College students or parents, friends of college students, if you’re trying to graduate debt-free, or if you’re trying to become financially literate, this is the episode for you.
In this episode, I’m talking to teen activist and nonprofit founder, Cherie Animashaun, about all things scholarships, saving, investing, and carving out a life you love—especially when the world expects you to have it all figured out by graduation.
I believe money is our best form of protest, and Cherie’s determined to help young women rise into leadership by making financial literacy and personal development more accessible. We’re talking top scholarship tips, how to juggle side hustles, balancing your own needs with service to others, and so much more. If your goal is to graduate debt-free, build wealth, and still leave room for your passions, you’ve found the right episode!
Key takeaways
Start Scholarship Hunting Early
Cherie highlights how she began applying for scholarships in her sophomore year of high school and eventually landed tens of thousands of dollars in aid. This early research and persistence can dramatically reduce (or eliminate!) college debt.
Use Comprehensive Scholarship Platforms
Platforms like Going Merry and Bold.org can streamline the search process by filtering scholarships based on GPA, interests, or personal background. This prevents you from wasting time on opportunities that aren’t a fit.
Authenticity Beats Perfection in Applications
Both Cherie and I stress that your unique story, including any hardships or failures, often resonates more with scholarship committees or admissions officers than polished but generic essays. Focus on authenticity over ‘safe’ answers.
Build Multiple Streams of Income
Whether it’s a campus job, a side hustle, or even small entrepreneurship projects, multiple income sources can cushion unexpected costs and future-proof your finances. Cherie shares how her nonprofits and small projects helped her stay afloat without sacrificing her goals.
Choose Yourself and Set Boundaries
From mental health to maintaining strong friendships, this episode underscores the importance of preserving your own well-being while juggling college life. Setting boundaries, both financially and emotionally, ensures you don’t burn out while serving others.
Investment Isn’t Just for “Someone Else”
Even if you’re new to personal finance, learning the basics of investing early can empower you to grow your money. The sooner you start, the more time your investments have to compound and work for you.
Notable quotes
“We set boundaries for things we value. If you wouldn’t let a stranger just take your phone, then why let them take your energy?”
“It’s so easy to doubt yourself when you don’t see people like you in certain spaces, but that just means we need to keep showing up and rising together.”
“There’s so much hate in the world that a small act of love can feel radical—but it can literally save a life.”
Episode at-a-glance
≫ 02:02 Navigating scholarships and applications
≫ 17:28 Transitioning from high school to college
≫ 23:39 Teaching young girls to set boundaries
≫ 26:52 Q&A with Tori: Cherie’s questions
≫ 27:37 Financial advice for college students
≫ 30:41 Debunking the ‘selling out’ myth
≫ 34:53 Money vs. happiness
≫ 36:49 Practical tips for aspiring entrepreneurs
≫ 41:15 The birth of Her Rising initiative
Cherie’s Links:
Website: https://her-rising.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/her.risingg/
Her Rising Compass Journal: https://shopherrising.com/
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Meet Cherie
Cherie Animashaun is a teen activist, author, and CEO. Published author at the age of 12, Cherie is now using her love for writing in order to empower women and youth alike. Through her nonprofit, Her Rising Initiative, Cherie is connecting hundreds of girls to resources, programming, funding, and mentors to help them ascend into leadership. Cherie is currently a sophomore at Cornell University studying Public Policy and Government, she aspires to continue her advocacy journey through a future career in public service.
Transcript:
Tori Dunlap:
College students or parents, friends of college students, if you’re trying to graduate debt-free, if you’re trying to become financially literate, this is the episode for you. Let’s talk about it.
Hi, team, welcome back to the show. I am so excited to be here with you. Thank you for being here with us. My name is Tori. I run Her First 100K, which is a money and career platform for women, and I believe I was put on this earth to fight for women’s financial rights. We help women all over the world save money, pay off debt, start investing, start businesses, and feel financially confident, because we know that money and a financial education is our best form of protest.
Today’s episode is really, really fun, and we’re excited to dive in, but before we do so, if you need personalized guidance around managing your money, you can go to herfirst100k.com/quiz, to get a free personalized money plan for wherever you’re at in your financial life. Again, that’s herfirst100k.com/quiz.
Okay, today’s episode is perfect to send to anyone who is in high school or early college. We get a lot of requests of, can we do an episode about how to manage your money and how to navigate the cost of college and life after college? Well, here you go babes, here we go.
Cherie Animashaun is a teen activist, author, and CEO. Published author at the age of 12, Cherie is now using her love of writing in order to empower women and youth alike. Through her nonprofit, Her Rising Initiative, Cherie is connecting hundreds of girls to resources, programming, funding, and mentors to help them ascend into leadership. She’s also currently a sophomore at Cornell University. Ever heard of it? Studying public policy and government, and she aspires to continue her advocacy journey through a future career in public service. We talk about personal finance for college students, both what Cherie is learning as she’s navigating it herself, but she also brought some questions for me to answer, which was a fun little between two ferns reversal moment. We also got into scholarships, including the resource that helped her get tens of thousands of dollars toward her tuition, and how to stand out on applications for scholarships. We talk about her nonprofit, Her Rising, and how you can get more involved in supporting organizations that work with young women. So, without further ado, let’s get into it. But first, a word from our sponsors.
Where are you at? Remind me.
Cherie Animashaun:
Ithaca, New York. Cornell.
Tori Dunlap:
Yeah, Cornell. Ever heard of it? I can’t not say it. I’m sorry, I can’t not say it. You know, you’ve seen The Office? Yeah, okay.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, it’s a classic.
Tori Dunlap:
Is that what everybody, you say you’re from Cornell and does everybody say that, you went to Cornell? Yeah.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, it’s either that one or, oh, where is that again?
Tori Dunlap:
Oh, got it. Yep, cool. I had a friend from high school go to Cornell, but way before your time.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah.
Tori Dunlap:
It’s cold. Is it still cold? Is it cold now? Has it gotten cold yet?
Cherie Animashaun:
It’s usually cold but it’s 80 degrees right now.
Tori Dunlap:
What?
Cherie Animashaun:
So I don’t know how to feel. Exactly, yeah.
Tori Dunlap:
I was wondering if you’re not watching the video, she is in a tank top and I was like, it’s got to be cold.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, 80 degrees, it’s not normal. We were at 40 degrees two days ago and now I can wear tank top, so I’m not sure how we got here.
Tori Dunlap:
Oh, climate change, but that’s fine. Boy, oh, boy. Okay. Well, we’re just so excited to have you on the show. You and I met at our mutual friend Erin Gallagher’s Fairway Dinners, which if anybody has the opportunity, we will link them down below. They’re the most badass dinners of a bunch of women getting together and supporting each other’s work. And as soon as I found out who you were and what you do, I was like, “Do you want to come on the show?” And you were very kind enough to say yes.
You have a crazy resume period, but especially for your age, you are a congressional intern, you’re a published author, President of the Black Student Union, a Giffords Fellow, and now you run a nonprofit. All of this leads back to this mindset of service. Where did that start for you?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, I mean, that’s a great question. I think definitely my faith has a place, a part in this, but I mean, I think definitely the family and the community I grew up in. I grew up in a single mom household and it was my community that raised me. All the after school programs, all the summer camps, all of those are kind of made me who I am today. And I think just those one-on-one conversations with women, I feel like whether it was a, sure you need to get your life together, or sure you need to do this, or don’t do what I did. I think really early on I realized how important service was. And there’s this quote on Pinterest that I love. It’s like, “You’ve been assigned this mountain to show that it can be moved.” So I feel like everything that I’ve had to go through, whether it was heartbreak or just daddy issues, I feel like all of that has made me better connect with young kids.
And once I realized that I could connect with young kids, I was like, I want to do more of this. So I just kind of tried to get myself in any space where I could do that full time. And that took form in black student union, it took form in my nonprofit. But yeah, I think it leads back to my community, Evanston in Chicago. Those programs definitely made me who I am today.
Tori Dunlap:
Yeah, I am just barely millennial, I was born in ’94, so I missed the Gen Z cut off. I love watching the way every single generation that comes after the generation before gets even more involved. And I think millennials were the most involved generation and now it feels like Gen Z are even more. When we’re talking about the issues you care about and the issues that anybody listening cares about, what advice do you have to give someone who’s starting where you did, maybe with an idea they want to take action but they’re unsure how to start or take the initiative to get things rolling?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, I think growing up, there’s so many moments I can’t even count on my hands, where I would be complaining to my mom because I had so many freaking ideas but I just didn’t have the funds to get it out there.
Tori Dunlap:
Sure.
Cherie Animashaun:
I didn’t know anyone famous, there was no one famous in my family that I could call, was not an nepo baby at all. And I remember just having a list of ideas. I wanted to start these different businesses, I wanted to write these different books, I wanted to start these different initiatives. So I definitely know how it feels to not either feel heard, supported, or have the funds or the resources.
The first thing I had to do was kind of just fight my way in, and with that is kind of making connections. So I think the first thing is finding someone who can kind of sponsor you and speak for you in rooms that you don’t have access to. For me, that was actually my volleyball coach. She had a nonprofit and just knew a lot of people who ran the city. She knew so many people and inter workings that I had no knowledge of. And when I told her my idea, she was actually able to talk to them about it and see what grants that I could apply to. And mind you, when it came to starting my nonprofit, I think I was a sophomore in high school, so I had no clue what a grant was. I was just trying to figure out how to do homework stuff. So figuring out grant applications was foreign to me, and I know that’s foreign to a lot of people who are young, but she actually kind of led me through that process.
So I think for someone who has an idea, if it’s like a nonprofit, I think looking at grants first, and not the technical grants that are like, you need a 501(c)(3). You’d be surprised, if you search up your city, you could probably find a pretty good grant that doesn’t need a 501(c)(3) status, whether it’s a community service grant. It might start small. My first grant that I ever got was $100, but I mean, we made it work and now four years later we’re operating on $25,000 grants, which is insane. But I think starting small, finding a person that can really get you into that space.
And then also, Google. I feel like a lot of us, we use Google for everything but our ideas. You’d be surprised how many different funding avenues there are on Google. So, definitely searching it up as well.
Tori Dunlap:
I want to talk more about your work in a second, but when I met you and found out you were a college student, one of the things that I think you really wanted to speak to was getting into college, figuring out your finances. College wasn’t that long ago for me, but I was literally looking the other day, it’s already $25,000 more expensive than it was when I was there. And my freshman year was 2012, so not that long ago. I would love to level set. What financial education, if any, did you have growing up? And then what was that experience like of like, oh my God, okay, I’m going to try to figure out, how I can afford four years of college, especially at Cornell.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, that’s a great question. When it comes to college, college just keeps growing. The tuition every year, even at Cornell is increasing while I’m here, which is insane.
I think the first kind of introduction I had to financial education was my mom. She actually has been in finance for most of her life as a banker, and she kind of helps people with their relationships when it comes to money and accounting. The biggest thing she taught me was like, you need to save. I think that’s something she talks about every single day. Out of everything I’ve ever learned from her when it comes to money, it’s always been, you need to save, don’t spend, just save, save, save, save, save.
So when it came to college, I was looking, I think junior year I looked at the cost of a school just to see randomly because I had never known how expensive it was, and I saw that most schools that I was interested in were from 90,000 to 100,000 a year, which I will never forget my reaction. My jaw dropped. I closed the computer. I was like, “Mom, either I need to become rich overnight or I need to win a Nobel Prize,” because in addition to the insane price, just getting into college now is a battle because there’s so many highly qualified applicants. And I think colleges continue to kind of raise that bar when it comes to admissions. There’s always something they’re looking for.
My mom also, a lot of people in my family have debt, which I know is a common thing, especially for families of color. So she was really telling me, “Choose the school that’s the cheapest. Don’t go into debt.” Those were kind of the advice that she was kind of equipping me with when I came to the whole college application process. And also, she wanted me to stay in state. So the person that I am, if someone tells me no, I’m going to find a way to make it a yes, and I did not want to spend the next four years at home.
So I was like, I’m going to find a way to pay for college so my mom doesn’t have to touch it, no one in my family will have to be burdened by it, and I’m going to find a way to go out of state. So that became my little challenge for the rest of my high school career. No one in my family thought I was really going to be able to make it happen, just because of the cost of college. But yeah, I guess that volition kind of led me. I would be on Google every single day just searching up scholarships and that paid off because now I’m not paying a dime for Cornell, which is insane. Cornell, right now we’re at like 90K per year.
And I think with a lot of Ivy League schools, it’s merit based financial aid. So they get to decide who deserves this much, which can be kind of wonky. I know for low income students, some hope though. A lot of merit based financial aid tend to give you a bit more than another school would. So if you are on the low income scale, that definitely pays off. That was something that also factored into where I was looking for college. I wanted a school that would take into account the family I had and the income we had, and kind of factor that into the finances. So that was a big thing when I was looking for colleges.
But the Coca-Cola scholarship, the Cameron Impact Scholarship, Taco Bell scholarship, so many companies you would never believe have a scholarship program that don’t even look at your GPA or SAT scores. And that’s what enabled me to go to the school that I am today and study the program that I’m doing. Coca-Cola gave me 25,000, Taco Bell gave me 30,000.
Tori Dunlap:
Wow.
Cherie Animashaun:
And all of this was not looking at my SAT scores. I do not believe in the whole standardized testing thing, but I think scholarships like that can really change your life. And a lot of them have stuff you can do as an alumni. So if you’re not in college right now but you want to go into grad school, a lot of different programs are open.
Tori Dunlap:
So talk to me a bit about, let’s first talk about the discovery of those scholarships. You were talking about Google. What other resources are you using to find those out? And I remember for me, rightfully so, my options were limited because I am a white person. And so I remember looking at all these scholarships, which are again rightfully as they should be, typically amplifying students of color. And I remember finding it to be a little tricky because I did have good grades, and so I was trying to find the scholarships. I didn’t care if they looked at my SAT scores, I was fine with that, but I remember it’s just like the list is so long, which is great. But then you’re trying to figure out, okay, there’s some that want me to write this brand new essay, there’s some that want me to record a five-minute video. So first of all, let’s just talk about discovery. How do you find the ones that are worth your time?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, you bring up a really good point, and I think the best scholarship indicator or locator for me was goingmerry.com, which sounds silly, but it actually has every scholarship in the country, even in the world, I want to say. And you can actually just filter it to your identity. So if you’re a person of color or not a person of color, if you identify as a woman or don’t identify as a woman, you can put all of that in there and they’ll just narrow it down, which kind of saved my life because there’s so many scholarships out there but no one has the time to read every single eligibility letter and thing. But Going Merry does that work for you. I fully endorse Going Merry, that’s where I found every single scholarship that I applied to, just because I could narrow it down. So like you’re saying your SAT score, your grades, you can put all of that in there and they’ll narrow it down for you. So I think Going Merry, all the girls, I highly recommend.
Bull.org is another scholarship platform, but I know they tend to favor high school seniors. So if you’re a junior or a grad student, it might not be the best for you, but goingmerry.com is top tier.
Tori Dunlap:
When we’re talking about the actual application process, both for scholarships, as well as getting into college, what are you doing to stand out in those applications? What are you doing to make sure you’re memorable? Talk to me a bit more about both applying for scholarships, as well as actually getting into some of the colleges you’re applying for.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, when it came to scholarships and just essay and application writing, I learned my biggest lesson through that actually, and that was the lesson of authenticity. I feel like girls are told so many times and women are told so many times that we kind of have to have this perfect story. We need to please everyone, we don’t want to make anyone mad, don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, and kind of put on this filter.
So I remember the first set of application essays I did for college and for scholarships was kind of this perfect version of Cherie, which was not my actual coming of age story. My coming of age story is not perfect or glamorous in any way or shape or form, but I remember trying to just kind of fit into this narrative. And I remember having people read it and they were like, “Well, I mean, the words are great. You obviously use great vocabulary, but this is not who you really are.” The person that I am is definitely more bubbly, it’s more outgoing, more realistic, I’m very blunt. So the kind of papers that I was producing just didn’t really reflect who I was. And I’m sure yeah, it could have gone places, but I don’t think it would’ve really reflected who I am.
And I mean, with scholarships, I actually started applying in sophomore year and I got rejected from every single one. And when I look back at those sophomore year essays, it’s just not who I am at all. I don’t know who was trying, I was really trying to fit a narrative that wasn’t mine. So I think authenticity is going to be your best bet. The essays that got me into my dream schools like Howard University, Cornell University, and then some California schools, were actually when I talked about the hardships that I had with my father, that relationship, finding my worth. When I talked about insecurities, when I talked about stuff that was really challenging and how I grew from that, that’s what actually took me much farther than just talking about how I did well in a class or how I started a club. Really sharing the story of what made me who I am. That went a lot farther.
But I think honestly, as long as you can create a story, not an essay but a story that kind of shows people instead of just tells people, because it’s one thing to list off your accomplishments, but what admissions readers and anyone who’s reading an essay wants to see is, how can you make me feel? And I think with the essay that I ended up crafting at the end of the day that I submitted to all the scholarships like Coca-Cola scholarship, the Taco Bell scholarship, all of it was just a story about who I am and what I went through. And I think that’s a million times more interesting than just the perfect good girl kind of narrative that we try to put out.
Tori Dunlap:
I couldn’t agree more, and I think this is directly related to how you apply for jobs. It’s related to so much of what you’re doing in a cover letter or an essay. They see the resume, right? They know where you’ve worked or they know what clubs you’ve… they can see your GPA, you don’t need… it’s a waste of space frankly, to repeat that. They already have that information. So this is more talking about who you are as a person or what your passions are or your story.
And I think of cover letters in the same way. They have your resume. A cover letter is more talking about why this is a fit for you or what your story is or what you’re passionate about. And I think that that’s right on the money, pun intended, but I think it’s so easy to exactly what you said, start listing out your accomplishments or start feeling like you have to prove something. The essay is not really about proving something, it’s about telling them who you are and what they get out of having you as a student, right? What you’re offering to the student body if you were to attend that university.
So, when we were talking about coming on the show, you were talking about how much you’ve had to learn about personal finance, about transitioning into your 20s. Can you talk about first, how was it adjusting financially from high school to college, and then college now into your early 20s? And then also, if the stressing about, what is the life after college looking like?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, I mean, one of the transitions that I think, let’s start here, I didn’t really have to transition that much when it comes to I think saving, just because of what my mom has always told me. And I think something that she tried to instill in me was also the multiple streams of income. I think I kind of heard that while I was transitioning almost, but I didn’t realize how important it was until I got to here. Being in college and then when you’re just traveling, I did four trips last week and just seeing all the expenses pile up, I never would’ve been able to cover that if it wasn’t for multiple streams of income. So I think having that kind of concept and understanding that yes, it’s one thing to work an on-campus job or to have a little side hustle, but when you kind of pair that with a lot of different things, it’s really, really nice.
And I think also, just growing up with a single mom as well, I always had this mindset where I wanted to make money. I mean, this kind of led me to do so many different ventures when I was a kid. So I think I’ve always kind had the entrepreneurial mindset. I didn’t necessarily have to transition in that way, because when I was a kid I started a rainbow loom business. I started a knitting business. Literally, any way I could generate a profit or an income, that’s kind of what I was trying to do just so I could help take that kind of weight off my mom.
But growing into my 20s, I think saving, yes, setting a budget has been big with college. I’ve seen, it’s kind of crazy when you come to a school like this and you see people who have never had to budget in their life. It’s definitely a culture shock, but I think saving, budgeting. Budgeting has been something that I’ve put a lot more emphasis than when I was in high school, because in high school, what, you’re budgeting maybe $20? But in college budgeting, on a whole nother level, especially even when it comes to scholarships. You have the scholarships now, but it’s like, how are you going to pay them? How are you going to disperse them and all of that, multiple streams of income.
But I think right now, something I’m really curious about is kind of investing. It’s something I’ve heard about. I know you’re the expert when it comes to it. Everyone, every college student should read your book, because I think we hear about investing very loosely, typically from white males and we’re kind of like, okay, that’s not for us. But I think that’s something I definitely want to get into now. Having a business, having a nonprofit, I feel like that kind of concept of having money work for you and not having to put in the hours would be amazing to learn. But I think for now, kind of adjusting, the transition has been more on budgeting and then making sure those multiple streams are actually streaming and not just kind of there and passive.
Tori Dunlap:
Dude, I speak at colleges. I will come to Cornell, I’ll come speak, we’ll do it.
Cherie Animashaun:
Please. [inaudible 00:20:31].
Tori Dunlap:
Let’s talk about outside of personal finance. What is the transition more on your life and your work been, as you have gotten older? You talk about, and I was the same way growing up, I had a million different ideas, I had a million different passions. And although you can continue doing some of that, you sometimes have to focus, right? You have to focus on the one thing, you have to pick a major, right? Or you have to pick this certain job. And of course, jobs, majors, they’re always pretty diverse in terms of what you can do and what you can study and what you can learn. But maybe talk to me about that transition of having so many passions and now navigating that as you get older.
Cherie Animashaun:
Navigating that has been, every day I’m learning. I think one of the biggest things I’ve had to focus on, especially in high school and middle school, I think I was so focused on doing and doing and doing.
But I think my birthday is about to come up, so now I’ve kind of been in this space where I’m trying to reflect more on who I want to be, and I think that necessarily has been a really deep reflection and conversation I’ve just tried to have with myself. Because it’s like, yeah, if you’re doing a million things but not really focusing on who you are, and also you can’t even pour from an empty cup. I had to learn that I think May of just senior year of high school, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Yes, you have a million ideas, but you’re going to burn out. And getting to a space where I almost burned out, I really had to have a conversation with myself and be like, my worth is not based on everything that I can do. It’s just depends on who I am as a person. I’m worthy without having to run five different things at once. So I think learning that, understanding that.
And then boundaries has been something really big. Funny enough, with Her Rising, we made this book series. I designed it, wrote it, and it was for girls. And a lot of the advice I was telling them was about boundaries and stuff, but I feel like now that I’m approaching this new era or new decade, I feel like the boundaries lesson is not talked enough, especially when you’re young when you’re a woman. That’s something that I’ve kind of had to learn every single day, because when you’ve been in service for so long, forced or willingly, I think we tend to kind of manage our relationships or our friendships also like a nonprofit. That’s something I’m still trying to figure out, kind of setting a balance, because yeah, your relationships are meant to serve you and you kind of serve them. It’s meant to be reciprocated, it shouldn’t be you doing all the work.
So I think that’s been one of the biggest things entering my 20s that I’m still trying to figure out, but it’s something I’m putting a lot more attention on, choosing myself, showing up for myself, pouring into myself, because yes, I can pour into others really well, but it won’t last for very long if I’m empty.
Tori Dunlap:
Well, and what you’re talking about is what we spend a huge chunk of the show talking about, which is, we are often as women so generous to others at the expense of ourselves. And so whether that is someone else’s expectations for us, weighing our decisions, or putting everybody else’s needs before our own, I think I learned that lesson and continue to learn that lesson probably too late. So, I love that you’re having that conversation very early. What did that look like when you were teaching young girls? How are we teaching or how should we be teaching young to set boundaries?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, that’s a great, great question. I mean, we try to do it in a variety of ways. I talked about my book. Some of the favorite things that I love to do, I kind of like to put things into little activities. I was a Sunday school teacher, so one of the little pages that we have is one, you have to kind of write out all your standards, whether it comes to relationships or friendships, you have to visually write that out. And of course, we have all the pretty pink designs and everything you could think of on the page, but one, writing out your standards.
And two, also looking at yourself. I mean, girls, one of the favorite, the best things I love about women are how we treat others on the most part. We typically treat our friends like they’re our partners almost, we cherish them. So kind of reshifting your mindset to give that appreciation back to yourself. So there’s even a affirmations part, but also you have to check the way you speak to yourself. Would you be okay with saying that to your mom? Would you be okay with saying that to your younger sister, your cousin, your best friend? And if that language you would not tolerate, then do not say that to yourself. That’s one thing we definitely stress when it comes to girls.
But even in person, which is my favorite aspect of the work that I’m doing, like Girls Who Lead, we really emphasize that you cannot lead if you’re burnt out, you can’t lead if you’re always doubting yourselves. I like to do this little activity to close this out every time. I get all of them on the stage and I actually stay on the floor because we elevate them. And I actually pass the mic around and we each take time just saying an affirmation about ourselves. We affirm ourselves with the mic and we say it out loud, boldly and proudly, which I used to be shy when I was younger, so that would’ve been my worst nightmare. But you kind of see the shift in the girls when they’re doing that and then all the girls in the crowd, they have to affirm her as well.
We’ve done things like, I am amazing or I am successful, or I will be successful or I am smart. Something as simple as that, you say it boldly, you say it confidently, no stutter, no, I’m kind of smart. You say it fully. You take up that space and everyone claps for you, we snap for you, we say period. And just really showing these girls that they can take up space early on, because I know for me, I saw a women taking up space, but I kind of needed permission to take up space. I was like, I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if that’s the appropriate space or she is the leader, so she should do that, but I don’t think I’m a leader, so I don’t think I’m capable of doing that. I think really working on their confidence in how they view themselves because I think once you build that up, build up that perception of you and have a healthy perception of your worth and who you are and your capabilities, then it’s a lot easier to set boundaries.
We set boundaries for things we treasure, your cell phone. You don’t let a stranger on the street just hold your phone. We set boundaries for things that we value. So I think really trying to instill in people, not even just girls, just people, but especially young women, that you are valuable and you’re treasured. I think that’s one of the biggest things we’ve done when it comes to setting a boundary.
Tori Dunlap:
I love that. I wish I would’ve learned that when I was a kid.
When we reached out about having you on the show, you mentioned you had some questions for me, which is a fun part of this as we’re about to switch places here. What can I answer for you? I don’t know what these questions are, so how can I help?
Cherie Animashaun:
I am so excited for this. So, for all the young professionals, college students listening, this one is for you, and I’m also just really curious to hear this too. I’d also put in my order for the book, so I’m sure [inaudible 00:27:19].
Tori Dunlap:
Oh, I would send you a book. Okay, thank you. That’s very nice.
Cherie Animashaun:
So, this is for all of you. Highly recommend that everyone gets a copy of your book, Financial Feminist. I ordered mine, look forward to read. But I’m wondering-
Tori Dunlap:
You fully gone into host mode and that’s why I’m giggling because it’s so good. Go ahead.
Cherie Animashaun:
I’m wondering, what is one piece of advice that you have for girls in college who want to build wealth? I know so many of them. Speaking to them, this one’s for you. I’m going to tell them to listen. So all of you who are listening to this, Tori, what do you recommend and how can we start early?
Tori Dunlap:
Okay, I’m going to give you financial advice and then I’m going to give you life advice. My financial advice is to do everything that you’re doing, which is just to have a better understanding of what things cost, how much things are, because I feel like that was my big revelation in college. It’s usually for most people, college is the first time you’re tasting some independence, you’re starting to use your own credit card. And I remember very similar to you, just thinking, oh, I don’t know exactly how much $50,000 is, but that feels like a lot of money and that’s what college got, right? It’s just starting to understand what these things cost.
And if you can get out of college debt-free, if you can have jobs on campus, that’s what I did, is I worked three jobs on campus. I also, I was lucky enough to have parents who did save money for college for me. I got scholarships where I could. If you can graduate debt-free, that is a leg up on so much of your personal finance journey. So if you can manage that, if you can figure that out, please do so because it’s going to make the rest of your financial life a whole lot easier.
My life advice though, stop asking yourself, what do I want to do with my life? Even though everybody’s asking you that. You’ve been asked since you’re a kid, what do you want to be when you grow up? I feel like high school, you’re trying to get into a good college. College, you’re trying to do well so you get a good job. I guess you work forever so that you can eventually retire and then you die, right? It’s always like, it’s like, what are you going to do with your life? What are you… yeah, and no one at 19, 20, no one at 30 has the idea of what they’re going to do for the rest of their lives.
So instead of asking yourself, what do I want to do with my life, or what is my big, broad passion? Just ask yourself, what do I want to do next? That’s the only question you need to have an answer for. Just like, what do I want to do next? Because I want to look back at my life and have a lot of different varied experiences. You’re not going to find a dream job, it does not exist. You’re just going to find a job that you hopefully feel passionate enough about, and then you’re going to find your passion or your purpose in other places. So just ask yourself, what am I interested in next? Because your life is going to change, you’re going to evolve, your career is going to evolve. Your interests are going to change, your life circumstances are going to alter. So, what am I going to do next? That’s the only answer you need right now.
Cherie Animashaun:
That is incredible. I literally needed to hear that. And then to that point, just building off of that, I mean, a lot of us, we have this joke at Cornell. A lot of us are like, if we’re going to sell out and just kind of go in the consulting pipeline, because that’s the only way we’ll live, because most of us kind of come in with this social justice kind of buzz. I’m still holding strong.
Tori Dunlap:
Okay, here’s the deal though. Can I debunk that really hard?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yes.
Tori Dunlap:
Because I get it’s a joke, right? It’s a little satirical. Here’s the deal though. If you are a woman, if you’re a person of color, if you’re a member of a marginalized group, getting your bag is not selling out. That’s actually one of the most radical things you can do, is get a really good paying job and then use that money to fund your life to make sure you’re well rested, to make sure that you’re healthy and that you’re taken care of, and then go and change the world for everybody else. I truly believe that getting a good job, as long as it’s not super evil, is fine. And then you do what you can do to change the culture, you do what you do to make a positive impact, and you get a lot of money and then you do good things with that money.
I think that we’ve talked about it actually on the show, is the fallacy of profit or service-based work that like, I am not doing purpose-driven work or I feel guilty unless I am suffering. You don’t have to suffer. I don’t want you actually to suffer, because if you are suffering, one, it’s just contributing to the suffering of your people or other women. It continues that cycle of suffering, one. And then two, you don’t have any sort of energy for anybody else.
So I know there was a question there, but I felt that, I know people feel that guilt of like, oh yeah, do I sell out? Do I take a corporate job? Do I go work at Amazon? And it’s like sometimes, yeah, you go work at Amazon and you get your good paycheck and you get your good benefits and you take care of yourself and you use that money and that access to opportunity to change the world for everybody else. And also to make sure that, you being healthy is a radical act of protest. You being rested is a radical act of protest. You having financial independence in a society, in a system that does not want that for you, that wants to maintain its control over you, that is a radical act of protest. Anyway, sorry, go ahead.
Cherie Animashaun:
[inaudible 00:32:44]. I’m about to go back to campus, and anytime I hear that joke, I’m going to be like, well, actually-
Tori Dunlap:
I know, I know. I know it’s a joke, but it’s also like, it’s true. And I don’t want you to feel guilty, yeah, for taking a job. I guess if you’re going to work for the GOP, sure, now we have some issues, but okay, if it’s this corporate tech job, sure, fine, great. Do what you got to do. And it doesn’t have to be the thing that you’re most passionate about and that you bleed for. Arguably it shouldn’t be. And you use that money and you use the stability it gives you to go do cool shit.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, I love that. I feel like I needed to hear that. I definitely did, because right now I’m in this weird intersection of like, yeah, I would love to change the world and just not make any money and just help people, but also the family I got to take care of, also have a life I want to live.
Tori Dunlap:
We literally just recorded an episode this morning with another guest about how you being the fullest version of yourself gives everybody else permission to do it too. So especially for you as a black woman, and again, I cannot speak from personal experience, but I know that if you’re in a minority, if you’re a woman, person of color, queer, disabled, you showing up as the fullest, most well rested, healthiest version of yourself, that is the most progressive thing you can do, because it demonstrates that sort of behavior for everybody else. And so if that’s “all you do,” that is enough. That’s more than enough, because it means that you remain true to yourself and it means that you took care of yourself so that you can take care of others too. You know?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, that’s just, wow. That is wow.
Tori Dunlap:
Yeah, I’m just so tired of women being tired because we feel like we have to carry the entire weight of the world. We don’t, we don’t, and yet we will continue to. So we have to make sure that we’re okay before anything else.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah, no, I’m so glad I asked. And I mean, the rest of that question was just, do you believe that you have to choose between money or happiness? And how have you been able to combine the two? I feel like you kind of alluded to that, but I’m kind of curious with the whole money versus happiness kind of thing.
Tori Dunlap:
The whole narrative that money can’t buy you happiness is complete bullshit. Money can buy you safety and stability and ease and healthy food and therapy and a stable car, and the ability to leave unhealthy situations or abusive situations. And I would argue for the vast majority of us, that’s happiness. We’ve talked about it on the show before, but if you’re going out to buy a nice car and thinking, this nice car is going to make me happy, yeah, of course not. But again, if you’re a member of a marginalized group, it can buy you options, it can buy you safety, and that is happiness.
So, I don’t feel like you have to choose. I feel like also, what is happiness? If happiness is purpose, and again, I want you to listen to the episode we just recorded this morning. If happiness is purpose, great. I think that you can find purpose in many things outside of your work. So you can go and you can make really good money even if you don’t feel like this is the absolute best job and you absolutely love it, and the passion’s so great. That’s okay, do other things that give you purpose, do other things outside of your work. And you can also find work that is purpose-driven and that also compensates you well. You can have both.
Cherie Animashaun:
Love, and then my last question.
Tori Dunlap:
I love this little switcheroo. This is fun.
Cherie Animashaun:
I mean, I’ve been looking at your story, as we all have, and when I saw that you pivoted completely in your 20s, going from the corporate space you were and just kind of pivoting to the business that you have now. I mean, I was inspired because I feel like you talk about this too, a lot, being told your whole life, what do you want to be? What do you want to be? And going on that path. I’m kind of curious for a woman or a young woman or just a teenager or someone who’s in their 20s, what advice do you have for girls who are in their 20s and scared to pivot? They kind of have an idea or they know they want to leave a job, they know they want to switch their career, but because of so many different factors, they’re a little too scared to kind of just make that leap.
Tori Dunlap:
Yeah, I mean, I’ll give you really practical advice. The reason I was able to grow Her First 100K was because I didn’t ask the business to support me before it was ready. Does that make sense?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah.
Tori Dunlap:
I wasn’t asking it to pay for my rent when it wasn’t really making money. I wasn’t putting pressure on the business to support my life and my lifestyle before it was ready to do so, because I didn’t want to become resentful of the business. I wanted to be able to make decisions that were not fear driven or were not scarcity driven decisions. And so I waited, arguably too long, before I quit my job, and I was able to grow Her First 100K on the side at the pace that felt comfortable, where I could ramp up when I wanted to and scale back when I didn’t. And it was also like testing while I still had the stability of a job. So I joke, we didn’t take outside investment, I didn’t take venture capital, we didn’t get a $10,000 loan from a bank or from a rich uncle. But I used the money I was making in my 9:00 to 5:00 as my investment. That was the security I needed so that I could allow the business to grow on its own.
So if you do have an idea, well, you can be all-in emotionally. I would not necessarily tell you to go all-in financially or to go all in with all of your energy at this point, because one, you might realize this idea doesn’t really have legs or that you’re actually passionate about something else. You don’t want to burn this bridge down and not be able to get it back, right? So I maintained what I was doing in my 9:00 to 5:00, slowly built the business, and then when it was clear that the business had momentum, I had money, it was doing okay and could support me and them some, then it felt like time for me to leave. And I think also, again, very, very practically, you can test the efficacy of an idea before going all-in on it.
And also indent new paragraph, I do want to make sure that you are actually taking action, because this is something that plagues women regardless of age, is we say, “Oh, I want to do this thing,” but then you put barriers in front of yourself like, oh, I want to start a business, but I don’t know how to make a website, or I don’t know what it’d be called, or I don’t know what the logo would be, or I don’t know what the brand color is. And you think by thinking about your to-do list, it is getting you further. You’re like, oh, but I’m thinking about this, but you’re not taking action, you’re not doing anything. And so the most successful, any sort of business that you have heard of exists because it exists. It only exists and you only know about it because somebody got started. So, while I think it is important to test your idea to make sure this works, to not go all-in and potentially burn your financial house down, you just have to also start.
I did not know I wanted to talk about money until I’d already started a business where I was blogging as a 20 something woman because it was like peak Tumblr era. That’s what I thought I wanted to do. And then Trump got elected, I was starting to have conversations about women about money. I was realizing in my own life that I was really passionate about money and personal finance for the choices and the options it gave me. So Her First 100K, one, was not even called Her First 100K when it first started. Two, it was a blog for 20 something women that was not specifically focused on money. And three, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, but I learned how to do it by doing it. I learned what I wanted to talk about or what my niche was, only because I was figuring it out. So test the efficacy of an idea, don’t burn your financial house down to do it, but also get started. You’re going to figure it out as you go.
Cherie Animashaun:
Period, mic drop. That was, for every young girl, I feel like she just cracked the code for us. I feel like, it’s all you need.
Tori Dunlap:
I love hosting duties right now, this is so good. Thank you. You’re like, yes, that was so powerful, yes.
Cherie Animashaun:
That, we’ll stop here. Love it.
Tori Dunlap:
Okay, I got to go back on host though.
Talk to me about your work with Her Rising. What drove you to start?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yeah. I mean, the funniest thing, it was a mix of, I remember the day I thought of the idea and my mom was looking at me like, oh, this is another one of those ideas. All right, well, we’ll laugh it off. But I remember that day I came home from school. I think it was also the day that I had learned the cost of college so I had a lot on my mind. I was like, I need to make it in life or it’s over. And I remember I also had gotten over the 16-year-old heartbreak that you think the whole world is going to end. And I remember that night just journaling and I started to think, how many other girls are going through the same thing? And for me when it came to journaling, journaling was always kind of like my outlet.
I’m very particular when it comes to journaling. I have the whole questions like, what is making me feel this way? Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Will this matter in five years? I always come up with these kind of prompts to kind of get me out of a funk. And I was like, how can I help girls who are going through similar things? Because I know there’s a million nonprofits when it comes for girls, but I was like, what about the girls who are heartbroken or who have the ambition but don’t know quite yet what to do with that? So I was kind of thinking of the girls who are kind of in this crack, they don’t necessarily fit the box when it comes to what typical nonprofits are catering to. So I thought, how do I create some kind of service that tackles mental health, that tackles leadership, that tackles entrepreneurship, and also gives educational resources? How do I make that kind of niche almost?
And then I was coming up with a name, and I knew I wanted to have rising in it because of, I heard Maya Angelou’s poem, and I was yeah, the whole rise thing, I was like, I don’t know what it’s going to be, but I need rise to be in there. And then I was like, we rise, or they rise, or… And then I was like, wait, I think I just want to stick to girls who are going through what I’ve gone through. Like I said, you’ve been assigned this mountain to show that it could be moved, and I knew for a fact that I could connect with young girls. So, Her Rising, and then initiative just came out of wanting to do a lot of different work and helping girls who have initiative investing in that. So then we had Her Rising Initiative.
I was a sophomore in high school, and you probably would not support our financial strategy that we started off with, but for some reason I thought, okay, let me just make books and sell that, and that’ll fund the whole nonprofit and we’ll do stuff all over the world. And I learned really quickly, that’s not exactly how you fund a nonprofit, but I ended up taking some of my money out making these books. We self-published it, which is another story, but that led to me getting a part of a publishing company. Now I’m a co-owner in that, so that’s been super cool. But we made the books, we sold it, and then I think we made a couple hundred dollars, and that’s what funded our first ever Girls Who Lead Conference.
But since then, in the span of four years, our mission is helping women and youth rise into leadership. So that looks like any industry you can think of, any industry where women are not at the top, we’re just trying to push them up there. So we’ve done scholarships, we’ve done Girls Who Lead Conferences, which are completely free to participants, and we have free workshops. So girls can come in, if you’re like a stem girlie, if you’re a writer, if you’re interested in law, if you’re interested in engineering, computer science, any industry. I kind of bring in women who are at the head of that field and they come in and they lead the workshop with the girls. And it’s been one of the cutest things ever. But we’re expanding our programming to different states across the country, but the biggest thing is just speaking to those girls who like me, just kind of need that permission or that extra step to kind of go into their dream, their passion.
And we also do some work with older women as well. It’s not just kids. We’re working on these things called Rising Dinners, which I’m really excited, kind of similar to what Erin’s doing, but for young professionals in particular. So women in their 20s who don’t necessarily know what they want to go into or maybe they want to transition in their career, we’re just going to bring all of them together. It’s a super cute space, worthy of TikTok-ing and everything, but we’ll have some networking aspects, and it’s just a community. I think the biggest thing, you can use all the words you want, I just love bringing people together. That’s kind of the work that I love to do the most. So, Her Rising is kind of my excuse to do that every day.
Tori Dunlap:
Can I come and teach an entrepreneurship workshop?
Cherie Animashaun:
Yes, 100%. You’re on our list for everything. We’re like, we’re just going to [inaudible 00:45:30].
Tori Dunlap:
Oh, I would love that. I’ve been wanting to do something similar, but I haven’t had the bandwidth in terms of building out my own thing. So we’re just, yeah, cool. Can you share a particular story of someone who’s been impacted by Her Rising? Do you have an especially juicy good win?
Cherie Animashaun:
I think, yes. I won’t say her name, but she’s incredible. I think one of the coolest things about Her Rising, just who I am, I’m very chill. If someone, one of the girls come up to me and they’re like, “I have a boyfriend problem.” I just give them my number and we just text. It’s very casual when it comes to me, but I think one of the best things ever was Girls Who Lead. There was a girl and she was a little shy, but I remember her coming up to me and she was like, “Cherie, have so many ideas, but I never thought I could do them until I met you.” And there’s actually a picture, it’s crazy. One of the photographers caught a picture because I’m like this, and she’s so short, so it’s me here and I’m looking like this like, oh my God. And she said that to me, I gave her my number.
And one of the coolest things, we still stay in touch. She went to the business workshop that day, the engineering workshop and the fashion workshop. And there was also a law workshop that she went to. And then we were talking, we texted maybe once a month, I want to say. But the coolest thing was, I think four months later, her mom calls me and her mom’s like, “Hey, so my daughter set up this whole program to help young kids in her community.” She started a summer camp. I was like, “What?” She started a summer camp, and it’s so cute. She had 10 to 15 really little, I think kindergarten through second grade come in. And they made art over the summer. And then at the end of the summer in August, they had an art show, like a gallery, and she invited me to be the keynote speaker of the event. I was like, of course I will do anything this little girl tells me to do. And it was so amazing because just seeing her go from where she was on that day, and then going through the workshops.
I remember that day I was telling them, my little keynote session for them was, what do you want to be remembered by? I was like, yeah, you’re young, but if people were to talk about you in 40 years from now, what do you want them to say? And I think a lot of people’s eyes opened at that point, because I know when you’re in middle school, the only thing you’re thinking about is next week and the day after. You’re not thinking any farther than that. But I think that really resonated with them. And for her to start a whole summer camp, she’s a fifth grader. So I was shocked that she did that. And to this day, she’s doing incredible things.
There’s so many different stories, because one of the biggest things I’ve realized is that every kid, every single kid, even the kid that you would doubt, or the kid you would say is a troublemaker, I used to be called a troublemaker by a teacher, they have incredible ideas. You really just have to listen to them.
Oh, I have one more. This one’s a lot more sentimental too. It was actually, it wasn’t my event, but I was there on behalf of Her Rising, and it was a conference for young teens and I was one of the volunteers, I guess. And there was a kid sitting by themselves, and I was like, you know what? I’m just going to sit next to them. It was like, whatever. And it was lunch, I was like, okay, we have our sandwiches, we’re together. And I was just asking them about their life and just hearing what they were talking about. They were interested in comic books. I don’t know a thing about comic books, but I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I was willing to just hear them out. We ended up talking for 30 to 45 minutes and I just thought it was a casual conversation, I didn’t really think much of it. I wasn’t really trying to perform, I was just yapping.
And then we actually did this activity at the end and it was like a reflection thing, and you had to write a note for somebody and just put it in their jar. And I didn’t think much of it, I ended up writing one for them, and I was like, I loved talking to you. Really excited, I hope you have a good day at school and stuff like that, because they had told me about what was going on at school. And then I looked in my jar two nights later when I had finally unpacked, and they were talking about how that day they actually wanted to commit because they were feeling just really, really down. They had a lot of things going on at home, and they hadn’t been heard for so long. They had so much going on at home that they had no one to talk to, and that just talking to them for 30 minutes just felt like an angel sent.
And I don’t know, that day shook me. I have that, actually, it’s the note that they wrote because it was really long. I actually have it taped on my wall back home. So every time I want to give up where, whew, just give the nonprofit a break, I think of people like that. And I’m really excited for what we’re going to do because if we could just help that one person in so many different states, that really adds up. But I think, I’ll never forget the person who left me that note, I still keep in touch with them today. That note changed my life, hands down, and it was really just a reminder to just go up to people and to talk to people and to just do the basic human things that are so-
Tori Dunlap:
Make them feel seen, yeah.
Cherie Animashaun:
Right, it’s so… I feel like there’s so much hate in the world, that a small act of love kind of seems radical, but something as small as that saved a life. So I think with Her Rising, I’m definitely trying to train more people to do the same, so we can just have those pockets of love everywhere.
Tori Dunlap:
I need people to find out where they can find out more about you and Her Rising and everything. So plug away, my friend.
Cherie Animashaun:
Yes. So if you want to follow us on Instagram, that will be Her.Risingg with two G’s because we’re extra. And then if you want to find out more about me on Instagram, it’s Cherie but it’s C-H-E-R-I-I.A. So you’ll find me that way, and then Her Rising’s website is just her with a dash, rising.com. And yeah, if you want to support or partner in any way, if anything I said resonated and you were like, I would love to talk to young girls and kind of have that aha-moment with them too, then you can also email us, which is once again, just Her.risingg, with two G’s @gmail.com.
Tori Dunlap:
Thank you for being here. Thanks for your work.
Cherie Animashaun:
Thank you for everything you’re doing. I can’t even explain. When I first saw your Instagram for the first time, the amount of mutuals, the amount of teenagers my age that were following you, I was like, yeah.
Tori Dunlap:
That’s really sweet.
Cherie Animashaun:
She’s going to change the world.
Tori Dunlap:
Thank you.
Cherie Animashaun:
She’s already changing-
Tori Dunlap:
Right back at you, man. Thank you, that’s really kind. Thanks for being here.
Thank you so much to Cherie for joining us. You can go to her-rising.com to learn more about the incredible work she’s doing and to support her nonprofit. Thank you as always for being here, Financial Feminists, we appreciate you, and we appreciate you sending this episode to someone who needs it. And we’ll see you very, very soon. Okay, bye.
Thank you for listening to Financial Feminist, a Her First $100K podcast. Financial Feminist is hosted by me, Tori Dunlap, produced by Kristen Fields and Tamisha Grant. Researched by Sarah Sciortino. Audio and video Engineering by Alyssa Midcalf. Marketing and Operations by Karina Patel and Amanda Leffew. Special thanks to our team at Her First 100K, Kailyn Sprinkle, Masha Bakhmetyeva, Taylor Chou, Sasha Bonar, Rae Wong, Elizabeth McCumber, Claire Kurronen, Daryl Ann Ingram and Meghan Walker. Promotional graphics by Mary Stratton. Photography by Sarah Wolfe. And theme music by Jonah Cohen Sound.
A huge thanks to the entire Her First $100K community for supporting the show. For more information about Financial Feminist, Her First $100K, our guests and episode show notes, visit financialfeministpodcast.com. If you’re confused about your personal finances and you’re wondering where to start, go to herfirsthundredk.com/quiz for a free personalized money plan.
Tori Dunlap
Tori Dunlap is an internationally-recognized money and career expert. After saving $100,000 at age 25, Tori quit her corporate job in marketing and founded Her First $100K to fight financial inequality by giving women actionable resources to better their money. She has helped over five million women negotiate salaries, pay off debt, build savings, and invest.
Tori’s work has been featured on Good Morning America, the New York Times, BBC, TIME, PEOPLE, CNN, New York Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, BuzzFeed, and more.
With a dedicated following of over 2.1 million on Instagram and 2.4 million on TikTok —and multiple instances of her story going viral—Tori’s unique take on financial advice has made her the go-to voice for ambitious millennial women. CNBC called Tori “the voice of financial confidence for women.”
An honors graduate of the University of Portland, Tori currently lives in Seattle, where she enjoys eating fried chicken, going to barre classes, and attempting to naturally work John Mulaney bits into conversation.
