When I first started blogging about personal finance in 2013, I was always on the look out for brown girl personal finance experts to rock with. Back in 2013, we seemed to be few. But now, we are one hell of a storm. Each year, it’s great to see so many brown girls talking money and serving our communities in such meaningful and positive ways.
But I know that there are some people claiming that they can’t find women that look like them that speak their money stories.
So I wanted to solve that problem, change that narrative, so we can move on with our lives and be wealthy.
With the help of my sister-in-law, I wanted to get all of this #blackandbrowngirlmoneymagic in one place. (Please share this resource because I know that it will help someone.)
I get to call some of the ladies on this list friends. Others are colleagues. But, all are thought leaders in an industry that is dominated by white men. In other words, this is my tribe.
And it is amazing to know that this list will need to be refreshed this time next year to keep it accurate.
And confession: there’s more than 33 on the list. I’ve added a few more to sweeten the pot. `
Aisha Taylor is HMIC (Head Mommy in Charge) at FNPhenomenal. You might recognize Aisha’s name from The Frugal Feminista. She was one of the first columnists on this site. Her wisdom and down-to-earth spirit make her someone very easy to talk to and learn from.
True Story: Aisha and I met at the Get Radical Conference in 2012. We both had a love of Zora Neale Hurston. I also loved Aisha’s creativity and drive. She is author of 5+5 Ways to Save $100 This Week Without Killing Your Lifestyle: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Being Phenomenal +Financially Free. It’s a great read.
Aja McClanahan runs Principles of Increase. Her claim to fame is that she and her husband eliminated $120,000 worth of debt. She is one of the few women of color that I know that is setting their children up for wealth early on with TV gigs and acting. She also home-schools them so she really can pour into them.
She shares her expertise about getting out of debt and having your kids break into show business without grooming them to be like Lindsay Lohan or Todd Bridges in her online courses on Teachable.
Amanda Abella is the owner of “Make Money Your Honey” blog. She is a millennial business coach and money expert. Her passion for personal finance, fascination with online business and desire to empower her generation makes her one to watch this year. What I love about Amanda is that she self-published a very thoughtful and witty book with the same name as the blog Make Money Your Honey.
Amanda Brown is Director of Black Heirlooms a documentary on intergenerational wealth in the black community. Amanda is a good friend and I met her my simply saying “yes” to an invitation to a screening of this powerful film. In addition to being passionate about initiating conversations about money in our homes, she’s an advocate of self-care and digital activism.
Amber Berry is the founder of Feel Good Finances. In addition to being a millennial, personal finance enthusiast, Amber is a certified financial education instructor (CFEI). She provides transformational financial coaching for individuals who struggle with money management.
True Story: Amber reached out to me via email to introduce herself. We also share a love of behavioral economics aka “the why” of what we do with money. She’s very warm and supportive. She even sends me links to articles and interviews that I’m quoted in even before I know the links are there. It’s very cool to have a community of women that want to see you win.
Andrea Amir runs Smart Money Chicks. As a certified financial educator, she loves helping women understand their finances, feel comfortable and confident enough to make the best financial decisions.
Antoinette Peterson is the head woman in charge at Sister Save-A-Lot. She’s a coupon queen and will help you save money by sharing the latest coupons, sales and rebates available. By letting Antoinette do the work, you will save time while saving money.
Bola Onada Sokunbi, Founder & Owner at “Clever Girl Finance,”clevergirlfinance.com a financial empowerment platform to help women take charge of their finances and lay a solid foundation for their financial future.
Candice Marie runs Young Yet Wise which is destined to help young people build their finances, build their mindset, and build a healthy lifestyle. Candice wants to help you make wise choices so that you can be successful.
Carrie Pink aka The Financial Stylist is financial lifestyle coach who helps extraordinary women like you blur the lines between frugal and fabulous so you can achieve financial balance and live a richer life. In other words, Carrie helps you stack your coins without killing your cuteness.
Choncé Maddox Rhea created My Debt Epiphany. But it’s more than just a debt blog, it’s a website about transforming who you are and finding your purpose through improving your finances.
Dominique Broadway is the founder of Finances De•mys•ti•fied and The Social Money Tour. She has a strong passion for working with young professionals, entrepreneurs and people of all ages to bring their Dreams2Reality.
Elle Martinez is the founder and owner at Couple Money. She helps families achieve financial freedom by sharing tips for reducing debt, increase income, and building net worth. With her, you learn how to live on one income and have fun with the second. Great idea, right?
Holly Reid leads The Master Playbook (TMP) whose mission is to motivate, inspire and help others manage their finances according to God’s word. As an advocate of personal finance, TMP seeks to create an online accountability community encouraging participants to take action towards a personal savings and/or debt reduction goal.
Jessica Garbarino is making things happen at Every Single Dollar , a personal finance resource designed to address personal finance with your life in mind–from budgeting and savings to insurance and retirement.
La Shaun Coronel is founder and owner of “Divas R Frugal”, divasrfrugal.com. Her definition of “frugal” is the ability to learn and execute how to get the things that you want without breaking the bank or having to settle for less. Sounds good to me!
LaTisha D Styles, Founder of “Young Finances,”youngfinances.com, teaches simple personal finance for millennials. She also works as an online marketing strategist, helping business owners build an online presence so they can effortlessly gain clients online.
True Story: LaTisha and I support each other behind the scenes as accountability partners. Iron sharpens iron.
Lauryn Williams, Founder at “Worth Winning,” worth-winning.com, is a fee-only, completely virtual, comprehensive financial planning firm focused on serving millennials and professional athletes.
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, co-founder and CEO of “Themoneycoach.net, LLC,”themoneycoach.net, increases financial literacy worldwide and seeks to better educate the public about personal finances.
True Story: I read a lot of Lynnette’s books. But my favorite would have to be The Money Coach’s Guide to Your First Million!!! It was the first time I saw a black woman talking about millions.
She had me at the title!
The book made me feel that I could be a millionaire if I wanted to. And I do, so I will. #Speakingit.
In fact, one year I heard she would be at a church speaking about personal finance and I told myself that I would go up to her, hug her, and give her my resume because I was 100% sure that she wanted ME to be a part of her team. (Ego, anyone?) When I finally mustered up the courage to introduce myself to her, I froze and completely forgot about the resume. ;(
But.
Her husband was standing in the cut. So, I introduced myself to him and gave my resume to him. Story redeemed, right? Kinda.
Maria James, Founder of “Pocket of Money LLC,” pocketofmoney.com provides information and resources for individuals ready for a higher net worth. She wants to empower you with the knowledge, tools, and skills you need to take control of your money and live a world-class lifestyle.
True Story: You can’t have too many accountability partners. Maria is my other accountability partner. We yuck it up and mastermind once a week.
Marsha Horton Barnes is founder of “The Finance Bar”, thefinancebar.com, a virtual community for women seeking to make smarter financial decisions. Marsha’s here to ease the anxiety you experience when you feel financially stuck and to work closely with you to achieve the financial lifestyle that makes you feel confident and secure.
True Story: Marsha is 1/5 of our all brown girl money band The Frugal Fab 5. She is as warm as she seems. When we get on Skype, it’s a super duper love fest.
Melissa Boutin is the founder of Your Money Worth and strives to provide resources for millennials in the Caribbean region and United States on how to pay off debt, save, invest and build wealth.
True story: We’ve had great conversations about ways to help Caribbean women take more risks with their money. There is such a thing as being a “reckless” saver. Yep. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.
Mary Baker is CEO of BAKER TAX & ACCOUNTING SERVICES. Clients depend on her to guide their financial wellbeing and provide the best solutions for their circumstances. Whether you’re a business owner or an individual, your financial health is her main concern.
Natasha M. Campbell is the founder of Natasha M. Campbell. She’s committed to empowering women to live happier, financially healthier and more fulfilled in life. She believes we were all created with the power to experience wealth, to live a life of financial freedom, abundance, and significance in the world.
Patrice Cunningham Washington is the founder of Real Money Answers. She teaches professional women and youth around the world how to consistently eliminate financial stress and implement financial strategies that support the lifestyle they desire and deserve. Actually, I really love her book Real Money Answers for Every Woman.
True story: I actually spotted her in NYC and tried to catch-up with her without being a crazy stalker. But she walked fast and seemed to disappear. A few minutes later, she appeared out of nowhere and I was able to introduce myself. We actually chatted over tea and chocolate chip cookies. One tip that she gave me that will always stick with me was this: “I wanted to become a speaker, so I spoke for free every week in Atlanta for a year.” What this taught me was that everyone has a beginning and being deliberate is a necessary part of your long game.
Rosetta Thurman is the founder of The Happy Black Woman. Even though Rosetta isn’t a personal finance expert per se, (she helps black women lead their ideal lives through business development and personal development), I can personally attest to the influence that her work has had on my money mindset. Her courses have helped me shed a lot of my scarcity thinking when it comes to the limits that I place on my wealth. Her book Launch Your Business is everything. I bought a copy last year, went to the conference of the same name, and I’ve seen an uptick in my revenue.
True Story: I have respected Rosetta’s hustle from the beginning. When I attended her event last year, we bumped into each other during the reception and told her about The Frugal Feminista and the progress I’ve made as a result of her resources. Fast forward to December. I’m on her podcast. Listen here. Fast forward to January. I’m sitting in the press section of her Black Women of Power event in NYC.
Samantha Ottley Porter is a personal finance expert, tax professional, and youth financial educator. She’s focussed on helping youth make sound financial decisions so that they avoid some of the mistakes that many adults are regularly making. Impacting the lives of youth is essential to the sustainability of a strong community.
Sandy Smith owns “Yes, I Am Cheap” and is a small business beast! She runs a “little” (ahem, big dog) blog about reducing debt, growing income and learning about personal finance.
Shareeke Edmead-Nesi is the CEO of The Conscious Spender, LLC which aimes educates other people no matter what their socioeconomic level, in order to create for them a world of less financial stress.
Sherrian Crumbley created KNS Financial exist to equip Christians to gain control of their finances so they can worship freely and give freely.
Tanya Van Court is CEO and Chief Sower at “ISow” “Tanya helps you “sow” seeds (ie: set goals) in 3 categories: saving towards your future (ahem, college), sharing with those who are less fortunate (favorite charity), and spending on things that matter in the near-term (like that new phone you want)!
Tarra Jackson is a licensed insurance advisor at Prosperity Now Financial Management Services, a independent financial services and educational Agency offering personal, commercial, life and health insurance products to meet the needs of you, your family and your business. Welp!
Taylor is a freelance writer and blogger-in-charge at Tay Talks Money. Her sweet spot is having candid conversations about earning and saving more money.
Tela Holcomb teaches you how to break free of your 9 to 5, create a monthly income and build a financial legacy through trading and investing in the stock market. Amen. Amen. Yes. And more…please.
Tiffany O Aliche, Founder of “The Budgetnista”, thebudgetnista.com , a professional and educational services firm that specializes in the delivery of financial literacy education. By the way, Tiffany’s books are EVERYTHING. I love all of them. Most, if not all of them, are #1 Amazon Best Sellers because they are helpful and easy-to-understand.
Take your pick: The One Week Budget (I have). The Live Richer Challenge Fundamentals (I have.) The Liver Richer Challenge: The Savings Editions (Got it), and The Live Richer Challenge: The Credit Edition (Want it.)
True Story: Tiffany is one of the most GENEROUS women that I know. Hands down. She is the REAL reason that I was in Black Enterprise only two years on these personal finance streets. She’s made a career of giving and makes it look easy. And she’s hilarious. She should have a one-woman show.
Tonya Rapley runs My Fab Finance. Tonya’s mission is to help you own your power and break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck so that you can live free and do more of what you love. She shows us that being fabulous and frugal are NOT mutually exclusive. She is also a woman that can catch you up on the latest travel hacks.
True Story: One of the things that I loved about Tonya is her hunger. I remember when we were speaking at an event, my engagement ring slipped off my finger. I was devastated. All I remember was that she said, “We gon’ find that ring.” I was thinking, “How in the hell…?” Well, we found that ring. She was convinced, so I become convinced. That’s power.
Don’t you just loovveee all of the #browngirlmagic and #blackgirlmagic in this post? You can NEVER say that you don’t know where to do for financial advice from someone that looks like you. Please share, pin, and repost this article. Someone in your network could definitely use it.
If you were loving this post and want your brown girl magic to also shine, then start by transforming your finances with The Wealthy Woman’s Blueprint.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything in the post. It’s important that you take a next step today.
xo,
Kara
And P.S. If you love all of this online financial inspiration and information I’m serving you, come join me at my FIRST LIVE event in NYC, March 18th in NYC. Register for “Fix My Finances, Fix My Life”: A Self-Care Seminar for All Brown Girls before tix run out.
If this posts inspires you to get your finances in order, don’t let the work stop here. Consider enrolling in one of my online courses. I have one on budgeting and one on saving.
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