Financial independence isn't a fantasy for women who get lucky. It's a plan, executed step by step. This is that plan.
The Miss Independent Plan emerged from a single, uncomfortable truth: the financial advice women have been given for generations has been designed around the assumption of a partner. Invest together. Buy a house together. Retire together.
But what about the woman who is single by choice? The woman going through divorce? The widow. The woman who loves her partner but refuses to make her financial future contingent on that love lasting?
The Miss Independent Plan is financial planning built around one person: you. It assumes no inheritance, no windfall, no rescue. Just your income, your decisions, and a 12-step framework that gets you from wherever you are to financial independence.
Women who are single and want to build wealth without waiting for a partner
Women in relationships who want their own financial foundation regardless
Women navigating divorce or widowhood who need to restart financially
Any woman who believes financial independence is the ultimate form of self-care
Each step is detailed in the book Miss Independent. Below is the overview, the arc from financial confusion to financial independence.
Calculate the starting line. Assets minus liabilities equals your number, and your number doesn't lie.
6 months minimum. This is the foundation everything else is built on.
Credit card debt above 7% is an emergency. Treat it like one.
Never leave free money on the table. Get the full employer 401k match, always.
Tax-free growth. Flexible withdrawals. Every woman should have one.
Low-cost, diversified, and statistically superior to most managed portfolios.
Tax-advantaged accounts, deductions, and basic tax planning that saves real money every year.
Every dollar you don't negotiate is a dollar you leave behind, and it compounds over your career.
Your job is one income stream. Build at least one more, passive, semi-passive, or active.
Insurance, beneficiaries, and the legal documents every independent woman needs.
Rent vs. buy analysis, building credit for a mortgage, and the financial math behind homeownership.
Estate planning basics, generational wealth, and what financial independence actually looks like at the end.
Absolutely. The Miss Independent Plan is about financial agency, not being single. Every woman, regardless of relationship status, benefits from having her own financial foundation. The plan works alongside a shared financial life; it just ensures you have your own pillars that don't depend on anyone else.
The administrative steps (opening accounts, setting up automation, updating beneficiaries) can be completed in a weekend. Building the financial outcomes, the emergency fund, the investment portfolio, the multiple income streams, is a multi-year journey. But most people see meaningful progress within the first 90 days of starting.
The complete Miss Independent Plan is detailed in Nicole's book Miss Independent: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Start Investing and Grow Your Own Wealth. Available at all major book retailers. See the book here.
Get the book. Listen to the podcast. Or bring Nicole in to walk your audience through the plan in person.