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| From $8 Per Hour to CEO of ULTA: The Kecia Steelman Story |
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| 2025 was the year Kecia Steelman took control. After more than a decade in the C-suite at ULTA Beauty, she stepped into the CEO role and wasted no time making her mark. Under Steelman’s leadership, ULTA has expanded its footprint (it recently surpassed 1,500 stores) and impressed Wall Street along the way. |
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What makes Steelman’s rise so remarkable is her path to the top. Her 30+ year career began with an hourly job at Target when she was a 20-year-old single mom living in government housing and struggling to get by.
As Steelman shares on How She Does It, she recalls looking in the bathroom mirror and realizing, "The only person that can get me out of this situation is looking right back at me."
Steelman remembers praying for just one thing – someone to give her a chance. Target gave her that opportunity, hiring her as a team leader, earning $8 an hour. Steelman climbed the ranks from there, holding leadership roles at Target, Home Depot and Family Dollar before joining ULTA in 2014.
"I’ve been in all realms of retail… it does really get in your blood. I love what I do," says Steelman. |
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| This Week In Your Wallet |
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College degrees aren’t the guaranteed golden ticket they used to be. Historically, a college degree meant better job prospects – but new labor data shows that’s changing. "The unemployment gap between workers with bachelor’s degrees and those with occupational associate’s degrees — such as plumbers, electricians and pipe fitters — flipped in 2025, leaving trade workers with a slight edge for six months out of the past year," reports The Washington Post. "It’s the first time trade workers have had a leg up since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking this data in the 1990s."
An emergency fund is non-negotiable – and if you don’t have one, now’s the time to start building yours. Aim for three to six months of net income. Sound like a lot? Don’t panic. It’s all about consistency, not speed. "Our favorite way to think about creative savings is really breaking down your goal into tiny pieces," Lauren Pearson, founding partner and Managing Director at Somerset Advisory, tells HerMoney. "So, if you would like to save $6,000 in, say, four months, that means you would have about 120 days to save. You would divide your goal by the number of days, which in this case is $50 per day." And if that sounds like too much, then decide what’s doable for you. At even $2 per day, you’re looking at more than $600 saved by the end of the year. Go, you!
💰 Pro tip: stash your cash in a high-yield savings account to boost that balance even higher. We like this one. It’s paying up to 4% APY – plus a $300 cash bonus for new customers.
Should you let a chatbot manage your money? Not just yet. "Large language models like Copilot or ChatGPT aren’t suited to being used as financial advisers because they are the digital equivalent of sociopaths—smooth, persuasive and devoid of empathy," reports The Wall Street Journal. Andrew Lo, a finance professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, is working to change that. He’s building an AI financial advisor designed to act as a fiduciary – one that actually prioritizes client interests and emotional needs. His approach? Teaching AI financial ethics laws and regulations so it can learn from past fraud and deliver ethical advice. For those already trusting bots with their bank accounts, Lo has a warning. "The AI people are using now can be dangerous, especially if the user isn’t fully aware of the biases, inaccuracies and other limits," he shares.
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| Ask Jean |
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| Q: |
Today’s question comes from Rylie. She writes: I recently lost my job. Does it make sense to get a personal loan to help make ends meet until I find work again? |
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Personal loans can be handy for things like home repairs or consolidating debt. But using one while unemployed is risky. Without a steady paycheck, you could end up with high-interest debt you can’t easily pay off.
When a job loss hits, a personal loan should be your last resort. First, check your unemployment benefits. Next, dip into your emergency fund if you have one. Retirement savings are also technically an option, but it’s certainly not ideal – and you’ll likely be hit with taxes and penalties.
One other avenue? A 0% interest credit card that can buy you 12-21 months of breathing room. Beware, though – once that promo period ends, the remaining balance and all new purchases will rack up interest at the standard (and typically quite high) APR. |
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| Submit your questions to Jean here. |
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| Things That Save You Time |
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Vacation mishaps happen – lost luggage, unexpected illness, you name it. Chasing refunds can eat up your time (have you tried to call an airline recently?!). A good travel insurance policy can protect your investment and handle the headaches for you. |
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Sure, smartphones make life easier…but they’re also a major time suck. Enter the "analog bag." Fill a tote with books, crossword puzzles, a journal or even your crochet kit – anything to grab when doomscrolling tempts you. The end result? Less screen time and more ways to exercise your brain. |
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Want to get a solid workout in? You don’t need an hour. A study shows short bursts of activity done with more vigor – everything from gardening to playing with your kids – can boost your health and help you live longer. |
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