Gloria Steinem was once afraid of becoming a ‘bag lady’: Here’s how she used money to protect her freedom — and her advice for doing the same

But she didn’t always have money, and she once described fearing that she’d end up as a “bag lady” — anxious that she could end up homeless and carrying all of her possessions on her.

It might seem like an unlikely concern for one of the most influential feminists in American history, but Steinem’s relationship with money was more complicated than her public image might suggest.

The pioneering feminist, journalist and activist spent much of her life challenging the idea that women should depend on men for financial security. One of the most important money lessons she learned, she said in a 2018 interview with Psychology Today, was that earning her own money gave her the ability to make her own choices and quiet her concerns about her future.

She wasn’t necessarily interested in becoming wealthy. She wanted to be free.

“I think one of the most important things I learned about money is that I could support myself and buy freedom,” Steinem said.

Steinem saw financial independence as a form of freedom

Steinem remembered growing up amid the expectation that women should marry a “good provider.” Instead, she learned to provide for herself.

Steinem worked as a salesgirl after high school, as a lifeguard during college and as a writer while living in India. She eventually built a career as a freelance journalist in New York at a time when women were routinely steered away from serious reporting and toward so-called “women’s” topics.

The cofounder of Ms. Magazine and the National Women’s Political Caucus challenged the economic limitations placed on women. Ultimately, she became one of the defining figures of second-wave feminism, using journalism, activism and political organizing to push issues including reproductive rights, workplace equality and women’s political representation into the national conversation.

After turning 50, she began saving more seriously and bought an apartment when real estate prices were low. Eventually, owning her home and having a pension fund made her feel financially secure enough that she wouldn’t have to depend on friends if she lived into old age.

“I have to say that owning my home, plus a pension fund, did finally do away with my bag lady fantasy,” she said in 2018. “I plan to live to be 100, and in the event of a shortfall, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have to burden any one of my friends too much. They help you live longer and are a form of insurance.”

But Steinem also cautioned against treating wealth as the ultimate measure of success. She argued that having more money doesn’t necessarily eliminate anxiety and famously suggested that business schools should teach a course called “Money Is Boring,” including a lesson on how much money is enough money.

Steinem’s advice for saving money (and forging freedom)

Steinem’s financial journey wasn’t a straight line toward wealth. In fact, she acknowledged that she wasn’t always good at saving. In a 2020 interview with NPR’s “Fresh Air,” she said she had spent much of her life telling women how to manage and save money while personally struggling to keep more than a month or two of income on hand. She said she often found herself more comfortable giving money away than exercising control over it.

“I hadn’t internalized the message myself,” she said.