When we talk about women stepping into their power, we often think of bold career moves, saying no unapologetically, or reclaiming our voices. But one of the most radical ways women in the UAE - and everywhere - can truly back themselves is through something often ignored, feared, or even shamed which is... money.
I see it every day in my work as a financial wellness coach. Women who are excelling in their careers, building families, and juggling multiple roles, yet still feel a quiet undercurrent of anxiety when it comes to their finances. It’s not about intelligence, nor capability. It’s about confidence and that’s where financial education comes in.
Why we avoid it
Many of us were never taught how to handle money beyond the basics. For some, money was seen as ‘the man’s responsibility’. For others, it carried cultural weight to talk about it openly felt rude or taboo, and that silence has a cost.
When women avoid money conversations, they often lose more than numbers on a spreadsheet. They lose choices, freedom and the ability to walk away from situations, relationships, or jobs that no longer serve them.
The confidence cost
I once worked with a client who, on paper, was doing everything right - earning well, saving diligently, budgeting carefully. But she still felt anxious, second-guessing every decision. The issue wasn’t her skills. It was her story and a deep-seated belief that she was ‘bad with money.’
This is the hidden cost of avoidance. It chips away at confidence and tells us we’re not enough, even when we’re more than capable. And until we face it, we stay stuck.
Expensive energy
Taylor Swift once said, ‘My energy is finite and it’s not cheap.’ She’s right. Our energy, like money, is a luxury item. Not everyone can afford it, and yet women are constantly pressured to give it away to obligations, to people-pleasing, to ‘shoulds’, that drain rather than nourish.
When we avoid money, we often overspend not just cash, but energy. We spend hours worrying, feeling guilty, or carrying stress we could have avoided with a simple system or conversation. Treating our time and energy like currency means setting boundaries: asking, ‘Is this purchase, this commitment, this investment of myself truly worth it?’
The Cackle Era
To me, The Cackle Era is about confidence without apology. It’s about women laughing louder, living bigger, and backing themselves fully. That means treating money as power, not taboo. It means refusing to pay the hidden cost of avoidance. And it means protecting our energy as fiercely as our bank balance.
The revolution isn’t just in how loudly we cackle, it’s’s in how confidently we claim both our money and our energy as ours to manage, spend, and grow.
Closing thoughts
Money has long been used as a tool to control women. It’s time we flip that. Financial education is not a luxury – it is survival, freedom, and power.
So, as we enter The Cackle Era, I want every woman reading this to know that you don’t need permission to be powerful. You simply need to start with one choice, one account check, one saving habit.
Trust me your future self will thank you.
Beth Clay
Beth is a certified holistic financial coach and mentor based in Dubai. She founded Financed Well to help people transform their money mindset and achieve financial goals with clarity and confidence. With expertise in financial coaching, financial PR, and over a decade in employee engagement, she advocates for integrating financial education into the workplace. Through workshops, masterclasses, and 1-2-1 coaching, Beth supports individuals and organisations to reduce stress, boost wellbeing, and build lasting confidence with money.
