Tanjaย Hesterย retired early from a career in political and social change communications, and journalism before that, to devote all her time to purpose-driven projects. Called the โmatriarch of the FIRE (financial independence/retire early) movementโ byย The New York Timesย and a โfemale financial influencer you should be followingโ byย US News,ย Tanjaย has used her leadership position within the personal finance media community to push for more social and environmental awareness, more diversity and inclusion, and more philanthropy, not simply wealth accumulation. She draws on her journalism background to research how best to incorporate values into financial decisions.
Tanjaย is the author of the award-winning bookย Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way, called โthe best step-by-step guide to retire earlyโ by MarketWatch, she writes the award-winning blog Our Next Life, and she cohosts The Fairer Cents, an economics podcast about women and financial inequality. She is a columnist for MarketWatch, and has spoken at Google, Tesla, and conferences around the world.