra is “money means options,” and it’s at the heart of what we do. We have helped 5 million women save money, pay off debt, invest, negotiate their salaries, and start businesses.
Her First $100K is about more than just accumulating wealth. My book and podcast are called Financial Feminist, because every financial issue is inherently a feminist one and vice versa. Having money looks like more than a number in your bank account. It’s the tool you use to build a life that you love and a life that you want–a life where you have the power and freedom to work to change the system.
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So what are three ways to get started today?
First: Know your numbers. Schedule what I call a money date: a dedicated half hour, once a month, to sit down and look at your money. Allow yourself to control your finances, rather than the other way around. This is true self-care.
It can be scary, but it’s necessary. If money is tight right now or you’re financially struggling, it’s even more crucial that you understand what money is coming in and where it’s going out. Even if you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, the knowledge can help you be strategic and improve your financial health. By tracking your monthly income and expenses, you can likely find areas where you can cut spending even slightly, and pour that extra bit into your emergency fund. Even if you’re only saving a few dollars here and there, that’s still progress.
Second: Automate your savings. Set up an automated transfer from your checking account into your high yield savings account. That way, you’re saving at the beginning of the month before you have the temptation to spend all your money, and it’s accruing without you having to think about it. Start small with maybe 5% of your paycheck, or whatever is doable, and make it slightly more challenging every month until you’ve found a good number. Your emergency fund should be your number one priority, because it’s going to give you the peace of mind. Ensuring your safety is still a form of financial protest.
Third: Understand that personal finance is about 20% your personal choices, and 80% systemic issues. We’ve been fed the lie that if we’re struggling, it’s because we’re not working hard enough. This shame seeps into every decision we make. The truth is that racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, the student debt crisis, lack of federal paid family leave, and stagnating minimum wages have a lot more to do with why our generation of women is financially struggling than a $5 latte.
So, give yourself some grace. Being “good with money” is a learned skill just like any other. Control what you can control—educating yourself about money, making financially responsible decisions—and work to change everything else by voting, protesting, and donating.
And lastly: Vote with your dollars. Your money is your voice, and how you spend it matters. Support local businesses and woman-founded companies. Buy your books from an independent bookseller. Set up a recurring donation (or volunteer your time). As a woman business owner myself, it’s hard to run a feminist-forward company right now, and we appreciate the support more than you know.
So how do we survive these next four years? You have to become obsessed with personal finance—obsessed with learning everything you possibly can about money. Learn about how to save more money, about how to pay off more debt, about how to invest, about how to negotiate your salary. We need you whole, stable, and content so that we can fight the system together. You can’t fight the system when you are broke, when you are depressed, when you are scared, when you are sad, when you are overworked and tired and burnt out. We need you whole.
We need you rich.
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