In honour of International Women’s Day, we have assembled some of the best financial advice from America’s favorite money-savvy women for all stages of your life! From childhood to retirement, here are some of our favorite money lessons.

Getting Off on the Right Foot

“I truly believe with my whole heart that financial planning should not be a luxury”, explains Alexa Von Tobel, Founder of LearnVest. At the tender age of 28, Alexa was shaking up Wall Street with her plan to bring financial planning and investment advice to the masses online.

According to Alexa, one of the keys to leading a healthy financial life is empowerment through education. Alexa’s message is particularly important for teens on the cusp of adulthood. By arming teens with practical financial knowledge at an early age, we are empowering the next generation of financially-savvy adults.

“I really look forward to a future where we can pause, where we can take all of the people before they enter the work world, and teach them these really basic financial principles” says Von Tobel, “that we can empower them so that they can end up living powerful financial lives”.

The Journey Into Adulthood

Ah, the twenties. For many, it is a period of soul-searching and self-discovery. From college graduation to entering the work world, this phase can be both exciting and confusing. That’s why we believe that Suze Orman’s powerful message about the dangers of intertwining your self-worth and your income is particularly important for young women in their twenties.

“I realized that until I started acting honestly, I would be broke and unhappy”, Suze explains. “It was my own aha moment: I realized we spend more than when we feel less than. I felt less than because I could not afford what all those rich people could. But look where that got me—in debt and miserable. It was right then that I started to use money as my guide.”

Raising Money-Savvy Kids

As we move from our twenties into settle into motherhood, we face yet another challenge: talking to our kids about money. While many of us feel a little wiser than we did at 22, teaching our children about financial wellness can be a daunting prospect. It’s one thing to create healthy financial habits for ourselves, and another entirely to instill these values and behaviors in our children.

That is why we love Jean Chatzky’s practical advice on how to incorporate financial learning into daily family life. Jean’s advice to parents struggling with the ‘money talk’ is to find teachable money moments. “Kids can grow up thinking money comes in an endless supply if you don’t show them otherwise”, explains Jean. Find small opportunities to role model healthy behavior for your children by including them in your daily financial activities, such as going to the bank.

Staying Positive Through Life’s Challenges

The path to lasting financial wellness is rarely a straight one. Our lives can take us on wonderful, crazy detours - which sometimes come with unexpected financial challenges. That is why we particularly enjoy Farnoosh Torabi’s message about the power of positive thinking.

“I’ve interviewed psychologists, behavioral experts, economists - and while they all come from different points of view, they do agree with the notion that when you harbor negative feelings about money and with money, it creates cognitive bias”, Farnoosh explains. “It prohibits us from making the rational, good, healthy decisions that we ultimately need to make”.

Money: The Great Liberator

The prospect of saving for retirement can be stressful for many Americans. It can be challenging to save funds for tomorrow, that we know could be put to good use today. That is why we believe that Amanda Steinberg’s message about seeing money as a liberator, not a stressor is an important reminder for those preparing for their golden years.

“We have to look at the stories women tell ourselves about money,” explains Steinberg, “which have perpetuated the idea of money being a source of stress for women…[we need to] see it as access to freedom and choices in our lives, not as a source of anxiety.”

True financial wellness goes far beyond spreadsheets and budget-crunching. Like these women teach us, it is a lifelong journey filled with important lessons about how we can use money to architect the life that we envision for ourselves.

We want to know: What financial lessons have you learned from the women in your life?

Photo Source: She Knows