Kristin Merrick

Kris, could you tell us a little bit about where you grew up, your family, and how you think this affected who you are today:

I am the eldest of 5 children. My parents were high school sweethearts and recently hosted their 50 year high school reunion. They even scheduled Zooms with other classmates to organize the event. TOO CUTE. I was born on Camp Pendleton as my dad was a Marine officer. My parents were crazy young when they had me (23, 24!) so I got to be an only child for four glorious years. During that time, Mom and I spent a ton of time together doing things that little girls do–playing, reading, learning, watching soap operas. My mom always parented from the philosophy of “they can handle it” so she SHARED ALL THE STUFF with me. I knew all the family drama, the nuances of her relationships with her friends and family and the plot of All My Children at a very young age. This, of course, led me to be a very curious child with loads of questions. Some would call me “annoying”. I prefer “precocious”. We moved to NJ (where my parents grew up) when I was still quite little and my parents really revved up the child bearing thing. They had three kids in 5 years and our home turned into a happy type of chaos. My mom was a Varsity athlete level mom. She never sat down. She was always cooking, cleaning, sewing, driving or yelling. My mother has one of the highest work ethics of any human I have ever met. She made the bros on Wall Street look like a bunch of lazy sacks.

At the same time mom was ruling the house and raising the kids, Dad was building his business as a financial advisor. He started at Merrill Lynch in the 80s which was basically the Wild West. He was great at what he did, earned the respect of his managers and quickly moved up the ranks. That said, being a “stockbroker” in the 80s was tough when the markets were down. The rapid rate of our family’s growth outpaced the growth of the stock market and we struggled financially for several years. This had a huge impact on my life. Again, because my mom shared so much, I was always keenly aware of our financial situation and I stressed about it at a very early age. 

Sounds like this had a major influence on the direction you took?

I knew very early on that I liked money and I wanted it. It shaped my teen and college years tremendously because I always had a least 2-3 jobs at once. I love making and spending my own money. I decided to study business at UNC so that I could get out of college and make a lot of money. It worked! 

What was life after college like?

I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001 and went to work on the foreign exchange desk at Bank of America in NYC. This is where I met Wendy! She mentored me and bought me clothes because my wardrobe was essentially slutty clothes from Express and Bebe. My job started about 4 weeks before Sept 11, 2001. It was quite a time to start my career. I had a long career the FX and worked at various international banks. That job was the most intense education I will ever receive. The pressure was insane but it was also so much fun. It was a great environment for me as I love adrenaline, yelling and hand gestures. I will say that while I enjoyed my time overall in the markets, I believe my inability to be a better politician definitely hurt me. I didn’t like to kiss up to jerks and I was a champion for the underdogs and sometimes it got me in trouble.

When did you realize something needed to change?

As I hit my mid 30s and was pregnant with my second child, I decided that the show was over. The business had changed and so had I. I didn’t want to sit at a desk for 12 hours a day and miss out on raising my kids. And unfortunately the trading floor environment didn’t offer much of a balance.  You were either 110% in or you were out. I chose “out” and “retired” from my fast paced life in 2015. In the same year, I joined my dad’s financial advisory firm. It was a huge career change but at the time, I kind of just went for it. 

What was the most difficult part in moving from corporate America to your own practice?

Changing careers in your mid-30s is TOUGH. I had two very small children. I also took a MASSIVE pay cut which threw me for a loop. For most of my adult life, I made a lot of money and didn’t think much about it. Going from a huge income to none at all was a huge life adjustment for me and it really freaked me out. We had to make lots of changes to our lifestyle that I didn’t love but in the long-run it was a worthy sacrifice. 

Starting a business like mine is not easy. You essentially have to talk to everyone if your life to see if they will be your client. There is a bit of desperation at the beginning that did not sit well with me. The beginning was bumpy, uneven and filled with high highs and low lows. Did I mention that I had two babies? I was just SOOO tired all of the time. Luckily I have a great partner and had both family support and a brilliant nanny at the time who made my life so much easier. Having that support system at the time was essential to my success and I am grateful for it every day. 

When did you realize that things were going to change for you?

I gave a talk at the Wing in 2017 in NYC on a dark January night. I had very low expectations as my assumption was that no one would come to learn about money. Well, I was very wrong. It was a packed house and a huge inflection point in my career. It was the moment in my career when I realized that I wanted to work with women to help them make good financial decisions. I have never looked back. 

What have you learned or gained through this experience?

The last eight years has been filled with lots of exciting moments. I have made a huge difference in the lives of many women. I feel so grateful to have built the client list of the most fabulous, brilliant, kind and fun women who trust me to help them on their money journey. I work with each woman to help craft a plan that fits their life and goals. It’s good work and I am proud of it.

How do you balance all of this as an entrepreneur and a mother and wife?

That doesn’t mean I don’t get burned out from time to time. I have a tendency to work in flurries, over due it and then fizzle out. It’s not great. I have found that I lack balance in my life and instead I am either kicking ass at being a financial advisor or kicking ass at being a mom. Rarely do the two things align. I have found that balance isn’t a real thing and most days I have to make a choice of which person I will be that day. Overall, it evens out. 

Talk a little bit about the stress of your career and starting a company. How did this affect your life and health?

I will say that during the past decade, I have had to come to terms with the fact that I suffer from anxiety. Looking back on it, I was an anxious kid and teenager but never had the words to describe it. In my 20s and early 30s, I made it worse by partying and drinking too much. My stomach was constantly a mess and for a few years, I went through some serious health issues trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Turns out that the massive stress of my job, the lack of sleep (I had to be at work before 7am!) and the massive amount of vodka I drank was not good for my health. In my early 30s, I stopped drinking vodka and became a pescatarian. It made a huge difference. In my late 30s, I decided to get a therapist and go on anti-anxiety meds. Those meds would change my life. In fact, the meds benefited me so much that I am now a huge advocate for other women to explore medicine (with a doctor, of course). In my 40s, I have learned that exercise is the most important part of my life. I started playing tennis. I do Pilates, yoga and weight training and take lots of walks. It has helped me from a strength point of view but also does wonders for my sleep and my overall mood.  I have cut back my drinking to a minimum and usually get about 9 hours of sleep a night. I am fully aware of how ridiculous that is but I really LOVE TO SLEEP. 

What have you learned about money that you would like people to know?

The other thing that has changed so much for me over the past decade is my relationship with money. Money was always my barometer–my measure for success. This started from my childhood and only got worse during my career on Wall Street. What I have had to learn over the past few years is that money is important and provides me with comfort however, it is not my sole motivator. I have spent years working on this and finally feel like I am in a more comfortable place with my fears about money. 

Tell us more about your exciting foundation.

One of the other things I have created, along with my best friend Lindsay Shookus, is an organization called Women Work F#cking Hard. It is one of the things I am most proud of. WWFH is a community of brilliant women who gather and support each other while creating real connection and meaningful changes to other women’s lives. Truly, nothing brings me more joy than helping a woman build her business and achieve her goals. If that means I can help via connecting her with recourses, highlighting her work, or driving business to her, I will do whatever it takes. We are growing WWFH so if you are interested, sign up on our site for our newsletter and our upcoming events. 

Where has your journey led you to today?

In my mid-forties, I have created a life that suits me. I am not overly concerned by what others are doing or not doing. I have my convictions, my business, my family and my friends to keep me happy. I love to exercise, read books, socialize and travel as ways to bring me joy and real connection. I am often stressed and tired but do my best to be aware of warning signs that my body is giving me. I listen to my body and prioritize my rest. I also have read 27 books this year which has been a great escape from the crazy of this world and is a lot better than scrolling on IG. Speaking of, I am terrible at social media but if you care to follow me and get lots of posts about abortion rights and WWFH, follow me at @thegirlwhosavesmoney. 

Kristin, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring journey! You have always been a highlight in my life!