Q&A: The Importance of Women's Financial Literacy, with Mrs. Dow Jones

Haley Sacks, aka @MrsDowJones, is an influential voice in financial literacy for millennials and Gen Z. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune, which named her to its 40 Under 40 in Media and Entertainment list. Her 2026 debut book, Future Rich Person: The New Rules for Building Wealth, is a New York Times bestseller, and her podcast, Financial Tea, talks about the intersection of money, power, and culture. Here, she speaks to Lean In about financial literacy, how to earn more, and the workplace trends that are holding women back.

Q: Why is financial literacy important for women in particular?

"Because the system was genuinely not built with us in mind, and pretending otherwise does not help anyone. Women live longer, get paid less, take more career breaks for caregiving, and are statistically more likely to end up managing money alone at some point, whether through divorce, outliving a partner, or just being single. That is not a doom stat. That is a reason to get fluent now instead of later.

"We were raised to think talking about money was tacky or unfeminine or something to leave to someone else. Meanwhile, the boys were getting handed CNBC and a handshake. Financial literacy is how you opt out of needing anyone’s permission to live your life. It is the difference between staying somewhere because you cannot afford to leave, and staying because you actually want to. That is real freedom and nobody is going to hand it to you."

Q: What are the three most important things women can do to earn more money?

"First: Negotiate everything. Your starting salary, your raise, your freelance rate, all of it. Women leave so much money on the table simply by accepting the first number, and the first number is never the real number.

"Second: Do not just save, invest. Women are incredible savers and then we let that money sit in a checking account losing value to inflation while the men we know are buying index funds and compounding their way to wealth. Saving keeps you afloat. Investing is what actually builds the boat.

"Third: Invest in yourself like you would invest in an index fund. Your earning potential is genuinely the best asset you will ever own and most people just stop building it the second they graduate. Big mistake.

"Take the course. Get the certification. Learn the annoying software everyone is scared of. Say yes to the project that makes you slightly nauseous. Every new skill is leverage, and leverage is what you cash in for a raise, a promotion, or a “Hi, I am leaving for a 40% bump” convo. The market pays you for what you can do that the person next to you cannot, so keep widening that gap. Your paycheck today is basically a receipt for the skills you built yesterday, so build now. The money is always a step behind, but it catches up."

Q: What’s your top salary negotiation tip?

"Say a specific number and then shut up. I mean it!

"The silence after you state your number is the most powerful tool you have, and women are conditioned to fill it immediately by apologizing, justifying, or talking ourselves down before they even respond. Do not do it. State your number with the calm confidence of a man who is wildly underqualified and has never once doubted himself in his life. Then say nothing. Let it be awkward. The first person to break the silence loses, and it does not have to be you."

Q: What do you think about recent trends when it comes to women and work, like quiet quitting, lazy girl jobs, and tradwifedom?

"I understand the impulse behind all of these. Women are burnt out, underpaid, and exhausted by hustle culture that was never going to love them back.

"That said, I cannot get behind quiet quitting. Doing the bare minimum to coast feels good in the moment, but it mostly just keeps you stuck. You are not sticking it to your employer, you are quietly stalling your own momentum, your own raises, and your own next opportunity. If a job is genuinely making you miserable, the move is not to disappear inside it. The move is to use it as a launchpad to something better. Overdeliver strategically, build your skills, get the receipts, and then leverage all of it into more money somewhere that actually values you. Quiet quitting is playing defense with your own career, and I want women playing offense.

"I have less of an issue with “lazy girl jobs,” because that is usually about choosing peace and boundaries on purpose, which is different from checking out.

“Do not romanticize being financially powerless.”

"Tradwifedom is the one I have the most complicated feelings about. If staying home is genuinely what someone wants and they are doing it with their eyes open, great. Truly. But my one and only rule is that financial dependence without financial literacy is a trap, and a lot of that content conveniently leaves out what happens if the marriage ends or he loses his job. You can bake the sourdough. You can have the whole aesthetic. Just please also have your own bank account, know where the money is, and never be in a position where leaving is not an option because of money. Romanticize the lifestyle all you want. Do not romanticize being financially powerless."