Jean Chatzsky

Before TikTok “money experts,” there was Jean Chatzky.

In the 1980s, Jean Chatzky wanted to be a journalist.

Her first job offer? $12,000 a year at New Woman magazine.

She turned it down for a management training role at G. Fox that paid twice as much.

It took her just three months to quit.

She went back to journalism and landed at Working Woman, where she wrote about business.

When Forbes turned her down and told her to get an MBA, she skipped the degree and went straight to Wall Street.

She learned how to read a balance sheet as an equity researcher.

Then returned to journalism armed with financial fluency.

She climbed the ranks: Forbes, SmartMoney, Money Magazine.

Then came NBC’s Today Show.

Jean became the financial editor for millions of viewers.

Because she made money understandable.

She stripped away jargon, skipped the shame, and taught people how to budget, save, invest.

She did it all while admitting her own mistakes:
– She’d maxed out credit cards
– Cashed out a 401(k)
– Let others manage her money

Her superpower? Turning lived experience into lessons others could use.

Then in 2018, she launched her own platform: HerMoney Media.

It started with a podcast: HerMoney with Jean Chatzky.

Jean had spent over 20 years reporting on personal finance.

And she realized that women aren’t bad with money.

They’re just ignored by the systems that were never built for them.

HerMoney became a full media company, producing newsletters, podcasts, coaching programs, branded content, and digital tools to help women take control of their money and lives.

The mission: change the way women talk about, think about, and use money.

She also co-created a financial literacy magazine for 4th–6th graders with Time for Kids, reaching over 2M students with the support of PwC’s charitable foundation.

She took her platform to AARP, becoming their personal finance ambassador.

She showed parents how to teach kids about money. Save in a glass jar. Give a 30-minute credit card lesson before handing one over.

And she kept writing.

Bestsellers like: Women with Money, AgeProof, and The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness.

She’s won a Gracie Award, a Clarion Award, and was named one of the best magazine columnists in the country by the Chicago Tribune.

By 2030, women will control 66% of U.S. wealth.

Jean made it her mission to help them be ready.

She told readers: if you want to own your life, you have to own your money.

She gave them a 5-rule plan to start:
1. Earn a decent living.
2. Spend less than you make.
3. Save and invest what you don’t spend.
4. Protect everything you’ve built.
5. Give back.

And when asked about her own investing strategy?

She keeps it simple:
– Always buying
– Diversified mutual funds, not flashy stocks
– Enough bonds and cash to avoid panic-selling during downturns

There’s no rocket science to money. Just the confidence to believe you can manage it.