6 Queer-Friendly Financial Advisors to Help You Survive (and Thrive) Under Capitalism

As a freelancer, there’s hardly a day that goes by when I don’t have to think about money. And until something better comes along, us queer folks have to find ways to get by under capitalism without compromising our values.

For some of us, that might look like living in a housing co-op, supporting mutual aid projects, or choosing ethical investments.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you stop and read the book I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt by Madeline Pendleton. It’s the story of how she went from struggling with student loans to running a worker-owned business that pays everyone a universal wage:

Whether you’re creating your very first budget, or have savings that you want to spend or invest, here are six financial advisors or coaches that specifically work with queer clients and/or take a queer-informed perspective to their work:

Be Intentional Financial

Be Intentional Financial is a personal finance site run by River Nice that takes a queer, anticapitalist approach to money. You can watch the recap of workshops like “How to buy a house outside the nuclear family” or download a free budget planner to help you pay down debt or work toward a financial goal.

The Take Control of Your Money course runs for 12 weeks with 2-hour Zoom calls and an ongoing Signal chat between sessions. You’ll learn how to budget, plan for emergencies, understand property and investments, and more.

The full course costs $1997, with Reparative pricing starting at $50 for Black and Indigenous participants. The course is for people who have enough money to get by, need help with financial literacy, and aren’t “trying to get rich quickly or at other people's expense.” Schedule a free fit check to see if it’s right for you.

Query Capital

Query Capital is a financial advisory firm “rooted in queer wisdom.” It was started by Landon Tan in 2019, and primarily works with “queer and trans people in their late 20s to early 40s who are starting to have some money to worry about.”

Query Capital can help you with everything from budgeting and investing, to taxes, retirement accounts, and self-employment income. You’ll have a free introductory chat with Landon, four weekly meetings to develop your financial plan, and three ongoing meetings per year to help you stick to it.

They also have a helpful newsletter diving into topics like the Four Paradigms of Joint Finances among queer partnerships:

Query Capital offers a sliding scale fees based on wealth and income. You can plug your own income and assets into the pricing calculator to see how much you’d be charged for working with them. Book an introductory chat to get started.

Whisper Financial

Whisper Financial is run by Ginger, a Certified Financial Planner™, who focuses on collaborative financial planning for “transitional moments”. This might include a relocation, career change, or another big transformation in your life.

The Amethyst Program includes shadow work, visioning, and other introspective activities to help you deal with practical things like cash flow and retirement.

You can also hire Whisper Taxes for standalone tax prep services.

Queer & Trans Wealth

Queer & Trans Wealth offers financial coaching with the goal of “increasing the financial literacy and economic empowerment of queer and trans communities across the U.S.” You can get one-on-one coaching with Leo for $225/hour, or couples coaching (polyamorous or monogamous) for $450 for two hours.

Leo also offers group programs, such as “Budgeting for a World on Fire,” which includes a series of workshops over 6 months, as well as coworking time to help you sit down and get your finances in order. Prices start at $375, and there are payment plans and BIPOC scholarships available.

Empathic Finance

Empathic Finance is a queer-friendly financial coaching service run by Mike Pumphrey, an Accredited Financial Counselor^®who thinks of money as an “emotional challenge masquerading as a math problem.”

Mike specializes in working with clients who aren’t well-served by mainstream financial coaches, such as therapists and other helping professionals. Mike also focuses on working with people who practice polyamory, and have to navigate finances with one or more non-monogamous partner.

Individual coaching starts at $497 for a 2-hour session. Or, you can sign up for M-Path, an 8-week small group session to help you change your money mindset.

Divergent Wealth

For our Australian readers — or queer people thinking of moving to Australia — Divergent Wealth can help you navigate superannuation, life insurance, tax and investment planning, and buying your first home. Founded by Angelo Baronessa, Divergent Wealth focuses on the unique needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

Angelo has appeared on Joy Media to discuss things like cohabitation, joint bank accounts, and whether debt gets transferred in a de facto relationship.

To get started, you can book a free intro call, and schedule subsequent sessions online, or in Sydney or Melbourne.

Making money as a queer person can be challenging — especially when we keep getting kicked off of platforms left and right. I love it when queer creators break down exactly how they make it work — like in this behind-the-scenes post from Lex Roman at Revenue Rulebreaker.

Learn how much money Lex makes from subscription revenue, sponsorships, and speaking fees — and see whether starting a paid newsletter is right for you: