In this Interview series, we want to feature amazing and inspiring women who are willing to talk about money. Our goal is to break the taboo around money, share experiences and learn from the community. Please see examples here.

Hello Gaelle!

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi! I am Gaelle, from Belgian, and living in London for 2.5 years now. Absolutely in love with this city, I am passionate about travel and enjoy meeting new people and discovering new places.

I worked for 4 years in the automotive sector before creating my own company, Girls on Travel, empowering and connecting solo women travellers.

What inspired you to launch Girls on Travel?

I met a lot of new people when I arrived here as I was new to the place. Thanks to Facebook groups, I would meet girls for coffee, museum or brunch. One day we were talking about travel and one girl told me she wasn’t sure she would go away that year as she didn’t have a companion. Travelling is my passion, so after some research and realising you had hardly any travel companies for women only, that’s when I started!

What are you passionate about?

I think by now it is pretty clear, but travelling is a big one! Especially discovering new cultures and meeting new people. It really broadens your mind. Empowering women is a big one as well.

What was the biggest lesson you learnt in your career?

Resilience! Starting your own business is really hard and you have to find that motivation and keep that persistence through tough times. That’s what will make or break a business.

What’s your relationship like with money and personal finance?

Being an entrepreneur means that my savings go into my business, so every penny needs to be carefully invested and monitored. I now have to be a lot more money minded than I was before. On the personal side this also means I cannot afford as much as before, but I am working towards it!

What does financial independence mean to you?

The freedom to be able to pursue my dreams in a more relaxed way.

What’s the one thing you indulge in?

You didn’t guess? Travels haha! And maybe wine as well.

What is the best financial decision you have ever made? And what is the greatest long term investment?

I don’t believe that in 50+ years we will be able to rely on governments for pensions, so that’s the first thing I did when I started working: a private pension. I am saving to be able to buy a flat at some point.

Have you ever experienced a financial epiphany? A sort of wake-up call, where you suddenly think - “I must start doing things differently”?

Actually I did, during your workshop! I realised I needed to be a lot more educated about it and make more decisions. I’ve now started to invest in startups.

What is Vestpod for you?

A smart community empowering women with financial education - so helpful!

Own up. Have you made any major financial faux-pas?

Investing in crypto currencies at the worst time! I’m being patient and hoping it goes back up in the coming years…

What do you wish you had done earlier in terms of financial planning?

I wish I had been educated about it earlier. I received some inheritance when I was younger and nobody advised me on anything. So it just stayed on my account for years, which also means I have been losing money for years. My sisters are 20 and I am now trying to educate them about this so they make smart decisions with money.

Favourite book & podcast?

Book: Man’s Search for Meaning by V.E. Frankl, a classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust.

Podcast: How I Built This from NPR. They talk about every phase a successful entrepreneur had with their startup including all the ups and downs