Sarah Kim on Why Financial Freedom Starts With Choice

Retirement can look very different depending on who is imagining it. For one woman, it means finally leaving a demanding career. For another, it means traveling, helping her children buy their first homes, or knowing she could rebuild her life after losing a spouse. The financial question is the same: How much money will it take? The answer, however, depends on the life she wants to lead.

Sarah Kim, Certified Financial Planner and founder of Girls Just Gotta Have Funds, a women-focused financial services company located in California's San Francisco Bay Area, has built her career around helping women navigate complex financial decisions, from retirement planning and investment management to major life decisions.

Too often, she argues, advisors start with the numbers on the investment statements and retirement figures before understanding what clients want their money to make possible. Her approach reverses the process, working backwards from personal ambitions and values to establish what those goals will cost and how to fund them.

"In my opinion, financial freedom is all about being able to leave a bad relationship or quit a high-stress job you don't like anymore," Kim explains. "It's being able to make choices out of confidence versus fear."

She has worked with clients who, after completing a financial plan, gained greater clarity about their available options and retirement timing. "Sometimes the most important financial discovery isn't about making more money. It's realizing you already have enough," she states.

For women approaching retirement, that can carry particular weight. A long marriage, a successful career, or a substantial investment portfolio cannot guarantee that life will unfold as expected. Kim encourages clients to imagine their lives a decade ahead, whether that means enjoying retirement with their grandchildren or moving somewhere new, and then build a plan around that vision. Giving a financial goal personal meaning, she believes, makes people more willing to take the steps required to achieve it.

Kim sees a recurring misconception among clients at different income levels. People often assume that earning more automatically brings them closer to financial independence, yet higher salaries can bring higher spending, too.

Lifestyle creep, as this pattern is known, has the potential to absorb every pay rise. Upgraded hotels, expensive dinners, fancier cars, and everyday luxuries become routine, leaving little money available for long-term goals. Kim has worked with clients earning $500,000 annually who spend even more than they bring home.

Her starting point is a simple account of income against expenses. Once clients see what they are spending in black and white, something shifts. She says, "They realize they are spending thousands of dollars on things that don't really matter, like food delivery services, online shopping, and ride-share services. If you don't direct your money toward a goal, then it's just going to get spent on stuff you probably don't need."

Financial independence also requires preparation for circumstances that cannot be forecast. Kim warns against treating an expected inheritance as guaranteed wealth or assuming a spouse will always be available to manage household finances. A sudden bereavement can leave someone facing major financial decisions while grieving.

"Life can change in a heartbeat," Kim says. "If your spouse were to experience a sudden heart attack tomorrow, would you know what to do?" She recommends knowing where accounts are held and having contact details for financial advisors, accountants, and bankers, even if someone else normally handles the investments.

Kim's commitment to accessible financial education grew out of an unlikely career change. At 25, she left her job as a T-shirt buyer for a well-known retailer to join her father's financial planning business. She soon discovered that conventional financial seminars were unlikely to excite her friends.

"They were all very navy blue and white and boring and dry," she recalls. "I thought, 'I have to figure out how to get my girlfriends to listen to me talk about this stuff.'" Her solution was creating Girls Just Gotta Have Funds, a program designed to make financial conversations more inviting. She says, "I wanted to do something more fun, so I started hosting workshops called Wine, Women, and Wealth, and client events such as our annual Valentine's Tea Party. Now, two decades later, we are still facilitating these events that unite women through personal connections, fostering a supportive community where questions can be asked openly and without judgment."

Kim realizes that financial terminology can make even capable professionals feel excluded, while debt and past financial mistakes can carry a heavy burden of shame. She compares the relationship between a client and financial advisor to one between a patient and doctor: honest answers depend on the willingness to disclose the problem.

"If I don't know what the problem is, I can't tell you the way out," she says. That openness becomes important as women approach retirement and begin questioning whether their savings will support the lives they envision. Financial education can equip them with information, but it must also give them the confidence to use it.

Kim wants younger women to develop a more practical relationship with investing early in life. Even modest monthly contributions can benefit from time in the market, while early experience can make investment decisions feel less intimidating later. Starting sooner, she adds, gives young investors more time to learn, build habits, and understand the decisions shaping their financial futures. She says, "I love helping children understand that investing means owning a piece of a business. Looking at companies where your kids like to eat, play, or spend time can be a great place to start. From there, we can teach them about diversification, long-term investing, and building wealth over time."

Kim's philosophy ultimately returns to the same question she asks clients at the beginning of a financial plan. She states, "I often ask my clients, 'What do you want your money to make possible?'"

The answer, she finds, will differ from one woman to another, particularly across generations and stages of life. Yet the underlying ambition remains consistent. Financial security should give people room to change direction, leave circumstances that no longer serve them, and face uncertainty with greater confidence.

"I want women to always feel confident if they choose to change their path in life. I want them to know that if they make a different choice and walk out the door, they will still be okay," Kim remarks. Financial independence isn't simply about reaching a number; it's about having the resources, knowledge, and confidence to live life on your own terms. Money, in her view, earns its real value when it gives people the freedom to decide what comes next.

Disclaimer:

For informational and educational purposes only. This is not investment, tax, or legal advice. Securities and investment advisory services offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investors Services, LLC, Member SIPC. Supervisory Office: 6701 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 140, Pleasanton, CA 94566 (925) 979-2300. Girls Just Gotta Have Funds is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors Services, LLC, or its affiliated companies. CRN202910-11115179