Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Beese

Hi Kristine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

The first time I went to a financial advisor at a bank, I left feeling incredibly small and insignificant. Disappointingly, this is not an experience unique to me. My name is Kristine Beese, P.Eng. and I am the CEO and founder of Untangle Money.

At the time, I worked as an engineer and ran my own boutique consulting company in the oil and gas industry. I was making incredible money for my age and felt like there was something I was supposed to do with my money, like an elusive ‘right way’ to manage it, and I was trying to figure out what that was. I assumed that I could get the answers I was looking for from my bank. Sadly, I didn’t understand the options that the financial advisor gave me, at least not well enough to be confident investing in them, and he didn’t answer my questions.

After this disastrous meeting, I was determined to figure money out and I went on to read every financial book I could get my hands on. I also set my sights on a career change to Capital Markets. After I completed my MBA I joined Canada’s largest bank on their trading floor, later I became a Stock Analyst, and after that, I started investing money for wealthy Canadians.

It was only when my friend told me that her marriage was breaking down, and asked me if I could help her understand if she could afford to get a divorce, that I remembered how ill-equipped I felt to handle my finances before I joined the industry. This was the start of Untangle Money. Untangle Money is the company I founded to give women an alternative to banks, where they can get the financial literacy and financial roadmap they need to make the best decisions for themselves. To show women what they could do with their money, not what they should do with their money.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

One of the obstacles I faced was getting people to recognize the problem we’re solving is valid. People either don’t know, or don’t believe, that women have different financial lives than men, and they also don’t know or don’t believe that women require different financial tools because of this.

Caroline Criado Perez outlines in her book, ‘Invisible Women’, that when we disaggregate data by gender, we usually get two distinctive peaks that we should design around. As an engineer, the example she shares that is the most disturbing is around car safety: A car that has a 5-star safety rating when a man is driving, only has a 2-star safety rating when a woman is driving. This is due to several factors: the woman is usually sitting closer to the steering wheel, and this is deemed an ‘atypical seat position’. Crash test dummies are based on male anatomy and safety standards are based on these results. An important place where this comes into play is seatbelt design. Seat belts are designed to catch on the hip bones. But since women have children, our hip bones are much wider and don’t stand as high beyond our legs when seated, so when we are in a car crash, rather than catching on our hip bones, the seatbelt catches on our spine, severing many of our internal organs.

You can see from this example, that not including women’s data in design has very real, and very dangerous implications for women. While these are unintended impacts, they are no less real.

Similar things happen when it comes to women’s money. Women have statistically very different financial lives. Bank of America shows that women earn a million dollars LESS throughout their careers. As a professional investor, I see these graphs and I realize that I can’t invest women’s money using the same strategy that I can use for men, and that’s because of this deficit in earnings.

Example/graphs sent separately via email.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

Untangle Money’s goal is to get a financial plan into the hands of one million women in the next 4 years.

Our hero product is our Untangle MINI. Think of it like a combination of your financial health checkup and your financial compass. The Untangle MINI shows you where you stand today, and teaches you about the changes you can make if you want to be safely in the driver’s seat. We focus you on your two most important money metrics so that you’re not adding to your mental load. And we do not shame you or judge the way you spend your money.

And just like a compass points you to your north from one position, once you walk some distance, you will want to check in with your compass to ensure you’re still heading in the right direction. The same is true for your money journey. You’ll want to check in with your Untangle MINI every year to ensure you’re still heading in the right direction for the current version of you.

Proudly, the Untangle MINI works. We’re seeing a 30% reduction in women’s financial anxiety, which is women’s number one source of stress.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?

Books:

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez (any book by her to be honest).
Say Less, Get More by Fotini Iconomopoulous
Mother of Invention and Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner by Katrine Marcal
Worry-Free Money, Debt-Free Living and No-Regret Decisions by Shannon Lee Simmons
A Random Walk Down Wall Street – Burton G Malkiel (more advanced)
Couples that Work by Jennifer Petriglieri (for duel-income couples)
+ all the books from the first season of The Story of Women.

You can learn more about Untangle Money’s recommended books here:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFveA7pPlU/hSvXR2yCQ1i45qHHyYiNfA/view?utm_content=DAFveA7pPlU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

Podcasts:

The Story of Women hosted by Anna Stoecklein
The Purse Podcast hosted by Jana Hlistova

I wish I could list them all!! I consume a lot of podcasts and books – these are just a drop in the bucket.

Pricing:

• Untangle MINI Consierge: $499 CAD
• Untangle MINI Self-Led: $149 CAD

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.untangle.money
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untanglemoney/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/UntangleMoney
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@untanglemoney
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/untanglemoney/

Image Credits
Will provide this via email.