5 Shrewd Secrets from Women Who’ve Fixed Credit, Paid Debt and Made Fortunes

Are you looking for a little advice when it comes to managing your money?

We’ve talked to some seriously inspiring women to get their secrets. We have stories from a former Merrill Lynch executive, a mom of nine who overcame a layoff and a college grad who paid off $100,000 of debt — then started her own business.

They share their tips for financial success. You can even start using some of their strategies right now.

Secret No. 1: You Don’t Have to Have an MBA to Start a Business

Do you dream of starting a business? If so, don’t let the fact that you don’t have a business degree from an Ivy League school hold you back. (Yeah, imposter syndrome is the worst.) We’ve talked to plenty of women who’ve successfully started businesses on their own.

Here’s a story that really resonates with our frugal hearts: The Budget Mom.

After graduating college, Kumiko Love had $100,000 worth of debt — student loans, credit cards and medical bills. All that good stuff. Still, she had trouble sticking to a budget. So she gave up.

Then she started studying the psychology behind money, and that gave her renewed hope: She started viewing her situation through a positive lens. She combined several budgeting tactics and started logging her process through her blog, The Budget Mom.

And guess what? Love is now debt free and she recently quit her full-time job to focus on her seven-figure business, The Budget Mom.

Secret No. 2: Stop Making Your Credit Card Company Rich

Here’s the truth: Credit card interest rates often rise above 20% and can persistently gobble up so much of your income that you’ll never get ahead.

Here’s some more truth: Your credit card company doesn’t care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates. But a website called Fiona could help you pay off that bill as soon as tomorrow.

Here’s how it works: Fiona can match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You’re left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, no credit card payment this month.

If your credit score is at least 620, Fiona can help you borrow up to $100,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 5.20% and flexible terms from 4 to 144 months.

Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.

All that credit card debt — and the anxiety that comes with it — could be gone by tomorrow.

Secret No. 3: You Can Leave Your Kids $1.5 Million for $10/Month

Got kids? Then you’ve wondered what’ll happen to them if something were to happen to you…

For single mom Rebekah Pearsall, this was difficult to consider. “Since my son doesn’t have a biological father in his life, I wanted to make sure he was secure if something were to ever happen to me,” she said.

That’s when she started looking into life insurance.

Before you start thinking you don’t have the time or money for that, look into policies through a company called Bestow. It offers $1.5 million policies starting at only $10 a month.* Your application shouldn’t take more than about five minutes.

You can change or cancel your plan at any time. Plus, the security of knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.

Pearsall had seen firsthand the benefits of life insurance; her childhood friend lost his dad and life insurance helped his family make it through that time financially.

It takes only a few minutes to get a free quote.

Secret No. 4: Be an Advocate For Yourself (and Your Credit Score)

It’s easy to pass your credit score off as some silly three-digit number — that’s what most of us did throughout our early twenties, anyway. But what happens when you want to buy a car? Or a house? That seemingly arbitrary number starts to play a huge role in your life.

And here’s the unfortunate fact: You can do everything right, but if your credit report has an error (one in five reports do), it could be holding you back — for no good reason. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on things.

Thankfully, a free website called Credit Sesame will give you your credit score for free and help you detect any errors on your report. If you find any, it will even help you dispute them.

Salome Buitureria, a working mom in Louisiana, found a major error on her report — a supposed unpaid medical bill that had definitely been covered by Medicaid. Using Credit Sesame, Buitureria fixed the mistake and took additional steps to raise her credit score from 524 to nearly 700.*

Now? She’s focused on buying a home.

It only takes about 90 seconds to sign up with Credit Sesame.

Secret No. 5: Women Should Invest Differently Than Men

Traditional investing companies have never really considered the fact that women statistically get paid less, yet live longer.

That’s why Sallie Krawcheck, the former head of Merrill Lynch, designed an investing company for women called Ellevest.

With Ellevest, you can start investing with as little as $1. Plus, when you sign up through The Penny Hoarder, you’ll get a $25 bonus in your Ellevest account.**

When you sign up, Ellevest will build an investing plan just for you and your financial goals. It considers gender pay differences, any potential career breaks and overall lifespan. Even better? It invests your money in women-owned businesses.

Thanks to Krawcheck, we can invest exactly for our needs and feel more confident in our financial future.

*Credit Sesame does not guarantee any of these results, and some may even see a decrease in their credit score. Any score improvement is the result of many factors, including paying bills on time, keeping credit balances low, avoiding unnecessary inquiries, appropriate financial planning and developing better credit habits.

**The Ellevest The Penny Hoarder promotional offer is valid for the first 1,000 new clients of Ellevest who enter through this designated landing page. Clients who enroll and fund their non-retirement account will receive $25 added to their highest priority goal in their Ellevest account. Clients who enroll and fund their retirement account will receive a $25 Amazon gift card which can be redeemed by visiting www.amazon.com. Please review Amazon.com Gift Card Terms and Conditions prior to redemption. Ellevest is not responsible for lost Amazon Gift Cards. Ellevest’s processing time for depositing $25 into a client’s Ellevest account or delivery of a $25 Amazon gift card may be up to 60 days.

*Bestow: Policies are issued by Bestow Life Insurance Company, Dallas, TX on policy form series BLI-ITPOL. Bestow Life Insurance products may not be available in all states. Policy limitations or restrictions may apply. Not available in New York. Our application asks lifestyle and health questions to determine eligibility in order to avoid requiring a medical exam. Prices start at $10/month based on an 18-year-old male rated Preferred Plus NT for a $100k policy for a 10-year term. Rates will vary based on underwriting review.