5 Women to Know In the Personal Finance Space

You know at The Financial Gym we’re all about supporting women. As a female-founded company, we love supporting other women trailblazers, especially in the personal finance space. That’s why for Women’s History Month and International Women's Day we’ve rounded up our favorite top five ladies in personal finance.

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5. Kara Perez

Kara Perez worked her way out of debt on a shoestring budget and created Bravely, a community for women, which is at the “intersection of finance and feminism.” Bravely has hosted events in Austin, Texas all about money and the blog offers great content such as “The 10 Financial Commandments All Women Should Live By”.

On top of in-person workshops and great blog content, Kara is one-half of the Fairer Cents podcast which delves into everything from emotional labor to toxic masculinity, financial feminism and mental health.

Kudos to Kara for bravely (ha!) going forward with supporting women in the community and through her podcast.

4. Tonya Rapley

Tonya Rapley is the founder of MyFabFinance.com and the winner of the best personal finance blog for women at the 7th annual Plutus Awards. She is a domestic violence survivor, wife, new mom, and was also named the “New Face of Wealth Building” by Black Enterprise.

You can check out her old videos from “Talk Money with Tonya” and “Coffee and Coins”. Her goal is to help women break the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle and live a fabulous life.

3. Kristin Wong

Kristin Wong is the author of Get Money, a comprehensive guide to getting your finances in shape. On top of that she is a journalist, whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Glamour.

Her work tackles hot button issues that women face such as “Are Women Afraid to Compete With Each Other at Work?” and “Dealing With Impostor Syndrome When You’re Treated as an Impostor” (must reads). Additionally, Kristin has spoken at Lola Retreat, a finance event for women about preparing for big life events like homeownership and marriage.


2. Marsha Barnes

At the Financial Gym, we know how much work it takes to build something from the ground up that helps women. That’s why we love Marsha Barnes, who created The Finance Bar. The Finance Bar has a mobile hub, a bus that offers financial wellness education.

Marsha is a Certified Financial Social Worker and Financial Educator and supports women and couples. On top of that, she is the brand ambassador for credit scoring company, FICO. Marsha’s unique way of reaching women and commitment to community has made a lasting impact in the personal fiance space.

1.  Jean Chatzky

Our top pick happens to be someone we love at The Financial Gym. Jean Chatzky is the podcast host of HerMoney as well as the financial editor at NBC’s Today show. She’s also a best-selling author as well as an investor in The Financial Gym.

She has acquired DailyWorth, a personal finance site for women. Jean’s work is focused on women and given her multi-media platform, you can learn about personal finance by listening, viewing, or reading her work.

Women and money

These five women have changed the game in personal finance and we love what they’re doing. Of course, there are many more women doing great work in the space that we applaud, but if you want to dive into tools and resources start here. Happy Women’s History month and International Women’s Day!


P.S. Check out founder Shannon McLay’s mention in The New York Times.

Caitlin Lyttle