The Clever Girls Know Podcast With Bola Sokunbi

Hard work can help you earn more money and build financial security, but hard work alone won't make you wealthy. At some point, building real wealth requires a shift in how you think about money, risk, time, opportunity, investing, and even yourself.
After more than a decade of helping women improve their finances, and through my own journey from aggressively saving my first $100,000 to investing, building a business, and creating multiple pillars of wealth, I've learned that every new financial level can require something different from you. 
What you'll learn:
Five identity shifts that can become increasingly important as you build wealth.
How being overly afraid of losing money can keep you from taking smart, calculated risks
Why struggle is not proof that you deserve success
How old financial identities can keep you stuck
Why your decisions need to reflect where you're going instead of only where you've been
And why earning more money alone isn't enough to create lasting wealth
Because the habits that help you save your first $10,000 may not be the same habits that help you build your first $500,000. And sometimes the next financial decision isn't difficult because the math is complicated. It's difficult because it requires you to see yourself differently.
 
Latest Book - Clever Girl Millionaire; A Guide to Redefining What's Possible, Turning Ambitions into Actions, and Dreams into Millions - Available to order now
 
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here: https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance

After nearly 20 years of investing through market highs, crashes, uncertainty, and everything in between, the biggest investing lessons I've learned have surprisingly little to do with picking the right stocks or predicting the market. They have much more to do with patience, consistency, managing risk, understanding market volatility, and learning how to stay invested when your emotions are telling you to do something else.
What you'll learn:
What nearly two decades of investing have taught me about building long-term wealth
Why compounding can feel incredibly boring before it becomes powerful
Why your relationship with risk should change as your life changes
And why you don't need to predict the stock market to become a successful long-term investor
And one of the most important things I've learned is this: investing isn't only a financial skill. It's a behavioral one. If you're investing for retirement, working toward financial independence, building generational wealth, or simply trying to become a more confident investor, I hope these lessons help you think beyond what to invest in and focus on the habits that can actually keep you investing for decades.
 
Latest Book - Clever Girl Millionaire; A Guide to Redefining What's Possible, Turning Ambitions into Actions, and Dreams into Millions - Available to order now
 
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here: https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance

On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Esther Bangura, a UK-based neurodivergent money coach, researcher, and podcast host, for an important conversation about managing money with ADHD and neurodivergence.
After receiving an ADHD diagnosis as an adult, Esther began to understand that many of the financial challenges she had experienced including debt, avoidance, overwhelm, and stress spending, weren't simply about a lack of discipline. That realization transformed the way she approached her own finances and ultimately shaped the work she does today helping neurodivergent adults build calmer, shame-free money systems.
In this episode, Esther shares how neurodivergence can affect financial behaviors, why traditional budgeting and willpower-based advice may not work for everyone, and practical ways to use automation, simplification, and personalized systems to make managing money easier and more sustainable.
What Esther Discussed on the Podcast:
What neurodivergence means and how it can influence money management.
How her adult ADHD diagnosis changed the way she understood her past financial struggles.
Why difficulty managing money isn't always a discipline or willpower problem.
The impact of executive function, emotional regulation, and overwhelm on financial behaviors.
Understanding financial avoidance and practical ways to interrupt the cycle.
Strategies for creating a pause between an impulse to spend and making a purchase.
What a more neurodivergent-friendly approach to budgeting can look like.
Using automation, separate accounts, reminders, and visual cues to reduce the mental load of managing money.
Addressing debt without allowing shame to prevent financial progress.
Recognizing when a financial system needs more consistency versus when the system simply isn't a good fit.
Creating a calmer relationship with money for anyone who has internalized the belief that they're "bad with money."
AND SO MUCH MORE
 
How to Keep Up With Esther:
Follow Esther Bangura on Instagram: @bossofmymoney
Learn more about Esther Bangura and her work: estherbangura.com
Tune into her podcast - Neurodivergent Money Management: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzXmbU6LwVtMF3DmJcBGm
Latest Book - Clever Girl Millionaire; A Guide to Redefining What's Possible, Turning Ambitions into Actions, and Dreams into Millions - Available to order now
 
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here: https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance

What do financially successful women have in common?
After more than a decade of building Clever Girl Finance and speaking with hundreds of women who have built significant wealth, I've noticed something: they didn't all start in the same place, follow the same investing strategy, or build wealth at the same age. But there is one trait I see again and again: they take ownership of building their wealth.
In this episode, I'm breaking down what that actually looks like and four behaviors you can start practicing in your own financial life.
What you'll learn:
The #1 trait I've consistently observed in financially successful women
Why taking ownership of your finances does not mean knowing everything about money
Why wealthy women aren't afraid to ask questions or admit what they don't know
How financially successful women think about risk, investing, career opportunities, and entrepreneurship
Why understanding both the potential downside and upside matters when making financial decisions
How playing the long game can help your saving, investing, income, and financial decisions compound over time
Why building wealth isn't about being fearless or financially perfect 
How to become a more active participant in your own financial future 
Building wealth isn't one perfect decision or one lucky break. It's learning, making informed decisions, taking calculated risks, adjusting when life changes, and staying in the game long enough for your decisions to compound.
 
Latest Book - Clever Girl Millionaire; A Guide to Redefining What's Possible, Turning Ambitions into Actions, and Dreams into Millions - Available to order now
 
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here: https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance

On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Lara Olutunbi, Founder and Creative Director of LarAllan, a London-based contemporary handbag brand known for timeless statement pieces that blend sculptural design, functionality, and African heritage.
Originally from Nigeria, Lara built an international career in financial services across the UK, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States before turning a lifelong passion for design into a business. 
After training at Central Saint Martins and completing the Fashion Executive Masterclass through the London School of Economics and Africa Fashion Week London, she founded LarAllan in 2017. Since then, the brand has earned international recognition through Nordstrom.com, the ADAN x Zalando Black-Owned Brands Accelerator, CANEX, and other global fashion platforms.
In this episode, Lara shares how she made the transition from finance to fashion, the realities of building and growing a product-based business, the financial lessons that have shaped her as an entrepreneur, and why creating greater visibility for African luxury is such an important part of her work.
 
What Lara Discussed on the Podcast:
Her journey from an international career in financial services to founding LarAllan.
Turning a lifelong passion for design into a viable fashion business through education and preparation.
The early realities of launching a handbag brand, from funding and manufacturing to product development and finding customers.
The challenges of building and growing an independent luxury accessories brand.
Financial lessons around pricing, inventory, cash flow, and deciding where to invest in the business.
How her finance background shaped her approach to risk, growth, and strategic decision-making.
What a career in finance couldn't prepare her for about entrepreneurship.
Creating opportunities that led to international recognition and retail placement on Nordstrom.com.
How to evaluate opportunities and say no when something doesn't make financial or strategic sense.
What African luxury means to her and the importance of increasing its visibility within the global fashion industry.
The decisions and lessons that have shaped nearly a decade of building LarAllan.
Advice for women who want to explore a creative business idea without immediately walking away from an established career.
AND SO MUCH MORE
 
How to Keep Up With Lara:
Shop on Website: https://LarAllan.com  and on Nordstrom.com
Instagram: @larallan
 
Latest Book - Clever Girl Millionaire; A Guide to Redefining What's Possible, Turning Ambitions into Actions, and Dreams into Millions - Available to order now
 
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here: https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance