WORTH

My father did not go to college, and my mother went to Louisiana State University—together they brought up five children and instilled in us the importance of hard work and frugality. When I started college, I remember my father asking, "How does $3 a day sound for your entertainment, food and everything else?" I said, "Sure."

Once I began my studies at Emory University, I realized fairly quickly that $3 per day would not be enough to make ends meet. To make a few extra dollars, I began working part-time with my college's admissions office as a campus tour guide. That is one of my first Money Stories.

The part-time admission job introduced me to a network of colleagues and led me to a career in college admissions—and later, advancement—creating a path that I followed for many years. My work in fundraising at a women's college heightened for me the reality that many women do not have the level of financial resources and decision-making authority over their money that many men do. When a trusted mentor invited me to join his investment firm, I saw an opportunity to help address this gap. I became committed to empowering women with the mindset and skills to grow their money competencies—a passion that remains my life's work. This drive to ensure women have access to information about money has taken many forms, one of which is my podcast Money Stories with LDT.

It's astounding to me that 61 percent of women would rather talk about anything other than money, even their own death. Normalizing conversations about money gives us confidence and control over our futures and helps us build connections that lead to financial security and having the kind of impact we seek and deserve. It begins by understanding our relationship to money—our Money Story.

DEFINING A MÕNEY STORY

Your Money Story encompasses personal experiences, beliefs and goals that shape how you feel and how you act when it comes to money. Our Money Stories, which begin forming from a young age, evolve with us. Taking my example above, my Money Story began with my family's values about work and money, which propelled me into a part-time job that has evolved over four decades of work to my current focus on advancing financial education for women and families.

On my podcast, I've spoken with women in different phases of their careers and lives, and all were shaped in unique ways by their own Money Stories. One of the first questions I ask is "How did you first learn about money?" Farnoosh Torabi, host of the So Money podcast, shared with me on her Money Stories with LDT episode that her family was "very transparent with their own financial lives" with her father taking her to the bank and introducing her to his banker. Her Agenda CEO Rhonesha Byng shared on the podcast that her mother didn't talk about money but was always working such long hours which led Rhonesha to feel "guilty" when they had to spend money. Theresa Edy-Kiene, CEO of Girl Scouts Greater LA, told us that her first experience with money was that when her parents had it, they spent it all, and when they didn't their "quality of life diminished."

Money Stories have a deep impact on our relationship with money, which in turn influences our career choices, family decisions and more. How did your parents or family talk about money? What is your earliest money memory, and how does that connect with how you make financial decisions today?

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