Breaking Financial Barriers: A Women’s History Month Reflection
As a financial coach for successful women, I’ve observed a surprising truth: many accomplished women still feel uncomfortable discussing money and breaking financial barriers. This discomfort stems from deep historical roots that continue to influence our financial mindsets today. During Women’s History Month, I find it especially important to explore how our monetary beliefs have been shaped by generations before us.
Our financial mindsets aren’t simply personal constructs – they’re influenced by centuries of legal and social restrictions. Just a century ago, married women in most states couldn’t own property in their own names. Even inherited wealth legally belonged to husbands. When I consider my own great-grandmother who immigrated from Italy or my grandmother born in the 1920s, I recognize how recently these limitations existed. Understanding this history helps us create new pathways rather than believing we’re “blocked” financially.
The Purpose of Real Money Podcast
I created the Real Money Podcast to address a significant challenge facing many women today—the discomfort and fear surrounding money conversations. Even highly successful women often struggle with financial discussions, which is precisely why this platform exists. My goal is to transform how women engage with their finances by offering a straightforward, effective approach to money management that builds lasting financial freedom.
As a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and money coach, I share insights drawn from my experience helping women overcome financial hurdles. The podcast features a mix of solo episodes where I dive into money mindset topics, live coaching sessions with women working through real financial challenges, and interviews with accomplished women who share their money journeys.
The Real Money Podcast stands apart from traditional financial advice. Instead of focusing on restrictive budgeting techniques, I emphasize creating a healthier relationship with money. This approach allows women to move beyond limitations and develop confidence in their financial decisions.
My mission extends beyond simple financial tips. I aim to help women recognize patterns in their money mindset, understand the historical context that has shaped women’s relationship with finances, and create new pathways to financial power. By examining both personal and collective financial histories, listeners can identify the root causes of their money beliefs and actively work to transform them.
Through this podcast, I invite women to say goodbye to financial fear and budgeting struggles while embracing a more empowered approach to money management. The journey from financial dependence to financial power is possible, and the Real Money Podcast serves as both guide and companion along the way.
Women’s Financial History Deep Dive
When we examine women’s financial journey in America, we’re not just looking at statistics but uncovering powerful shifts in autonomy and opportunity. This history directly shapes our current financial mindsets and behaviors.
In the early 1900s, women weren’t merely excluded from financial systems—we were legally barred from participating. In most states, married women couldn’t own property in their own names. Even when a woman inherited land or wealth, her husband maintained legal control over those assets.
Think about the women in your own family tree who lived during this era. My great-grandmother immigrated from Italy to America in the early 1900s, unable to legally own property in either country. My grandmother, born around 1920, grew up in a world where women’s financial rights were still severely limited. These realities weren’t ancient history—they directly shaped my family’s financial attitudes.
This generational perspective matters tremendously. Women were essentially treated as property themselves, unable to own assets independently. This wasn’t a choice but a legal and social reality that affected millions of women whose descendants are still alive today.
I don’t believe we’re “blocked” from financial success in the traditional sense. Rather, certain pathways were never created for us. The difference is significant—being blocked suggests external obstacles we can’t control, while missing pathways represent opportunities to forge new connections and behaviors.
Instead of viewing financial challenges as insurmountable obstacles, I encourage you to see them as opportunities to create new neural pathways. This shift from financial dependence to financial power represents the core of women’s financial journey in America.
As we continue making progress, we’re building on the work of generations before us. By understanding our financial history, we can consciously rewire limiting beliefs that might otherwise keep us repeating patterns that have held women back for centuries.
This history matters because our past shapes our beliefs. If we don’t consciously rewire these inherited beliefs, we’ll keep repeating financial patterns that have held women back for centuries.
Rethinking Financial Barriers
I’d like to challenge the common language we use when discussing our relationship with money. The term “money blocks” suggests something external is preventing our financial progress—like a fallen tree blocking a forest path. This perspective gives away our power, implying we need outside help to move forward.
Instead of viewing financial challenges as blocks, I propose seeing them as undeveloped pathways. Nothing is blocking you. The neural pathways for new financial behaviors simply haven’t been created yet.
This shift is powerful because it places the ability to change directly in your hands. When you understand that you’re not blocked but rather need to forge new mental pathways, you recognize your inherent capacity to transform your financial life.
Key perspective shift:
- From: “I’m blocked from financial success”
- To: “I need to create new financial pathways”
Developing Financial Alternatives
Creating new financial pathways starts with understanding your history. Our financial beliefs were shaped by generations before us, particularly the women in our lineage who faced severe financial restrictions. Consider that until the early 1900s, most married women couldn’t legally own property in their own names in America.
This historical context matters because it formed the foundation of beliefs passed down through generations. Even if you were born decades later, these attitudes likely influenced your upbringing and current money mindset.
To forge new financial pathways, try these approaches:
- Examine your inheritance: What money beliefs did you inherit from female relatives?
- Question assumptions: Which financial “truths” in your life deserve reconsideration?
- Create deliberate practices: Develop new habits that reinforce healthier money beliefs
Remember that your financial behaviors aren’t permanently set. The neural pathways in your brain can be rewired with conscious effort and practice. If we don’t actively work to rewrite these inherited beliefs, we risk repeating the same financial patterns that have limited women for generations.
Now is the perfect time to build upon the progress made by women before us. By understanding where our money mindset originated, we can intentionally create new pathways that lead to greater financial power rather than maintaining old patterns of financial dependence.
TAKEAWAYS:
- Our financial beliefs are shaped by generations of women who had limited legal rights to money and property.
- Creating new mental pathways rather than focusing on financial “blocks” empowers us to transform our relationship with money.
- Recognizing our financial history allows us to consciously rewrite limiting beliefs and avoid repeating patterns that have held women back.
ABOUT LISA CHASTAIN:
Lisa also uses many tools that she used throughout her money journey and invites you to try them as well. As a first step, she recommends reading her book, Girl, Get Your $hit Together in which she helps women tackle their financial story and shares her entire story. After reading the book, she invites listeners to join the Stop Budgeting System– the very method she used to gain financial freedom and clarity.
ABOUT MY UPCOMING BOOK:
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you! My new book, “Stop Budgeting Start Living,” will be released this summer. This project has been a labor of love and represents years of working with women to transform their relationship with money.
In this book, I explore how our financial history shapes our beliefs about money. I’ve found that many women today are still operating under mindsets that were formed generations ago, when our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had little financial power or autonomy.
The book offers practical strategies for:
- Identifying the roots of your money mindset
- Breaking free from restrictive financial patterns
- Creating new pathways for financial success
- Moving from financial dependence to financial power
I believe that understanding where our money beliefs come from is the first step toward changing them. When we recognize that many of our limitations aren’t external “blocks” but rather pathways that haven’t yet been created, we can begin to build new financial futures for ourselves.
This summer release feels particularly meaningful during Women’s History Month, as we reflect on how far women have come financially and how much further we can go. I can’t wait to share this work with you and continue our journey toward financial confidence together.