Exclusive: Haley Sacks, a.k.a. Mrs. Dow Jones, Says It's 'Amazing to Help People' Learn About Finance: 'I Feel Lucky'

Haley Sacks, also known as Mrs. Dow Jones, had no idea she would become a Zillennial Finance Expert who posts videos for her 1 million followers on Instagram about top money mistakes to avoid and how to make smart money decisions in general.

"It feels amazing to get to help people. Even at my recent Amex event, I helped someone open a Roth IRA while we were standing there. It really is something I'm passionate about. Women haven't been taught that much about money, and the data around women investing shows that women are actually better investors than me — we just get to it later and we feel less confident. It's not a matter of are we smart enough, it's a confidence thing. Any way to empower women to do it is so important because money is power, and the only way we're going to have equal power in this world is if we have equal money. That means we have to find ways to maximize our finances," the money guru exclusively tells Morning Honey while chatting about how American Express® Rewards Checking can help you bank smarter.

Over the years, ever since Sacks created her Instagram and TikTok pages, she's been inundated with financial advice, but she still remains humble about the success she's achieved thus far.

"I'm Mrs. Dow Jones, but I like to say, we're all Mrs. Dow Jones! It's a movement, and it's something we're all part of and the community is what makes it strong. All you can do is motivate someone or inspire them a little but, but I'm not taking the action from people. I can't take the credit for anyone moving forward in their financial lives — that's something they're doing for themselves, which is so powerful and positive. Getting to be part of that is incredible. I'm always giving credit to the individual because it's really them taking control of their lives and deciding that it starts now," she says. "They're going to be living their most financially free and empowered lives now."

Since Sacks was "never taught" about finance, she was astonished to learn about a 401(k) and health insurance when she was working at her first full-time job in New York City. "I was like, 'I don't know any of this.' I went online to try to learn about it, as any self-restricting millennial would do, and what I found was information geared toward me, which was all about investing," she recalls.

"The content toward women was focused on budgeting and scrimping pennies and cutting back instead of seeing ourselves as maximizers who are capable of growing wealth and living a really rich life," she continues. "I didn't see the content or the person that I wanted to learn money from that was inspiring me. In that moment, I decided to become her and it just clicked for me. It ended up being the best decision I've ever made because now I get to wake up every day and help people, and honestly, they help me. It goes both ways. I feel lucky that I get to do what I do. I'm so glad and excited people trust me to guide them in that way. It's been fun to grow my audience. When I walk around New York, I meet people who follow me, which is so exciting."

Sacks is happy to change the conversation about finance since its previously "come with a lot of shame."

"They don't like talking about death, s-- or money, and through growing the Mrs. Dow Jones platform, what I've seen is that people are talking about money. They come up to me, they tell me their stories, they're open about it and they're making changes," she says. "It shows you that you just need that little nudge or to see people doing it and it inspires you to do it yourself."

Additionally, Sacks is adamant that she never "gives bad advice," as "everything about Mrs. Dow Jones is of the highest caliber."

"We put quality over quantity, and we're really here to be a trusted voice in this space," she states. "When I talk to people, that's what they talk about. They talk about that trust, and that's so important to me. We want our lives to be amazing, our relationships to be amazing, we want to love our jobs, we want everything to be above average, but when it comes to growing wealth, average is good. We want average return from the stock market, right? We're not looking for something crazy. We're just looking for average returns and great tools that we can use to help and support us on that journey."

Fortunately, Sacks isn't going anywhere. "I want to be Mrs. Dow Jones forever!" she quips. "As I grow the account, the content will grow as I go through life phases," she says. "I want kids and I want to get married, so all of that will bring new content. But in the immediate future, I'm really focused on writing my book, which will be a go-to resource for anyone who wants to improve their finances. I'm starting that now, which is really exciting. I would love to grow my team, too — but also balance because money is meant to be enjoyed! It's so important to make sure that while you're working hard, you're also taking time for yourself and making sure you're reaching your own personal goals, too."

Since Sacks is all about making smart money decisions, her partnership with Amex was a no-brainer. "I've been working with American Express for a few years now, which has been incredible. I love the American Express® Rewards Checking account, which is an amazing way to maximize your money. The checking account offers a 1.00 percent APY, which is about 10 times more than the national average rate for checking accounts. You can earn membership reward points on eligible debit credit purchases. There's no monthly maintenance fee and there's no minimum balance required. It's also so helpful because it's all in the Amex app, so by getting your rewards Rewards Checking account, you can log into the Amex app and you're able to check your checking account, your credit card statement and your savings account all in one place. It makes it a lot easier to manage your money, maximize your time and maximize your finances."