Financial Independence for Women: Making Smart Money Moves and Learning to Invest with Stephanie Xenos

The She Leads Podcast: Real Conversations with Women Entrepreneurs

Don’t be afraid to take control of your financial life.

Stephanie Xenos - Money Muse is a retired rocket scientist turned women's personal finance expert obsessed with helping women reach financial independence. She seeks to empower women of all ages and diverse backgrounds to jumpstart their journey toward financial freedom.

Stephanie shares her life story and how she chose to study physics in college, thinking it would lead to high earnings. During her work at SpaceX, she invested significantly in her future Stephanie retired at 32 and decided to help other women achieve financial independence.

There is a different perspective on retirement or taking breaks or sabbaticals instead of following a traditional work-retirement path. Leveraging your career to gain financial freedom is not hard. According to Stephanie, there is no need for having a financial advisor but with a bit of learning and time, building portfolios is not hard at all.

Stephanie invested for 14 years so she could fully ‘retire’. While she focused intently on living a super-frugal lifestyle in order to heavily invest, she advises against sacrificing pleasures for the sake of investing. Rather, she promotes a mindful and more balanced approach to spending and investing in order to enjoy life both today and tomorrow.

It would be wonderful for young women to get educated on investing early in life so that they can gain financial independence. When women have extra funds, they are more likely to invest in their families and their communities. With economic power, women will help humanity. Stephanie’s life and her commitment to women and their financial empowerment shows us that the sky is the limit - so let's go for it!

Show notes:
🚀 Stephanie is a retired rocket scientist who chose one of the hardest majors in college. 04:14
🆚 Fear vs. desire: fear is an incredible motivator, but not a good place to stay. 06:01
👱‍♀️ Starting investing at 18: Stephanie was able to retire early and discovered her passion for helping women. 07:47
🔥 F.I.R.E. stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early: investments don’t have to be perfect. 09:10
🤓 Take your finances in your hands now: beware of fees - they can eat away at your returns.13:01
😇 You can manage your portfolio on your own; there’s no need for a financial advisor. 15:22
⚠️ Not having proper information on what to do with money and who to trust are the primary reasons women don’t invest. 18:54
💲 Increasing the number of women millionaires is important: It took 14 years for Stephanie to retire. 19:59
⏰ Having the help of coaches can be a game-changer for your business: the best time for investing is now. 26:36
⚖️ Stephanie sacrificed a lot to achieve financial independence quickly, but now she recommends balancing saving with enjoying life. 31:36
🧠 Finding the balance between happiness and consumerism: how to spend your money wisely. 36:13
😍 Seeing investing as fun: Stephanie prepares group courses to help women more. 36:55

Links:

Website: themoneymuse.co/speaking

Social media handles: @money__muse

Connect with Adrienne: https://www.sheleadsmedia.com

Listen to podcasts for women by women on the She Leads Podcast Network: https://www.sheleadspodcasts.com

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