Ally Jane Ayers
@allyjaneayers.bsky.social
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Hi, I'm Ally Jane Ayers. I'm a former book editor and music journalist who fell in love with finance and co-founded a pretty successful (if I do say so myself) financial planning firm called Brooklyn Fi.
Most of us are carrying around financial clutter we’ve forgotten about.
Old bank accounts we opened in college. Subscriptions we meant to cancel months ago. Credit cards that cost more in fees than they’re worth. Digital wallets and half-used apps scatter our money into a dozen hiding places.
Old bank accounts we opened in college. Subscriptions we meant to cancel months ago. Credit cards that cost more in fees than they’re worth. Digital wallets and half-used apps scatter our money into a dozen hiding places.
November 12, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Most of us are carrying around financial clutter we’ve forgotten about.
Old bank accounts we opened in college. Subscriptions we meant to cancel months ago. Credit cards that cost more in fees than they’re worth. Digital wallets and half-used apps scatter our money into a dozen hiding places.
Old bank accounts we opened in college. Subscriptions we meant to cancel months ago. Credit cards that cost more in fees than they’re worth. Digital wallets and half-used apps scatter our money into a dozen hiding places.
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just managing too many accounts, cards, and subscriptions. All that financial noise makes it harder to focus on what actually matters.
November 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just managing too many accounts, cards, and subscriptions. All that financial noise makes it harder to focus on what actually matters.
Coming Tomorrow: The Financial Home Edit (Part 1)
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just buried under financial clutter.
Forgotten accounts, unused credit cards, half-used apps, and a dozen digital wallets quietly fracture our focus.
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just buried under financial clutter.
Forgotten accounts, unused credit cards, half-used apps, and a dozen digital wallets quietly fracture our focus.
November 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Coming Tomorrow: The Financial Home Edit (Part 1)
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just buried under financial clutter.
Forgotten accounts, unused credit cards, half-used apps, and a dozen digital wallets quietly fracture our focus.
Most of us aren’t bad with money, we’re just buried under financial clutter.
Forgotten accounts, unused credit cards, half-used apps, and a dozen digital wallets quietly fracture our focus.
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it wouldn’t be about résumés or networking events. It would be this: stop waiting for someone to hand you your next step. Apply anyway. Pitch anyway. Save anyway.
November 7, 2025 at 7:23 PM
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it wouldn’t be about résumés or networking events. It would be this: stop waiting for someone to hand you your next step. Apply anyway. Pitch anyway. Save anyway.
I’m writing a book! It’s called Creative Money: New Financial Rules for Artists, Innovators, and Misfits, and every week I share my progress.
This week's update finds me stripping away a lot of autobiographical stuff.
This week's update finds me stripping away a lot of autobiographical stuff.
November 6, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I’m writing a book! It’s called Creative Money: New Financial Rules for Artists, Innovators, and Misfits, and every week I share my progress.
This week's update finds me stripping away a lot of autobiographical stuff.
This week's update finds me stripping away a lot of autobiographical stuff.
In my 20s, I wish I’d treated my career more like a business.
For too long, I acted like an employee waiting to be noticed instead of someone responsible for managing her own professional assets.
For too long, I acted like an employee waiting to be noticed instead of someone responsible for managing her own professional assets.
November 5, 2025 at 9:49 PM
In my 20s, I wish I’d treated my career more like a business.
For too long, I acted like an employee waiting to be noticed instead of someone responsible for managing her own professional assets.
For too long, I acted like an employee waiting to be noticed instead of someone responsible for managing her own professional assets.
Most of us get stuck because we’re waiting for something, whether it's the right contact or the right timing. But progress doesn’t come from waiting. It comes from motion.
Stop Waiting for Permission: Career Lessons From My 20s
Building your ideal career takes time, well-written emails, and a lot of luck.
moneychangeseverything.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Most of us get stuck because we’re waiting for something, whether it's the right contact or the right timing. But progress doesn’t come from waiting. It comes from motion.
Coming Tomorrow: Stop Waiting for Permission
Most people don’t get stuck because they lack talent. They get stuck because they’re waiting for the right opportunity, the right contact, the right timing.
Most people don’t get stuck because they lack talent. They get stuck because they’re waiting for the right opportunity, the right contact, the right timing.
November 3, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Coming Tomorrow: Stop Waiting for Permission
Most people don’t get stuck because they lack talent. They get stuck because they’re waiting for the right opportunity, the right contact, the right timing.
Most people don’t get stuck because they lack talent. They get stuck because they’re waiting for the right opportunity, the right contact, the right timing.
You cannot fix a fundamentally expensive lifestyle with better budgeting habits. If your fixed costs are too high, the rest is just damage control.
How to Stop Spending Money
Or at least, stop spending money in ways that don’t serve you
moneychangeseverything.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
You cannot fix a fundamentally expensive lifestyle with better budgeting habits. If your fixed costs are too high, the rest is just damage control.
That line from The Devil Wears Prada haunted me: “A million girls would kill for this job, I can find someone to do your job in five minutes.”
October 31, 2025 at 12:02 PM
That line from The Devil Wears Prada haunted me: “A million girls would kill for this job, I can find someone to do your job in five minutes.”
The American workplace is built on a culture of negotiation. It’s not impolite to do it, it’s expected. I didn’t understand that when I started out and it cost me years of compounding opportunity.
October 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The American workplace is built on a culture of negotiation. It’s not impolite to do it, it’s expected. I didn’t understand that when I started out and it cost me years of compounding opportunity.
The hardest part about asking for a raise is taking the emotion out of it. You are not begging for a favor. You are not confessing. You are presenting numbers:
October 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
The hardest part about asking for a raise is taking the emotion out of it. You are not begging for a favor. You are not confessing. You are presenting numbers:
Coming Tomorrow: Negotiation Is Not Rude. It’s Required.
Most people are never taught how to ask for more, and it quietly costs them thousands over the course of their careers.
Most people are never taught how to ask for more, and it quietly costs them thousands over the course of their careers.
October 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Coming Tomorrow: Negotiation Is Not Rude. It’s Required.
Most people are never taught how to ask for more, and it quietly costs them thousands over the course of their careers.
Most people are never taught how to ask for more, and it quietly costs them thousands over the course of their careers.
Your customers aren’t late on your invoices because they hate you or don’t have the money, it’s because you sent ONE email with an attachment they had to open.
You Are Not a Vending Machine: How to Price Your Services (or Your Time)
A great way to lose a customer is to not prepare them for the total cost of your services.
moneychangeseverything.substack.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Your customers aren’t late on your invoices because they hate you or don’t have the money, it’s because you sent ONE email with an attachment they had to open.
Sharing your pricing without apologizing is its own rite of passage. The corporate world trained you to undervalue yourself, and freelancing is where you unlearn this.
October 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Sharing your pricing without apologizing is its own rite of passage. The corporate world trained you to undervalue yourself, and freelancing is where you unlearn this.
If you’re testing the waters for a new self-employed business, keep it cheap. Do not “invest” in custom wallpaper for your temporary office or hire a branding agency before you have any revenue.
October 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
If you’re testing the waters for a new self-employed business, keep it cheap. Do not “invest” in custom wallpaper for your temporary office or hire a branding agency before you have any revenue.
Whatever kind of self-employed business you’re building, cash will be king. When you work at a company, a paycheck drops into your bank account automatically every two weeks. But when you’re a consultant, that won’t necessarily be the case.
October 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Whatever kind of self-employed business you’re building, cash will be king. When you work at a company, a paycheck drops into your bank account automatically every two weeks. But when you’re a consultant, that won’t necessarily be the case.
Coming Tomorrow: From Employee to Consultant: Build a Business That Works for You
Tired of answering to a boss or sitting through one more “mandatory” Zoom meeting? Leaving corporate life behind might be your next step to financial freedom.
Tired of answering to a boss or sitting through one more “mandatory” Zoom meeting? Leaving corporate life behind might be your next step to financial freedom.
October 20, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Coming Tomorrow: From Employee to Consultant: Build a Business That Works for You
Tired of answering to a boss or sitting through one more “mandatory” Zoom meeting? Leaving corporate life behind might be your next step to financial freedom.
Tired of answering to a boss or sitting through one more “mandatory” Zoom meeting? Leaving corporate life behind might be your next step to financial freedom.
Just because you don’t have a paycheck doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a financial plan. And just because no one is depositing money into your account right now doesn’t mean your future should be dependent on someone else’s.
moneychangeseverything.substack.com/p/stay-at-ho...
moneychangeseverything.substack.com/p/stay-at-ho...
Am I Saving Enough? #4: How to Retire as a Stay-at-Home Spouse
A SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) with old 401(k)s wants to know: Can I retire too?
moneychangeseverything.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Just because you don’t have a paycheck doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a financial plan. And just because no one is depositing money into your account right now doesn’t mean your future should be dependent on someone else’s.
moneychangeseverything.substack.com/p/stay-at-ho...
moneychangeseverything.substack.com/p/stay-at-ho...
If you’ve been informed that you are being laid off, but are still working in the interim before your final day, turn off “open to work” unless you’re cool with broadcasting desperation. Instead, use the private setting so recruiters see it but your boss doesn’t.
October 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM
If you’ve been informed that you are being laid off, but are still working in the interim before your final day, turn off “open to work” unless you’re cool with broadcasting desperation. Instead, use the private setting so recruiters see it but your boss doesn’t.
Most people don’t realize severance is negotiable. If you’ve been a high performer or have unvested equity about to hit, ask for more compensation. Ask to double your severance package (usually it’s paid out as months of salary).
October 15, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Most people don’t realize severance is negotiable. If you’ve been a high performer or have unvested equity about to hit, ask for more compensation. Ask to double your severance package (usually it’s paid out as months of salary).
Getting laid off feels like a gut punch. Even if you saw it coming, even if the headlines portended it, it’s still brutal. Maybe you’re one of those people who has survived multiple rounds of layoffs and then suddenly one day it happens to you.
October 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Getting laid off feels like a gut punch. Even if you saw it coming, even if the headlines portended it, it’s still brutal. Maybe you’re one of those people who has survived multiple rounds of layoffs and then suddenly one day it happens to you.
Coming Tomorrow: How to Survive a Layoff (and Protect Your Money While You Do It)
A layoff feels like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. With a little planning and a solid emergency fund, it can be a temporary setback instead of a financial crisis.
A layoff feels like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. With a little planning and a solid emergency fund, it can be a temporary setback instead of a financial crisis.
October 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Coming Tomorrow: How to Survive a Layoff (and Protect Your Money While You Do It)
A layoff feels like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. With a little planning and a solid emergency fund, it can be a temporary setback instead of a financial crisis.
A layoff feels like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. With a little planning and a solid emergency fund, it can be a temporary setback instead of a financial crisis.
If you’ve ever tried to get financial help and left the meeting more confused, more frustrated, or just vaguely insulted, you’re not alone.
October 11, 2025 at 3:15 PM
If you’ve ever tried to get financial help and left the meeting more confused, more frustrated, or just vaguely insulted, you’re not alone.
If your company offers a retirement plan match and you’re not taking full advantage, you’re voluntarily taking a pay cut.
October 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
If your company offers a retirement plan match and you’re not taking full advantage, you’re voluntarily taking a pay cut.