120 women interviewed · 87 included in this analysis · Updated September 14, 2026

What accomplished women really want from their money.

A data-led story of the outcomes women described, the barriers they face, and what those patterns suggest for serving them well.

Explore the findings What the themes mean

Karen Darby, WMCP® · Wealth advisor, researcher & creator of Life by Design

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn

I created Life by Design because I believe women deserve a more meaningful conversation about wealth: how we create it, protect it, use it, and become intentional stewards of it.

Over four years, I designed and conducted 120 original interviews with high-achieving women to understand how they define financial freedom, what they want their money to make possible, and what they believe may be standing in the way.

From the 87 usable interviews available for systematic analysis, I developed a coded research foundation identifying the most recurring outcomes, constraints, and tensions. This site presents that work, my interpretation of what it means, and the framework I am building from it.

What I believe

Financial freedom is not reaching a point where you never face another trade-off. It is having the clarity, agency, and financial understanding to make those trade-offs intentionally.

I do not believe a fulfilling life requires managing everything perfectly. Money should be aligned with the goals and outcomes you want from your life, not accumulated without a clear purpose.

I am using these findings to develop a framework that helps women clarify what they want, identify what feels vulnerable, distinguish facts from fears and assumptions, create greater stability, and put their priorities into action. My hope is that this work inspires women to stop waiting for perfect circumstances and begin creating more fulfilling lives with the resources they have today.

01 · Research findings

Security and family support define the center of gravity.

Participant-level prevalence from completed coding. Categories are ranked from highest to lowest and may overlap.

89%want security and stability

83%want family security and opportunity

53%want money to support experiences and enjoyment

45%surface relationship or agency needs

What money should make possible

Desired outcomes

01Safety & Stability89%

02Family Security & Opportunity83%

03Experiences & Enjoyment53%

04Relationships & Agency45%

05Purpose & Meaning37%

06Career Flexibility & Entrepreneurship36%

07Time Autonomy28%

08Generosity & Legacy25%

09Health & Later-Life Care24%

10Choice & Independence23%

11Home & Lifestyle22%

12Freedom from Worry17%

13Confidence & Education1%

What stands in the way

Directional signals

01Debt22%

02Fear or Risk Aversion20%

03Resource Constraints20%

04Work or Benefits Dependence15%

05Social or Family Expectations14%

06Caregiving Demands13%

07Clarity or Confidence Gap13%

08Time Scarcity13%

09Health or Life Uncertainty13%

10Persistent Worry or Scarcity6%

11Execution Gap5%

12Spending Misalignment5%

13Relationship or Financial Dependence3%

14Self-Prioritization or Guilt1%

Constraints were not captured as consistently as desired outcomes. Read these as recurring signals, not a complete ranking of what prevents women from acting.

What the desired outcomes mean

Each category represents a cluster of related priorities.

These examples clarify the coding without treating overlapping life goals as mutually exclusive. Time with family, for example, appears primarily under time autonomy while also supporting family and relationship goals.

Safety & Stability

89%

Dependable financial footing
Confidence about the future
Less day-to-day money worry

Family Security & Opportunity

83%

Supporting children and loved ones
Education and future opportunities
Helping family without losing stability

Experiences & Enjoyment

53%

Travel and new experiences
Enjoying life in the present
Celebrations and meaningful memories

Relationships & Agency

45%

A voice in financial decisions
Healthy boundaries around support
Options within relationships

Purpose & Meaning

37%

Doing more meaningful work
Contributing to causes that matter
Aligning money with personal values

Career Flexibility & Entrepreneurship

36%

Starting or growing a business
Changing careers or reducing hours
Leaving work that no longer fits

Time Autonomy

28%

More time with family
Control over one’s schedule
Less pressure from competing demands

Generosity & Legacy

25%

Giving to family or community
Passing on assets and values
Creating generational opportunity

Health & Later-Life Care

24%

Access to quality care
Preparing for health changes
Maintaining dignity and choice later

Choice & Independence

23%

Making decisions without dependence
Having options when life changes
The ability to say yes—or no

Home & Lifestyle

22%

A home that supports daily life
Living in a preferred community
Comfort without financial strain

Freedom from Worry

17%

Less mental load around money
Feeling prepared for the unexpected
Greater peace of mind

Confidence & Education

Building financial knowledge
Feeling informed before deciding
Growing confidence with money

What gets in the way

A recurring tension is change without losing security.

Debt is the most frequently coded constraint. Resource limits and risk aversion are tied next. Together, these patterns suggest that support should address both financial capacity and confidence about change—not assume that hesitation is only emotional. Because barriers were discussed less consistently, this interpretation is more tentative than the desired-outcomes analysis.

22%Debt

20%Fear or Risk Aversion

20%Resource Constraints

15%Work or Benefits Dependence

14%Social or Family Expectations

13%Caregiving Demands

Practical obstacles

Debt competes with saving, investing, and life goals
Income, benefits, and caregiving create real dependencies
Limited time leaves important decisions unresolved

Underlying fears

Making a financial decision they will regret
Leaving security too soon or starting a business and failing
Spending now and discovering the money was needed later

Where discomfort lives

Admitting uncertainty despite professional success
Balancing personal desires with responsibility for others
Acting without perfect certainty or complete control

Karen's planning perspective

Lead with confident decisions—not simply more wealth.

“Can I make this choice without destabilizing everything else?”

Offer clarity without judgment, show scenarios instead of all-or-nothing choices, and demonstrate how women can protect what they have built while creating more of the life they want.

Not every participant explicitly named a primary barrier, and the interviews did not elicit constraints as consistently as desired outcomes. Percentages show recurring coded patterns across the 87 interviews; categories may overlap.

Methodology & limitations

How to read the findings

Source

Karen interviewed 120 women. This analysis uses 87 usable participant interviews represented in 93 source sections, with 6 sections excluded. Updated September 14, 2026.

Measure

Percentages show participant-level theme prevalence; categories may overlap. Constraints were captured less consistently than desired outcomes.

Use

Directional qualitative findings, not population estimates or causal claims. Coding methods differ across batches, which may affect category rates.

Audience limit

Income and investable assets were not verified in the interview data.

02 · Conversations

Five conversations that create greater clarity.

These topics translate the research into questions women can use to explore what security, freedom, and possibility mean in their own lives. They are applications of the findings, not additional research conclusions.

0189%

Security & Stability

Turn professional success into durable personal security.

You built the career. Does your financial life support the life behind it?

A tool to exploreWealth and Life Security Scorecard

0283%

Family Security & Support

Protect family without sacrificing your own future.

How do you support the people you love without becoming the plan for everyone?

A tool to exploreFamily Boundary Planner

0353%

Life Now + Later

Fund meaningful experiences now as well as later.

Can your plan make room for the experiences you keep postponing?

A tool to exploreLife-Now Funding Guide

0445%

Agency & Optionality

Create visibility, voice, and contingency options.

Would you know what to do if every financial decision became yours tomorrow?

A tool to exploreFinancial Agency Checklist

0537%

Purpose, Contribution & Your Next Chapter

Design what comes after the role without giving up identity, relevance, or meaningful contribution.

If your title and current responsibilities changed, what would you still want to contribute—and what would you finally have room to pursue?

A tool to exploreYour Next Chapter: Purpose & Contribution Planner

A path from insight to action

Move from a private question to an informed next step.

Notice

What feels important now?

Name the tension

Explore

What should money make possible?

Define the desired life

Clarify

What is fact, assumption, or unknown?

Understand vulnerability

Design

What financial structure could support it?

Build a flexible path

Evolve

What has changed—and what matters next?

Keep life and money aligned

A boundary of the research

Income and investable assets were not verified in the interview data. These findings describe the women interviewed and should not be treated as measured conclusions about all high-income or high-achieving women.

03 · From insight to action

A framework for aligning money with the life it is meant to support.

I am using these findings to develop a process that begins before traditional financial planning: clarify the life you want, identify what feels vulnerable, separate facts from assumptions, create greater stability, and translate priorities into action. The LIFE framework is a recommendation inspired by the research, not a tested outcome of it.

Phase L

Listen & Define Enough

Translate achievement into a specific desired life.

Core question: What must money make possible? What is enough? Who depends on you?
Deliverable: Life-by-Design Brief

Phase I

Inventory & Integrate

See the whole financial system and its primary friction.

Core question: What do you own, owe, protect, support, and need access to?
Deliverable: Freedom Baseline & Risk Map

Phase F

Fund Freedom

Connect resources to life outcomes and explicit trade-offs.

Core question: What is funded now? What must change? What can be staged?
Deliverable: Freedom Funding Plan

Phase E

Execute & Evolve

Turn the plan into owned, dated action and keep it aligned.

Core question: What happens in 30, 60, and 90 days? What could stall progress?
Deliverable: 90-Day Roadmap + Quarterly Review

What to measure

A client experience that proves alignment—not just activity.

Priority clarityCan the client state what matters most?
Funded priority coverageDo agreed goals have a funded path?
90-day action completionAre owners and blockers visible?
Life-plan alignmentDoes the client feel money supports her desired life?