Glamour editor-in-chief Samantha Barry isn't bashful when it comes to talking about money. She feels strongly about the importance of being financially literate and highly recommends others educate themselves for the purpose of bettering their financial futures.
"My advice for my 20-year-old self is to be more financially literate at a younger age," says Barry, who's a member of CNBC's Financial Wellness Advisory Council.
"I definitely spent a lot of my early twenties with my head in the sand like, 'I don't need to worry about money' or 'I don't need to think about it that much,'" Barry says. "It wasn't until I started thinking about things like saving, investing and how much money was going in and out of my account that I took my head out of the sand and started setting real goals."
As the head of a women's brand, Barry says she is especially concerned with the financial well-being of women.
"The sooner that we talk to younger women and girls about their financial literacy the better," Barry says. "Knowing your worth, knowing what you are spending, knowing what you are investing, knowing your credit rating. That is so personal to us at Glamour, and it's so important for women."
Research backs up Barry. According to a survey from the Finra Foundation, more than half of Americans were unable to pass a basic financial literacy exam. When asked five questions covering aspects of economics and personal finance, 63% were unable to answer more than three correctly.
In the past 18 months since signing on as editor-in-chief, Barry's team has made it a priority to start a dialogue surrounding money. When having conversations surrounding a sensitive topic like money, Barry says honesty and speaking to people from differing backgrounds is key.
"I, like most people, have had a complicated relationship with money at times," Barry says. "I have worked as a freelancer, worked paycheck to paycheck, and I have even taken a job I much preferred over the higher paid one.
"It can sometimes feel very alienating if a person is coming in to tell you about money that has has only experienced plain sailing with all of the money conversations in their entire life."
