Sallie’s Opinion

New Year’s Is Different This Year

It’s that time of year again. Resolution season, “new year, new you,” auld lang syne.

As much as I can’t wait to leave 2020 in my past, the whole “new year, new you” thing is just not working for me this year.

Because the past will be coming with us into 2021.

Both because nobody really knows yet when life will return to normal (it definitely won’t be in January), and also because of the lessons we learned this year. The data is now clear that 2020 was a “she-cession,” with women disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. (And how. One of the lines from 2020 that will stay with me for a long time came from sociologist Jessica Calarco: “Other countries have a social safety net. The US has women.”)

In an Ellevest survey in the late spring, you noted this and said that building a “financial safety net” was a top priority for you coming out of the pandemic.*

Hear, hear. This “financial safety net” can mean different things for different people, but for all of us, taking control of our money can help with our emotional resilience as well as our financial resilience. That’s because money is women’s #1 source of stress … but taking charge of our own money, working on saving and investing it, is the #1 driver of women’s confidence in their futures.

But there are a few specific intentions we can set for the year, no matter where we are financially:

1.	“I will not ignore or delegate my money in 2021.” This is always relevant, but having a clear picture of your money is more important than ever in 2021. You can’t be financially resilient if you don’t know where you are with your finances.

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Acknowledging that gender inequality is real but at the same time claiming it doesn’t exist in your workplace. The term was coined by Elisabeth Kelan after 20 years of studies on gender equity at work.

A tweet by @nysohollywood that says “I’ll finish school, I’ll pursue my career, I’ll be the woman I’ve dreamed of being. I got this.”

“We don’t allow women to look normal anymore, or like a real person. Why does every woman who’s ever onscreen have to look like a supermodel?”

–Carey Mulligan, after a review of “Promising Young Woman” in Variety said she was miscast in the role because she wasn’t pretty enough. (They apologized.)

Your first small win: Ellevest

Start the year with 2 months free with code SMALLWINS.**.

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What we’re reading

•	Maybe you’ve heard that women investors are risk-averse? Nope. A new study found that when investing decisions have “important human or social consequences” along with financial ones, women actually take significantly more risk to make it happen.
•	Stimulus checks may be $600, but Beyoncé’s out there giving $5K grants to people facing foreclosure and evictions.
•	Speaking of which: Here’s the latest on what’s in and out of the stimulus spending package (as of send time).
•	Another Black woman Google employee says she was fired after calling out racism in the company — the second in a month. (Her story is definitely worth reading.)
•	A research paper last month claimed that women who have women mentors actually do worse in their career. It got blasted for sexist bias and issues with methodology, and was finally retracted last week. Mentor on, everyone.

Members get access to free money and career workshops.

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This week’s newsletter was brought to you while while enthusiastically cosigning the breakout stars of 2020. Forward it to your friends who are ready to be breakout stars themselves.

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DISCLOSURES

*The Ellevest 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic Survey (the “Survey”) was sent on May 16, 2020 by Ellevest to all subscribers to Ellevest’s What the Elle newsletter, Money Cheat Sheet edition. 3,300 people responded to the online survey. The majority of respondents were in their 30s, with 25% under the age of 30 and 30% over the age of 40. 25% of respondents reported earning less than $50,000 a year. 37.7% reported earning between $50,000 and 75,000 a year, with the rest earning over $75,000. Not all questions were answered by survey participants.

**The “Two Months Free” promotional offer is offered to those who sign up for an Ellevest Membership service (Ellevest Essential, Ellevest Plus or Ellevest Executive) on or before 11:59 PM EST on January 31, 2021 (the “Promotional Period”). Clients who enroll before the end of the Promotional Period will pay no Ellevest membership fee for the first two months of their membership period, starting on the date the membership agreement is acknowledged. After two months from this date, the applicable fees for the Ellevest Membership service selected will be reinstated.

Ellevest reserves the right to refuse to award you the Promotional offer if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the promotion was claimed under wrongful or fraudulent circumstances, that your participation is against the spirit of the program, that making payment would constitute a violation of your Ellevest Membership Terms and Conditions Agreement or applicable federal or state law, or that incomplete or inaccurate information was provided. Ellevest reserves the right to end or modify any promotion at any time.

All opinions and views expressed by Ellevest are current as of the date of this writing, for informational purposes only, and do not constitute or imply an endorsement of any third party’s products or services.

Information was obtained from third-party sources, which we believe to be reliable but not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.

The information provided should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice.

The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific person.

Investing entails risk, including the possible loss of principal, and there is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over any period of time.

Banking products and services are provided by Coastal Community Bank (“Coastal”), Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Your Ellevest Spend and Save Account deposits will be insured to the regulatory limits by the FDIC through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC.

Funds held in your Ellevest investment accounts are not FDIC insured, not guaranteed by Coastal, and may lose value. Ellevest does not guarantee investment performance.

Ellevest Membership fees are as follows: Ellevest Essential is $1 per month, Ellevest Plus is $5 per month, and Ellevest Executive is $9. Other fees as described in Ellevest’s Wrap Fee Program Brochure and the Ellevest Membership Terms and Conditions Agreement will continue to apply.

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Opinionated: New Year's Hits Different in 2021

New Year’s Is Different This Year

gen∙der fa∙tigue

“We don’t allow women to look normal anymore, or like a real person. Why does every woman who’s ever onscreen have to look like a supermodel?”

Your first small win: Ellevest

What we’re reading

Members get access to free money and career workshops.

This week’s newsletter was brought to you while while enthusiastically cosigning the breakout stars of 2020. Forward it to your friends who are ready to be breakout stars themselves.

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