The Importance of Financial Independence
At 16, my cousin offered me a summer job that seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. He had some computer screen protectors to sell, apparently, they helped prevent eye strain during long hours of use. It was 1999, a time when owning a computer was a big deal.
I roped in my bestie, we set ourselves a goal to sell 50 of these screen protectors. Our first customers were, of course, our parents—they each bought one to encourage us. But while it wasn’t hard to find homes with computers, convincing people to pay for this additional gadget was a different story.
We dreamed of movies and sundaes with our earnings. That is when a mutual friend invited us to her house. Her father owned not one but four computers. We decided this was our golden chance. I would make the pitch.
What followed was completely unexpected. He started a monologue:
“Girls from good families don’t need to do this. You are provided for. I could buy this right now, but I won’t because I don’t want to encourage this behavior. When you face trouble in life, you have your family to fall back on. So, don’t waste your time on things like this.”
There are times in life when you wish you could just disappear—this was one of them. My friend and I walked out, angry.
Fast forward to today, and over the past two weeks, I have met a few women seeking divorce for irreconcilable differences. What stood out to me was that none of them worked. Some had been forced to quit their jobs by their partners, others by their parents. One woman said something that struck a deep chord (also relived this memory):
“My dad always told me, ‘Girls from good families don’t need to earn; they will always have their partner and parents to support them.’ I believed him, and here I am now.”
Looking back, I have to thank my friend’s father. I often wonder what would have happened if I had believed him, if I had chosen to rely on my family or future partner to back me, just like the women I met. But instead, I remember asking myself a simple question:
Why should I be expected to depend on anyone?
To Parents: Encourage your daughters to be financially independent—it’s one of the greatest gifts you can give them.
To Women: Being financially independent is a milestone far bigger than marriage.
If you wish to share a thought, please do it here: Financial Independence