April Wellness: LearnVest's, Alexa von Tobel Interview

For Women’s History Month, the Health and Happiness Club will be featuring a month of interviews with women who inspire us. The women we highlight will span a variety of backgrounds, ages, localities, and experiences. We hope you enjoy the extraordinary month of March!

Financial literacy is an issue that I think is supremely important in Western society. I have always thought that holding people responsible for making financial decisions without equipping them with the correct information to do so, it a complete societal failure. I'm talking basics here: How does interest on credit cards work? How do mortgages work? What's the deal with student loans? These topics can all feel very overwhelming when you are in college, trying to find your footing, and even long after that.

Meet someone who is doing something positive about it! Alexa von Tobel is the founder of LearnVest. I get daily emails from LearnVest with savings, spending, budgeting and investment tips all catered to women! The information is presented in a very accessible way and encourages users to get themselves in a better financial position. I love these emails and I hope you are inspired to sign up for them after reading Alexa's interview below.

What drew you to the issue of financial literacy?

When I was graduating from college, headed to a job on Wall Street, I realized that I had no foundation in personal finances. Even with a great education, I never learned how to check my credit score or the difference between a Roth and Traditional IRA. I figured that other women must be in the same position, and I became passionate about finding a solution.

Why is financial literacy important for women in today’s society?

Women control 83% of spending, but 90% of women say they feel insecure about their personal finances, and women are twice as likely as men to retire in poverty. Financial literacy is a problem for everyone, but LearnVest’s mission is to help women who are so under served by financial companies.

What was the process of getting LearnVest up and running?

I dropped out of business school in the heart of the recession to launch LearnVest, because I knew people needed financial guidance then more than ever. Building a company is a challenging journey, but it was made less so by enlisting support. I reached out to an impressive group of experienced advisors who pointed me in the right direction.

You offer many great programs for your members to participate in. Can you tell us a little bit about the different ways women can get control of their finances through LearnVest?

We have all sorts of products for women to tackle their finances. We have a free daily email, LearnVest Daily, that delivers practical tips for living a hip lifestyle on a budget; a wealth of content focusing on all aspects of finance; tools and calculators to help users budget and plan for their financial future; and a variety of LearnVest Bootcamps, e-mail programs designed to tackle financial pain points.

You have partnered with Reebok for women to become ‘fiscally fit’. Can you tell us more about this program?

We launched our first Personal Finance Basics Bootcamp with Reebok as our sponsor, with the goal of encouraging financial fitness. We had so much positive user feedback that we have grown our Bootcamp offerings. LV Bootcamp’s now include a Cut Your Costs Bootcamp, which walks users through how to cut their expenses room-by-room, and a Premium Investing Bootcamp, which shares the ins and outs of investing.

What changes do you think we should make to our current educational system to better equip young people with the knowledge to be financially literate adults?

Financial literacy needs to be integrated into classroom curriculums across the country. Learning how to manage your money should certainly be a step in acquiring a diploma.

Does Learn Vest have any plans to get involved with policy or curriculum development?

The government has taken a lot of great steps towards developing financial literacy programs, but making those policy and curriculum changes is a long and slow process. In the meantime, LearnVest aims to provide support and education online, as we are able to quickly reach thousands of users this way. LearnVest is committed to this cause and will do our part in the process of improving financial education for everyone.

We firmly believe that everyone deserves access to financial education. We’ve found that the Internet is the best way to reach a wide audience, and we offer a wealth of free content online that is accessible to all.