“I didn’t grow up talking about money.”
Here’s the dirty secret: no one did. We have thirst-trapped and swiped and dating-diaried our way past most taboos, but talking about money still makes most of us squirm. The result is that people think they’re bad with money when they’re actually on the same page as everyone else – but no one’s talking about it.
So let’s talk about it.
First, whatever advice you inherited is probably bad. This isn’t the giver's fault. Our financial system was designed for families with one salaried earner, one caretaker, and a few kids. Most personal finance “wisdom” mirrors that same set of assumptions.
When I talk to other financial planners, they often describe my firm’s expertise in equity compensation and non-W2 employment as our “niche.” I’d argue that what we do is anything but niche and that we actually just serve the way that people live and make money now: as freelancers, self-employed creatives, tech employees with equity in their company, international visitors working on H-1B visas, hobbyists turned side-hustlers turned entrepreneurs, and adults happily living single lives.
Second, whatever advice you picked up on the internet is also probably bad. I’ve noticed that people on the internet who talk about personal finance like to focus on the wrong things when it comes to money: credit card points, credit scores, and what stocks to pick. It’s easy to like things that come with a leaderboard and feel like a game, but unfortunately, none of those things really matter all too much. My goal is to get you to focus on what does matter. What matters is that you understand how to save and invest your money and that you have a positive association with money. We have a lot of work to do. :)
Hey, I’m AJ
If you’re getting this in your inbox, we probably already know each other. But if we don’t, hi! I’m Ally Jane Ayers. I’m a former book editor and music journalist who fell in love with finance and co-founded a pretty successful (if I do say so myself) financial planning firm called Brooklyn Fi.
I spend all day talking with people about money. And I watch my friends and clients get the same things wrong over and over again. For years, I’ve held my tongue, I’ve been gentle and polite, and I’ve tried to nudge people in the right direction.
I’m not holding my tongue anymore. This newsletter is for my unvarnished opinions about how we should live with money. And I’m sharing because it matters: money truly does change everything, whether or not we let it. And my goal is to get you understand why investing is so important and which kind of investing works for you.
Who this newsletter is for
Let’s name the elephant in the room: we live in an incredibly unequal and often unfair society. Hardship is real, and so is privilege. Over half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and we need real, systemic help to make their cost of living more manageable. While personal finance isn’t going to fix a broken system, there are some really great resources out there for how to navigate that system if you’re at the very beginning of your financial journey.1
But there are a lot of people who fit somewhere between living paycheck-to-paycheck and billionaire who still don’t know what to do about money and feel a lot of shame about it. They aren’t sure if they can call themselves rich. They are suspicious that everyone around them has secret family money, and they may have some of their own. They still have debt, but they vacation in Europe. Stability and financial freedom always feel one windfall or one raise away. They chase credit card points, but they also splurge on self-care.
If any of that sounds like you – buckle up, and let’s go for a ride. This newsletter is for you.
What to expect
I’ll be sending this newsletter each week, usually on Tuesdays but maybe sometimes on other days (just to keep things interesting), and the first *real* one will be hitting your inbox tomorrow (got that straight?).
If I were a college professor teaching a course on personal finance, the next year of newsletters would essentially be my course. Each month, we’ll look at different areas where life and money’s messy paths cross. You’ll hear me rant about why you should probably just rent (but you won’t), why LLC formation and credit card points are scams, how to talk to everyone in your life about money, and much, much more. Along the way, we’ll get nosy about what other people do with their money, and you’ll get lots of financial and life advice. Hopefully, along the way, you’ll take some of it.
This month, we’re starting off with the most important thing in all of our lives: our relationships. Money has a sneaky way of creeping into every important relationship you’ll ever have: with romantic partners, friends, parents, and yourself. Most of us are completely unequipped for how to deal with that, and it’s time we got better at it.
This is just a welcome letter; my first real issue will come out tomorrow. I’ll see you then!
But before we go, I have some real actionable financial advice for you…
If you don’t already have one, you need a savings account at a separate bank from your checking account.
Saving is hard enough, and separating your true savings from what you’re spending daily is essential. In future newsletters, we’ll discuss how much to save in this “emergency” fund, but for now, just make sure you have the account open. This savings account should be “high-yield,” - which means it probably isn’t at a brick-and-mortar bank like Chase, Bank of America, Citi Bank, etc. It’s likely at an online bank like Ally, American Express, or Barclays. Here’s a quick way to tell if your savings account is truly high-yield: make sure the APY (the annual percentage yield - aka what the bank is PAYING you for the privilege of holding your money) is within half a percentage point of the EFFECTIVE FEDERAL FUNDS RATE. That’s the rate at which banks lend money to each other, so you want to be close to that. As of January 2, 2025, the fed funds rate is 4.33% so if your savings account isn’t paying you AT LEAST 4%, it ain’t high yield!
Parting shot: money changes everything, and if you continue to read this newsletter, I’ll teach you how to use money as a superpower.
And finally…
If you don’t want to hear from me or this is of zero interest to you, just unsubscribe! No hard feelings whatsoever!
I really like Paco de Leon’s Finance for the People)
welcome AJ!
Hi AJ! I'm enjoying your posts so far, and congrats on the warm reception you're receiving. Can you provide a more extensive list of banks that provide high-yield savings accounts? I'm looking into it, and I'm curious as to whether there are specific institutions you feel confident naming as candidates. There's one called Varo, for instance, that claims 5% APR.