Despite what you might have heard, building wealth is not simply a matter of depriving yourself of lattes and avocado toast.
In fact, a new generation of finance experts – many of them women and people of color – acknowledge the systemic failures that favor a privileged few while keeping millions of Americans down and in debt. This new guard is pushing back against shame-based advice and even critiquing capitalism – even as they urge people to invest in their retirement funds.
“The system is designed for us to work until we die,” says Amanda Holden, activist and author of How to Be a Rich Old Lady. “If we don’t want to do that, the strongest tool the average person has is investing in a 401(k).”
In the series Money Whisperers, we asked experts about everything from saving for college, buying a first home to when to start a wills or trust. Here’s what they had to say:
1. Start investing now – even if it’s just $1
“Do I think that our financial institutions and capitalism are the best systems for helping people find financial stability and prosperity? No,” said Maria Melchor, a finance coach and author of Always Have Enough: How to Build Wealth When You Don’t Come from Money. But, she said: “The price to pay if you opt out is staying in survival mode and living month-to-month indefinitely.” Melchor points to index funds as an accessible way to build wealth: “You can start investing in index funds with as little as $1.”
2. Owning a home isn’t the only way to creating wealth
“In the minority community, we’ve been told for so long that owning a home is the way to build wealth,” said investing coach Delyanne Barros. Letting go of that belief and investing in low-cost index funds instead allowed her to pay off loans and retire early.
3. Draw a picture yourself in retirement
Money coach Bernadette Joy emphasizes creating a personalized vision for financial freedom, noting that most people have never defined what “enough” means to them. Joy credits this vision, alongside living below her means, with allowing her and her husband to retire at 40.
4. Pick up the phone and negotiate
“Calling someone to negotiate a lower interest rate, or to advocate for yourself requires some belief that you have earned the right to demand better,” says Carrie Joy Grimes, a former union organizer and author of The Joy of Money. She said many institutions – including the IRS – are surprisingly open to working with people on payment plans.
5. Never sign up for store credit cards
As tempting as the 10% Home Depot discount may be, “you want travel. The points value is more lucrative,” says Stacy Roberts, who shares credit card point hacks with her 300,000 followers under the moniker Stacy Travel Points. Despite having 16 credit cards, Roberts emphasized that she never carries a balance: “All of my cards are on autopay.”
6. Ask family to help build your kids’ nest egg
“It can be a group project,” says Jannese Torres, host of the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast. Torres plans to save $1m for her daughter by the time she’s 18 in part by enlisting relatives to contribute to her 529 college fund: “Toys collect dust. She outgrows clothes. I try to remind folks of how powerful this can be as a gift.”
7. Invest in your mental wellness
“We only have one brain and we only have one body. If this is where we’re going to spend money, this is it,” says Shang Saavedra, a finance coach and author of Wealth Is a Mindset. She said the investment in therapy pays off in life and on the balance sheet: “If you have a healthy mind that also leads you to having a better grasp on the executive functioning skills that are required to handle money well.”
8. Stay away from commission-based advisers
“It’s the most stark conflict of interest. If your financial adviser is earning a commission, I say, run,” says Jeremy Schneider, who founded Nectarine, a network of fee-only financial planners. Schneider says investing is “dead simple” and that most people are better off just paying a flat fee for advice.
9. Build your estate plan – now
“You don’t need a butler and a wrought-iron fence to need an estate plan,” says Noelle McEntee, founder of the will and trust site Legado. McEntee encourages adults of all ages and incomes to develop a trust or will.
Beth Pinsker, author of My Mother’s Money, says setting up a will or trust and incapacity documents – authorizing others to make medical decisions and giving power of attorney – can save loved ones headaches down the line. “I don’t want to think about my own death, but I also don’t want to leave the people I love most in the world needing to decide something at the last minute,” she says. “Make a decision and [you] never have to think about it again.”
