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| What If Women Are Already Better With Money Than We Think? |
You’re probably making more smart money moves every day than you give yourself credit for.
Maybe you’re deciding how much house your family can comfortably afford, figuring out how to pay for summer camp while continuing to save for retirement, comparing health insurance plans, managing the household budget, or steadily contributing to your 401(k). Those are all important financial decisions — and there’s a good chance you’re making them successfully!
In other words, being "good with money" doesn’t mean being an expert on Wall Street. It means consistency. It means asking questions, thinking long term, making deliberate choices, preparing for the unexpected, and sharing what you’ve learned.
And it’s those very strengths that FourLeaf Federal Credit Union is celebrating with its Money Like A Woman movement. HerMoney CEO Jean Chatzky recently sat down with FourLeaf President and CEO Linda Armyn to explore the Five Pillars of Money Like A Woman — from building financial confidence and growing wealth to protecting what matters and strengthening our financial communities. |
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| This Week In Your Wallet |
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We’ve officially entered the "couch economy." New Visa data shows more Americans are ditching physical stores for phones, laptops, and tablets, with online spending jumping from 48% of domestic purchases in 2019 to 58% in 2026, covering everything from groceries to pet toys. And digital shopping isn’t just a pandemic holdover anymore. As Visa notes, "digital behaviors are now starting to become habits, with consumers increasingly engaging through a lot of their applications that they have available to them," including AI tools that hunt down the best prices, USA Today reports.
College costs are climbing, and parents are along for the ride. A record 41% of U.S. parents now say they plan to fully cover their kids’ college costs, according to a new Fidelity report, which suggests parents’ own student debt scars might be fueling their generosity. For the research, Fidelity surveyed more than 2,000 families nationwide with children 18 or younger who are expected to attend college. Survey respondents had household incomes of at least $30,000 a year or more and were the financial decision-makers in their household. On average, those parents say they’re stashing away more than $9,000 per year for their children – and for many people, that means shortchanging their own retirement (a big no-no). As Cory Latham, Fidelity's managing director of 529 college savings, put it: "While it's noble that parents want to help their children feel more financially comfortable, we don't recommend doing that at the expense of their own financial security."
Downsizing in retirement doesn’t have to be a slog – it can actually be joyful. Wall Street Journal columnists Karen and Stephen Kreider Yoder are proof. Before an upcoming move, they’re purging their belongings slowly, one shelf at a time (Steve’s rule? Ditch one thing every time he walks into the garage). As they’ve done so, they’ve found meaning in the mundane. "Our slow approach lets me bask in the memories I find even in a little thing – and then let the object go," writes Karen. "Reading through my childhood letters this summer while cleaning out my files, I came upon a birthday card that the four of us older siblings had written, apparently to Grandfather…I sent it to our youngest sister for her 60th birthday from the rest of us. A precious memory became a new gift to her." |
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| Things That Save You Money |
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| Ask Jean |
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| Q: |
Today’s question comes from Elizabeth. She writes: "I don’t own a business. Can I still apply for a business credit card?" |
| A: |
Walk a neighbor’s dog? Flip furniture on the weekends? Congrats – you qualify. According to major card issuers like Chase, you don’t need a formal, registered business to apply – any independent income stream or side hustle with the intent to profit makes you a "sole proprietor" and therefore able to do so.
The application will look much like a regular credit card application, with a couple of exceptions. As NerdWallet notes, you'll have to answer a few business-related questions. For example, where it asks for your business name, you’d just plug your own in. Your business structure would be "sole proprietor," and instead of an Employer Identification Number, you’d use your Social Security number. |
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| Submit your questions to Jean here. |
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