Your Budget Is NOT The Problem

Hi Sheconomist Insider 👋 It’s Thamina, Founder of The Sheconomist. This is your bi-weekly dose of celebrating the female economy where I help ambitious, purpose-driven women like yourself flip the script on money, career & wellbeing conventions so you can live life on your own terms.

TLDR:

• ✨ What I learned from Steven Bartlett

• ❌ Why you don’t need to pick a lane

• 💰 Your grocery budget isn’t the problem

• 💜 Meet Steph Cartin, Co-Founder of Entreprenista

Friendly Ask: Do you love this newsletter? Do you want more in-depth resources such as courses, events, and a membership? Then please share The Sheconomist with your friends because I can only offer more when the scale is there. When one of us wins, we all win. Thank you. 💜 

Last week, I got to meet Steven Bartlett, Host of the top-charting podcast The Diary of a CEO and Founder of FlightStory, his media & investment empire. He even gave me a little pep talk when I shared with him that I was feeling a bit lost in my career.

Steven is by far one of the smartest and most talented storytellers I’ve ever come across. His ability to absorb and apply what he’s learned from his plethora of impressive podcast guests is truly remarkable.

Steven argued that the future doesn’t reward the highest (financial) bidder, it rewards the most human. Competing on money is a losing game, the real advantage lies in listening, adaptability, and strong people skills. The very traits that AI can’t replicate and that will only grow in value as society - as a direct result of AI - gains more free time and seeks deeper in-person connection.

For leaders, this means understanding that (company) culture is simply the daily behavior of people, and the best leaders are chameleons who can flex to different contexts while staying anchored in curiosity and empathy.

🧪 Freedom Formulas

“You need to pick a lane.”

Plot twist:

I picked all of them.

Because I'm done apologizing for being a walking contradiction.

→ German efficiency AND American ambition.
→ Corporate excellence AND creator vulnerability.
→ Big Tech salary AND personal brand building.
→ Matcha lattes AND maxed out 401k.

For years, I thought I had to choose.

Pick a side.
Pick an identity.
Pick a niche.

You know what that got me?

Panic attacks while trying to be the "perfect” employee.
Guilt about wanting more when I "should be grateful."
Downplaying my personal brand in front of my employer.

The world loves clean narratives:

→ Be the career woman OR the wellness girlie.
→ Be financially disciplined OR enjoy your life.
→ Be grateful for opportunity OR negotiate aggressively.
→ Be professional OR be real.

But what if the answer is just... both?

I invest/save ~40% of my income AND buy overpriced matcha. (Your "joy purchases" don’t need to make sense to anyone else.)

I work at LinkedIn AND build my personal brand.. (They get my best work. I get a platform. Everyone wins.)

I share vulnerable stories about mental health AND advise Fortune 30 companies. (Turns out, CEOs have anxiety too.)

I was grateful for my work visa AND I still ask for a raise every single year. (Gratitude without boundaries is just exploitation.)

Here's what I've learned from living between worlds:

Your "in-between-ness" isn't a bug.
It's your competitive advantage.

Because the woman who's both/and instead of either/or?

She's the one who:

→ Builds wealth without losing her soul
→ Climbs the ladder while building her own
→ Stays grateful while demanding more
→ Keeps the job while planning the exit

Here’s to the bridge-builders of the world.
We don’t people-please our way to the top.

We know:

→ That you can be excellent at your corporate job BECAUSE you have a life outside it.

→ That you can build wealth BECAUSE you buy things that bring you joy.

→ That you can be taken seriously BECAUSE you share your struggles.

I'm too German for America? Great. I'll bring the efficiency.
Too American for Germany? Perfect. I'll bring the possibility.

Too corporate for creators?
Too creative for corporate?
Too vulnerable for LinkedIn?
Too strategic for storytelling?

Good.

I'll be the bridge.

And I'll teach other women to build their own.

Because the future belongs to those of us who refuse to fit in just one box.

We're building something better:

→ Lives where AND replaces OR.
→ Where both/and beats either/or.
→ Where contradiction is just another word for complete.

I want you to reflect on what two "opposing" things are you done choosing between?

Mine: Being grateful AND wanting more.

They're not mutually exclusive.
They're mutually reinforcing.

❣️ Thamina’s Top Picks

📖 A good read on the future of female entrepreneurship and why it’s so important for people like you and I to get involved

✨ An annual life planning framework that actually works (I’m working through this myself right now)

📈 How one of the hottest wellness companies got started and became a $100M brand - a very inspiring story

🫶 An important reminder for us all (this is probably exactly what you needed to see today - you and me both)

✨ This week’s Moodboard

Post credits go to Sidney Kemp, SAVAGEwav, Kayle | Mindset and Affiliate Marketing, Moody Creative Media

💸 Cooking up Wealth

Your grocery budget isn’t the problem. Your earning power is.