Future Fund Ambassador: Janine Rogan

Janine is an author and financial expert empowering women to build wealth through financial literacy. When girls are empowered with financial knowledge, they have the confidence to navigate adulthood with resilience, become leaders in their communities, and pursue entrepreneurship.

Read on to see how Janine is shaping the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in her community.

Q: What initially interested you in finance, and how has financial literacy set you up for success and built your confidence?

A: About 13 years ago, I started to get interested in the financial literacy world. My interest peaked as I was working on my business degree and ultimately my accounting designation. As I was completing my accounting designation I found that there were Certified Public Accountants (CPA) that didn’t know or understand how to manage and invest their money. I thought to myself, “If this is happening to CPAs, then it has to be happening to the general public as well.”

From there, a lot of my knowledge was self-taught, and I felt the need to help educate the people around me. Being able to understand all aspects of my money has definitely made me more confident because I know exactly how to use my money to have an impact positively on my life and those around me. I believe everyone should be confident with their money, but it’s hard because we aren’t taught this in school and we don’t always know where to look for advice or who to trust.

Q: What type of impact do you think empowering young girls with financial knowledge can have?

A: Understanding how to manage your money and use it as a tool is incredibly empowering, especially for young girls and women. Traditionally, I’d say men have been more involved in their money and this is due to a variety of factors, but one I often point out is that women haven’t had the opportunity to be involved for very long. It wasn’t until the 1960s that women could have their own bank accounts without a cosigner, and it wasn’t until the 1970s that they could get approved for their own mortgage. If we haven't even had one generation of women managing their money independently then it makes sense that we have seen women shy away from their finances. Giving the knowledge to young girls means they can choose the impact they want to have. They have time on their hands when it comes to investing and building wealth and they can turn that wealth into impact in the world by continuing to support things they are passionate about and investing in women-run businesses, and other corporations that also uplift women.

Q: What advice would you have for adults who are hoping to empower young girls with financial knowledge?

A: Having conversations around your children about money is really important. Money has been taboo for so long and it’s time we normalize it. Hiding it from our children means they won’t have the skills they need to enter the real world. Specifically for girls, I think we also need to encourage girls to earn and amass wealth. The stereotypes of women being crass or greedy for wanting money were designed to keep women dependent on men, and I think we owe it to our young girls to be financially independent, and wealthy!

Q: Can you tell us more about your book, The Pink Tax, and what inspired you to write it?

A: I started writing the book because of the stereotypes that were being perpetuated towards women. In the personal finance space I felt that women were being told the reason we don’t have wealth is because we spend too much on shoes, or that lattes were the reason we couldn’t retire and I just knew that couldn’t be it. It led me down a research rabbit hole on all the socio-economic factors that were actually impacting women’s ability to build wealth. My hope is that when people read it they understand that it isn’t their fault that they feel behind when it comes to money, but are also encouraged and empowered to take steps towards managing their money and building their wealth.

Q: In addition to your book, what programs are you facilitating to educate women on finance and investing?

A: I love working with women! I have an online investing course that teaches women how to build their own investment portfolios called The Wealth Lab. This program goes through everything from what a stock or bond is, to what accounts are right for you to use and executing your first trade. It’s also the only course on the market that has an entire module aimed at gender lens investing. I also love that we have an online community where women can feel safe to ask investing questions. In addition to this, I run small group masterminds for women who want to build their confidence with wealth and learn how to use it to create an impact. Lastly, I’m so excited that my good friend, Sam, and I have decided to put together The Wealthy Women’s Summit on March 6, 2024. It’s a full-day summit designed to have a holistic impact on women’s ability to build their wealth.

Q: If you could give your 14-year-old self three pieces of advice, what would they be?

A: 1. You don’t have to have it all figured out right now, and on that note even if you think you do know what you want down the road, life is going to throw you many curve balls. Your resilience to those curve balls will be a lot more important than your ability to plan things out.
2. Become a lifelong learner. Commit to always becoming a better version of yourself, and learning about different topics and people. This will make you a more empathetic person.
3. Get started with investing as early as possible. I’m sure I sound like a broken record but the more time you have on your hands, the less money you actually have to put aside. If you can put money aside to invest in your TFSA once you’re 18 you’ll be able to set yourself up for retirement by the time you’re 30!

Follow along with Janine on Instagram at @janinerogan, learn more about her courses and services, and shop her book, The Pink Tax. Check out The Wealthy Women’s Summit in Calgary on March 6, 2024.

Images by: Jacky @detouredcreative

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