Pin Money Club

Why Pin Money Club?
Pin Money Club is my own way of giving back to women  after a long and successful career on Wall Street; a career that ultimately ended up taking a backseat to my marriage, and that’s where the story of Pin Money Club begins.

A Young Girl Dreams
As a young girl, while my friends dreamed of Prince Charming and endlessly penciled their prospective married names on their notebooks, I dreamed of a career on Wall Street where I would instead frantically scribble out orders to “buy” and “sell,” moving markets with a stroke of my pen.

After graduating from college in the early 1980’s with a degree in Economics, I did indeed begin my dream career working in New York City for the biggest brokerage firm on Wall Street. My career was everything; by the time I was 30 I was a vice president with a large mutual fund company and had brought home my first six-figure paycheck. For eight more years, I leap-frogged from one company and position to another, earning more money and a bigger title with each move. There were romances, but nothing serious enough to distract me for any length of time from my career.

A Prince Enters the Dream
Then one day I met my Prince Charming while on a business trip to Atlanta. Soon I was in love and knee deep in a long distance relationship; after about 18 months of racking up a lot of Delta frequent flier miles, we realized we wanted to be together for the long run.

So I made the decision many women do, to follow my Prince. I moved to Atlanta, cheerfully leaving Wall Street behind and looking forward to a happily-ever-after with my Prince.

Being the practical girl I am, I did hang out a shingle as a consultant. I built a practice around a few select clients who provided me with a reasonable and steady income — an income that wasn’t even close to what I had been earning — but I wasn’t overly concerned, my boyfriend was my financial card up my sleeve.

A few months after I moved in, my boyfriend proposed. Even though I was almost 40 and had never laid out my dream wedding, I couldn’t help becoming absorbed in planning every detail of what to me would be the ultimate party. This surprised everyone, including myself; after all, I was the girl that my friends and family thought would never get married. 

The Dream Takes a Backseat
As my husband’s career took off, I was content to take on fewer clients and projects. I threw myself into more domestic endeavors, cleaning, cooking, caring for our two dogs and just generally taking care of the household; I suppose you’d call me a stay-at-home mom, although my children were strictly the four-legged variety.

While I managed our day to day finances, paying the bills and budgeting for the household, I was content to let my husband take care of the bigger pieces of our financial pie – his 401(k) plan, stock options and our investment portfolio. Even with all my knowledge and experience, I allowed my economic independence and control to steadily erode.  

I Wake Up
Fast forward eight years and I woke up in the middle of a divorce. When the dust had settled, I had come out on the losing end financially, certainly in no small part due to my lack of involvement in our larger financial picture. While not destitute, getting back on sure financial footing has been a struggle.  

As I began to share the story of my marriage with other women, I found I wasn’t alone. Whether they were single, married, divorced or widowed, common themes emerged, divorces that led to financial ruin, marriages where money was never discussed to single women with no choice but to take charge of their financial destiny and struggling to do so. Money holds extraordinary power over our lives; when we feel we aren’t in control of it, the best of us become fearful and don’t always act rationally.

Slowly I began to realize that I could utilize the skills and experience I had acquired in my career to help other women take control and stay in control of their own financial destinies.

And so, Pin Money Club was born.