When I turned 40, I still felt young—because I was. But something shifted in me that year.
I realized that while I had financial dreams, I didn’t have financial plans.
For years, I had bought into these traditional money rules—things like:
- Save $1,000 for emergencies.
- Pay off all your debt before you do anything else.
- Create a budget and stick to it.
And don’t get me wrong, these things weren’t bad advice. But they were incomplete.
I had done the saving. I had done the budgeting. I had worked hard to keep my credit cards in check.
But I still wasn’t wealthy.
I was running on the same hamster wheel so many of us—especially Black women—get stuck on. We’re told to play small, to just “be responsible” with our money, but we’re never taught how to make our money work for us.
No one was pausing to say:
“Sis, you need to be investing. Your job should be funding your future wealth, not just covering bills. You can’t save your way to financial freedom—you have to grow your money.”
So, I started making different money moves. Not your grandma’s money moves. Not your old-school finance guru’s money moves. But wealth-building moves that actually make sense in today’s world.
And I’m about to break them down for you.
1️⃣ Stop Thinking Savings Accounts Will Make You Rich
Let’s get one thing straight: A savings account is not a wealth-building tool.
Savings accounts are for emergencies. For unexpected situations. For short-term goals.
But they do not make you wealthy.
If your financial plan starts and ends with “I just need to save more,” you’re playing a losing game. The interest rates on savings accounts are trash (even the so-called “high-yield” ones). Meanwhile, the cost of living keeps rising.
What does that mean? If your money is just sitting in a savings account, you’re actually losing money over time.
The move:
- Keep 3-6 months of expenses in a savings account for emergencies.
- Anything beyond that? Put it in investments that actually grow.
2️⃣ Get Off the Debt Hamster Wheel—But Don’t Fear Credit
The old-school advice says: “Pay off all your debt before you do anything else.”
I disagree.
Some debt, like high-interest credit card debt, absolutely needs to go. But the idea that you can’t build wealth until you’re 100% debt-free is outdated.
Wealthy people use debt strategically—for investments, for leverage, for business moves. They don’t let debt control them, but they also don’t sit around waiting for a $0 balance before making smart financial moves.
The move:
- Pay off high-interest debt ASAP.
- If you have low-interest debt (like student loans or a mortgage), don’t stress about paying it off aggressively if you’re also investing.
- Use credit strategically (for business, real estate, and investments), but don’t fall into the “credit card trap” where you’re constantly paying down and racking it back up.
3️⃣ Invest—Because Your Job Won’t Make You Wealthy
Repeat after me: My paycheck is not my wealth. My paycheck is my seed.
Most of us were raised to think that working hard at a job = financial security. But that’s not how wealth is built.
You cannot just earn your way to wealth—you have to invest your way there.
And I get it. Investing feels scary. We weren’t raised with these conversations. But avoiding it keeps us broke.
If you don’t invest, your money just sits still. Meanwhile, people who do invest are making their money multiply.
The move:
- Start with stock market investments (index funds, ETFs, dividend stocks).
- Learn about real estate investing (even if you don’t want to be a landlord, there are ways to get in).
- Get into alternative investments—crypto, AI stocks, digital assets.
You don’t need to be an expert to start. You just need to start.
4️⃣ Learn the Money Game They Don’t Teach Us
There’s a reason wealth stays in certain communities and doesn’t reach others.
We were told to budget and save.
They were taught to invest, leverage, and compound their money.
We were taught to work for money.
They were taught to make money work for them.
It’s time to change the game.
The move:
- Learn how the tax system benefits the wealthy (yes, rich people get tax breaks, and you should be taking advantage of legal deductions too).
- Learn about asset protection (LLCs, trusts, wealth-building strategies).
- Stop thinking just about salary and start thinking about ownership—owning stocks, owning businesses, owning real estate.
5️⃣ Get Into the Future of Money (Crypto, AI, & Digital Assets)
If you’re ignoring cryptocurrency and AI, you’re already behind.
Technology is shifting how wealth is created. AI companies are booming. Crypto isn’t just a trend—it’s a new financial system.
Rich people are investing in these spaces. The question is: Are you?
The move:
- Start small with crypto investments (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other strong projects).
- Look into AI companies and stocks—AI isn’t going anywhere.
- Understand digital assets (NFTs, online businesses, and Web3).
The future is shifting. Get ahead of it.
Final Thoughts: Join the Money Conversation
Listen. No one is coming to save us.
If you want financial freedom, you have to stop following outdated advice and start making money moves that actually build wealth.
That means:
✅ Investing, not just saving.
✅ Using credit wisely, not fearfully.
✅ Thinking like an owner, not just an earner.
✅ Staying ahead of financial trends (crypto, AI, digital assets).
And most importantly: Having these conversations.
If this blog spoke to you, join us inside Wealthy Women Conversations—a space where we’re talking about real money moves that actually create wealth. No fluff, no outdated advice. Just real strategies that work.
👉 Join the Facebook group: Wealthy Women Conversations
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#92%
Slower, Wealthier, Happier 
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