Kara Stevens

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, adults ages 65 and older spend on average about $46,000 a year. This means that even if you are only retired for 10 years, you would need nearly half a million dollars to live comfortably.
This news isn’t good for the majority of Americans who fall well below the savings needed to survive their golden years.
Creator of The Frugal Feminista and Smart Money Squad member, Kara Stevens, shared her insights on making retirement comfortable for her f...

Earlier this year, I wrote a book to help over-savers and over-spenders feel at peace with their money life. The inspiration for this book was born out of experience and necessity. I had to re-examine how I felt about money in order to eliminate the guilt, confusion, apathy, obsession, sadness and anger that often accompanied my interactions with it.
In the process of supporting a community of women recovering from financial dysfunction, I learned that financial healing is the first step to b...

Your love life and your money are both hot button topics. Where the two intersect can make or break your romantic relationships. According to The New York Times, money fights can predict divorce rates. A Utah State University study that examines a couple’s financial issues and divorce reveals that couples who disagree about money challenges once a week are over 30% more likely to get divorced than those who disagree about finances a few times a month.
Personal finance expert Kara Stevens has ...

This year, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day falls on August 22nd, exactly two weeks later than last year’s August 7th date. Every year, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day highlights our perpetual game of catch up. It symbolizes the approximate number of days a Black woman must work into the new year to make what their White non-Hispanic male counterparts made at the end of the previous year.
Despite Black women serving as chief breadwinners in at least 70 percent of our households, Black women’s compensa...

In 2001, Kara Stevens, 34, graduated from Oberlin College with an undergrad degree and a bill for $15,000 in student loans. In 2006, her master’s degree came with a parting gift tag of $40,000 in student loans. Her total tally came to $65,000. When perusing her credit card bills one day, she decided to take control of her financial life. It dawned on her that her student loan debt was a significant part of that and vowed to reign it in quickly.
“Once it clicked to me that I needed to educate ...

This is Part 2 of a 7-Part Series on leveraging our enormous buying power and making a commitment to supporting African American Women Owned Businesses for the Holidays. The Small Business Administration as well as African American women business owners, consumers and experts will weigh in on and give their perspective throughout the series.
Candace Mitchell, 28, can vividly recall her favorite memory of shopping for the holidays. Just perusing the creative online campaigns and observing how ...

Entrepreneurship
Taboo Money
Financial Planning

Despite having generated billions in revenue over the past two decades, African-American women do not receive nearly enough attention for their entrepreneurial acumen. To put a finer point on it: Our…...

Since Trayvon Martin's death in 2012, his mother, Sybrina Fulton has been seen as a warrior in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. She has founded the Travyo......

Ever feel that your best life, your “juiciest” life, is taking too long to manifest itself? I can personally admit that l have become envious of the life that I want, instead of the live…...

Spring seems to bring whatever was hidden in the dark into the light, including your finances. If you're feeling the need to get your finances in order, use the following tips to spring clean them…...