Listen to this episode on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
EPISODE 21 SHOW NOTES
In today’s episode, Financial Feminism, I’m talking about:
- The definition of financial feminism and its importance in today’s world.
- The pervasive influence of the patriarchy on financial systems and opportunities.
- The use of gendered language in financial advice and advertising.
- The concept of the “pink tax” and its costly effects on women.
- Real-world examples and statistics that highlight financial inequalities.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with me on Instagram and TikTok
- Learn more about how we can work together by visiting my website
- Check out my Money Alchemy course 101 HERE
Transcript
Welcome to money and magic, the podcast that combines the mystical with the practical to help you navigate money in the Muggle world. I’m your host, shy remote bookkeeper and judgment free money coach. I hope this podcast helps you create a harmonious relationship with your finances that empowers you to lead your truly magical life. Let’s get started. Hey, magical human. Welcome back to money and magic. So this is my first episode where I have decided to do both video and audio recording. So if you’re watching on the video recording, this is my first one, so give me some grace.
For those of you that have been with me since the beginning on audio, this is not going anywhere. I just wanted to provide something a little more for people who are more visual than audible type people. So on today’s episode, this is going to get a little. I don’t want to say political because it’s not necessarily political, but this episode may not be for everyone, or it may be the exact reason that you found me. Whatever the case is, I just want to tell you, take what resonates and leave what doesn’t, because this is a very sticky topic. So we are going to talk about financial feminism and the impact of the patriarchy on our lives, our beliefs, and ultimately our money. So let’s get to the magic. So the first thing we need to talk about is, what exactly is financial feminism? So this is a term that has kind of started going around a little bit more recently, within the last several years, mainly because of a popular book called financial feminist.
However, it is an idea that has been around much, much longer than that. And so when you look at financial feminism, you have to understand that personal finance is different for women. On average, we earn less. We are usually more likely to take time out to have children. In my case, did not happen. I’m child free by choice. But women are more likely to leave the workplace to stay home with children. And we are also known to live longer.
So we end up with less retirement, but we’re living longer. That makes no sense whatsoever. So we have to think about what exactly is feminism to begin with. So, feminism is described as the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Basically, this is saying equality for all, not just women. It’s no matter your gender. So if feminism is believing in equality for all, then financial feminism is just about believing in financial equality of women and all people. So once you kind of get an understanding of what exactly feminism is, then you can look more deeply into what exactly does the patriarchy mean, there are a lot of influencers, content creators, whatever you want to call them out there, that talk a lot about the patriarchy.
The patriarchy. The patriarchy. But I don’t think a lot of people necessarily understand exactly what that is. Or maybe they do. They’re just not 100% sure. So what exactly does patriarchy mean? So when we talk about the patriarchy, at least in my world, here, we are talking about a system of power in which male privilege and superior superiority over women are manifested, institutionalized and self reproducing across society as a whole. So I know that sounds like a handful of words, but pretty much what that’s saying is white men are the ones making the decisions. The systems were set up for the white Mendez, when you think of the word patriarchy, you think of white men being in charge.
To me, that is ultimately the difference there when you think about patriarchy. So a lot of people might ask the question, okay, well, why do you have to label it? Why do you have to coin a term everybody wants to call stuff something? Well, to me, it’s about driving the specific conversation. It’s about letting people know that there is a group of people, there are financial feminists out there, and we are ready to talk about money because studies show that people would rather talk about anything else than talking about money. So when we’re driving this specific conversation, it is opening up those channels to be able to talk about money. Throughout history, this has a sub. This subject has been considered taboo or impolite. Don’t talk about money. Don’t talk about politics.
Don’t talk about religion. And I don’t know why. Because when you don’t talk about money, you are keeping yourself broke. You are keeping yourself underpaid. And that is not what we are doing here. We are here creating abundance. So that’s why we are talking about the patriarchy and financial feminism today, because I want to share it with the world and all of you out there. So I want to talk about a few different ways that some people might not understand exactly what the patriarchy is and the different ways that you see that pretty much in everyday life.
But specifically when it comes to money, one of my favorite examples is when we talk about gendered language and advertising. And I will tell you what I mean in 1 second. So gendered language and advertising is. So let’s say you go to Google and you type in how to save money. The advice that pops up is going to be different for women than it is for men. If my husband, who the G machine knows is a Man types that question in it’s going to give him different information than what it’s going to give me, knowing that I’m a woman. And the difference is, normally for men, it talks about increasing their wealth, it talks about how to make more money, how to invest in real estate. But on women’s side, it talks about how to cut your spending, how to start couponing, how to use vouchers and save money.
So it also talks about that frivolous spending. Oftentimes, the big finance gurus, Dave Ramsey, I’m looking at you, says, oh, you know, don’t go get that latte or that manicure or that new purse that they call frivolous. And those often are things that women would buy, when in reality, men could be buying coffee. But it is aimed more towards women overall. So there was a study that was done and they took 300 different stories. And the researchers found that in these different stories, 65% of the articles talked about women being excessive spenders. They were advised to limit, restrict, take better control of their splurges, their shopping excursions. But then, in contrast, the language of the men’s articles implied that financial success made these men more of a mandehead.
Or they used words like dare to encourage and invest and spend, achieve power. But looking over on the women’s side, the women’s side said, discounts, bargains, coupons. So just that, everyday advertising. And now that you know about it, you can’t unknow it, so you’ll start to see it everywhere. And I think that’s one of the first things about financial feminism, is changing the language, because women ultimately control the economy. And if you don’t believe me, then you’re not paying attention. Most of the time, women are the ones doing the shopping. Women are the ones that are keeping our economy going, whether they’re working or not.
They are the ones that are putting in the most work when it comes to keeping the economy moving in a cyclical fashion. Another thing that I don’t think a lot of people know about is something called the pink tax. And the pink tax pretty much started originally as women’s products being priced higher than men’s. This is feminine sanitary products. This is razors that are pink because they are advertised for women, cost more than the same exact razor that is blue because it is advertised for men. When it comes to beauty products, so many more of our lotions and our skincare and our shampoos and conditioners and the same stuff men have. But ours is priced higher. So that’s called the pink tax.
And on average, women spend about $1,300 more throughout an entire calendar year. Things due to the pink tax. And this is just getting worse over time. It’s absolutely crazy once you start looking into it. But at this point, we are living in a society as women that were not built for us. Our society in America was built for the white man. And so when we start to understand how financial feminism works and we start to push towards equality, we start to try to change that, unravel society a little bit to where it can work for men and women in different ways, because ultimately, that’s the only way we’re going to be able to move forward. If you look around in our society, we see this difference everywhere.
From women typically have lower credit scores. If you took a man and a woman with everything the exact same, put it on paper, normally, their women’s credit score is going to be lower. Mortgage rates for women on the mortgages instead of men. Mortgage rates are normally higher for women. This is just a few of the things that definitely need looked at in our financial system, that there are definitely biases there that need handled. So I could go on and on and on and on. This is one of my favorite topics, but I’m not gonna do that today. One thing that I wanna leave you with, if you take nothing from this episode, is that start talking about money.
Start talking about money with your friends, start talking about money with your family. Start talking about money on the Internet. I don’t care where you start talking about money, but start talking about money, because we are more likely to talk about any other uncomfortable topic before we talk about money. We will talk about sex. We will talk about religion. We will definitely talk about politics, like, especially this, everything happening this year. We will talk about death. We will talk about everything uncomfortable before we talk about money.
And it’s. It’s because society tells us, like, hey, this is uncomfortable. We don’t need to talk about that. Don’t talk about money. But ultimately, not talking about money is what is keeping us broke. So the truth is, anytime that real, lasting change happens, it’s when people have gotten comfortable with being uncomfortable. And so if you’ve never talked about money with somebody or if you grew up in a family that didn’t talk about money, then this is going to feel kind of icky. This is going to feel kind of hard.
But one of my very favorite quotes by Brene Brown is shame lives in shadow. So once you start talking about money, once you unshame your debt. Once you start understanding your money story and living in your truth, you will see your money habits change. You will see doors open. You will see that other people are struggling just like you are. You will start to understand that everyday millionaires wear blue jeans and drive Toyotas. They’re not the ones that you see out there with the beamers or whatever you think. Yes, there are millionaires that drive all that stuff, but they’re not the everyday people.
So if you take nothing else from this episode, please, please, please start talking about money. If you want someone to talk about money with, I will talk about money with you. You can shoot me an email. You can find me on Instagram or threads. I have been living for threads lately. I think they are so great. But I will talk money with anyone at any time. I love talking money.
So if you want to talk money and you have no one else to do it with, reach out because I would love to have you. I hope that the information in this episode gave you some new perspective, or maybe it lit a fire under your ass. Either way, I know that the only way things will change is if we change them. The change starts right here with us. So if you are looking for help with your money or you’re ready to take the step in creating magic with your money, definitely reach out to me. You can check out my money coaching options, my courses. Reach out on socials. I would love to connect with you in our next episode.
It’s going to be a doozy. We are talking about another controversial topic. One of my favorites, mlms. I have been in mlms. I have a lot of experience, friends, all of that. So this is going to be a pretty juicy topic and I really hope that I will see you there. You will get my full opinion and experience until then. And that’s a wrap for another spellbinding episode of Money and Magic.
I hope you learned something that can help you navigate money in the Muggle world. If you have any questions, topics, or even your own money and magic story that you’d like to share, reach out to me on social media. I’d love to hear from you and if you have found this show insightful, I’d truly appreciate it. If you could take a moment to subscribe, leave me a review and share money and magic with your friends and family. Think of it like casting a spell to help others on their financial journeys. As always, stand tall, shine bright, and stay grounded. I’ll see you next time.
More about Money & Magic:
Welcome to Money & Magic, the podcast that combines the mystical with the practical to help you navigate money in the muggle world. Hosted by Chey, the Witchy Bookkeeper, we explore the emotional and spiritual dimensions of money, as well as provide actionable advice on budgeting, investing, and helping you create a harmonious relationship with your finances that empowers you to lead a truly magical life.
Whether you’re seeking financial freedom, looking to overcome money blocks, or simply want to learn how to make your financial dreams a reality, Money & Magic is here to inspire, educate, and empower you on your journey. Join us every other Wednesday and discover that, with the right mindset and a touch of magic, you can turn your financial dreams into reality.
Subscribe now, and let’s embark on this extraordinary journey of “Money & Magic” together. Stand Tall, Shine Bright, Stay Grounded!
Find me on socials:
Instagram & Tiktok : Witchybookkeeper
Facebook: Abundance Alchemy Website: www.abundancealchemy.co
Let's hear your thoughts!