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Money Proud: The Queer Guide to Generate Wealth, Slay Debt, and Build Good Habits to Secure Your Future ― A Practical Step-by-Step Personal Finance Guide
From “the authority queer consumers need” (Daniel Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Out), Out magazine finance columnist Nick Wolny’s fun, witty, and practical step-by-step guide to personal finance—a life-changing roadmap to financial independence for queer people to secure their futures in a challenging world.
When Nick Wolny became a personal finance editor, he noticed how often typical money advice clashed with the exuberance of queer culture. Once he dug deeper, Nick identified why certain financial obstacles hit queer people harder—and how behaviors of seeking out acceptance can have a major impact on our hearts, minds, and wallets. In Money Proud, Nick shares his financial expertise through a lavender lens to help you construct your roadmap to financial independence and personal prosperity.
Written with smart humor and jam-packed with finance tips, Money Proud includes:
-The only money map you’ll ever need to plan for your financial goals
-A guide for unlearning homophobic money advice you didn’t realize you internalized
-Simple ways to make more money and control spending, without dulling your lifestyle
-Investment strategies to build your legacy and make your money work smarter for you—today
-Practical, stylish PSAs on life’s many money-related to-dos, including how to make sense of your taxes, cultivate gayborhood-like community from anywhere, and create a purpose-driven and lucrative career
Honing in on the nuts and bolts of financial wellness, Money Proud includes illuminating data alongside powerful anecdotes from queer people who have successfully overcome their money obstacles. At a time when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and queerphobic mudslinging dominate our culture, financial independence is the key to securing your future.
Living a life with pride means not only embracing who you are, but also cultivating practices that support who you want to become. And reading is fundamental!
When Nick Wolny became a personal finance editor, he noticed how often typical money advice clashed with the exuberance of queer culture. Once he dug deeper, Nick identified why certain financial obstacles hit queer people harder—and how behaviors of seeking out acceptance can have a major impact on our hearts, minds, and wallets. In Money Proud, Nick shares his financial expertise through a lavender lens to help you construct your roadmap to financial independence and personal prosperity.
Written with smart humor and jam-packed with finance tips, Money Proud includes:
-The only money map you’ll ever need to plan for your financial goals
-A guide for unlearning homophobic money advice you didn’t realize you internalized
-Simple ways to make more money and control spending, without dulling your lifestyle
-Investment strategies to build your legacy and make your money work smarter for you—today
-Practical, stylish PSAs on life’s many money-related to-dos, including how to make sense of your taxes, cultivate gayborhood-like community from anywhere, and create a purpose-driven and lucrative career
Honing in on the nuts and bolts of financial wellness, Money Proud includes illuminating data alongside powerful anecdotes from queer people who have successfully overcome their money obstacles. At a time when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and queerphobic mudslinging dominate our culture, financial independence is the key to securing your future.
Living a life with pride means not only embracing who you are, but also cultivating practices that support who you want to become. And reading is fundamental!
320 pages, Hardcover
Published December 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 23, 2026
I’m very happy this book exists - we need books that tackle personal finance contexts and issues specific to queer people. The general content is useful to anyone but it’s extremely specific to the American context, so a lot of the details (eg. Roth IRAs, how entrepreneurship works with the IRS) and some of the exercises are not applicable to me.
Wolny’s chatty, informal, enthusiastic approach might not work for everyone but I appreciated it! He has terms like “bedazzled budget” and references Drag Race, to give you a sense of his style.
Overall, I’m glad I read it - especially the legacy planning section. (According to one study, 9/10 queer people don’t have a will/estate planning in place… whoops).
Wolny’s chatty, informal, enthusiastic approach might not work for everyone but I appreciated it! He has terms like “bedazzled budget” and references Drag Race, to give you a sense of his style.
Overall, I’m glad I read it - especially the legacy planning section. (According to one study, 9/10 queer people don’t have a will/estate planning in place… whoops).
July 31, 2025
Money Proud is a difficult read for me because I absolutely hate thinking about my finances. It felt like Nick held my hand through things. Some of his references went over my head, but it made things feel light hearted. He absolutely takes the reader through every step of financial literacy you could need for the average queer life. He makes it relevant for what queer individuals in particular need, and he breaks it down into easy, manageable information.
July 17, 2026
Wolny's breezy, humorous, light tone makes this tough and complicated topic far more approachable for this queer guy. His prompts to take stock/action of your current situation, then follow-ups to help you see and make progress according to your goals, felt doable, and I ended the book with a better sense of my current finances and future plan.
At times, he strays into topics that aren't the focus of the book yet treats them as if he's an expert on them too - like when he brushes off any critique of social media whatsoever and declares it's been a great thing hands-down for all queer folks - which lessens his credibility a bit on his actual topics of expertise. And I'm not too keen on the use of "gay" as a noun (like "this gay says..."), as it echoes too close to slurs I heard growing up and maybe still today, but hey. There's a lot to appreciate about the book still, and I'd recommend it to queer and nonqueer folks alike.
At times, he strays into topics that aren't the focus of the book yet treats them as if he's an expert on them too - like when he brushes off any critique of social media whatsoever and declares it's been a great thing hands-down for all queer folks - which lessens his credibility a bit on his actual topics of expertise. And I'm not too keen on the use of "gay" as a noun (like "this gay says..."), as it echoes too close to slurs I heard growing up and maybe still today, but hey. There's a lot to appreciate about the book still, and I'd recommend it to queer and nonqueer folks alike.
January 10, 2026
I love this book because the author somehow makes learning about money fun and entertaining.
It’s clearly written with the LGBTQIA+ community in mind, which gives it a level of honesty and relevance you don’t ever get from financial books.
I especially appreciated how it talks about both the tangible barriers to handling money (like access and systems) and the emotional and mental ones that often get ignored.
It feels like sitting down with your most chaotic, most caring, and most financially-savvy friend all at once.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed or judged, I felt encouraged, informed, and motivated.
It’s clearly written with the LGBTQIA+ community in mind, which gives it a level of honesty and relevance you don’t ever get from financial books.
I especially appreciated how it talks about both the tangible barriers to handling money (like access and systems) and the emotional and mental ones that often get ignored.
It feels like sitting down with your most chaotic, most caring, and most financially-savvy friend all at once.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed or judged, I felt encouraged, informed, and motivated.
October 17, 2025
I received this book as a giveaway win (yay!) and I'm so happy to have read it for various reasons. Nick's advice is extremely helpful, especially being a queer person in their 20s with lots of debt. I now feel more confident in fiscal planning, both short term, and long term. I usually hate reading non-fiction books, but Nick kept it engaging and funny while being very educational. I'm excited for this book to come out to the public; I plan to recommend it to lots of the fellow broke queers in my life!
July 19, 2026
I listened to this audiobook and loved it. Stuck in a rut? This will help. Nick Wolny provides so much insight to a financial world that many of us know nothing about. I appreciated the breakdown and learning of investments, preparing for the future, paying off debt and much more! Most importantly, this book is giving a lavender perspective so everyone can gain insight as to why people who are in the LGBTQ+ community face many financial obstacles as compared to those who are not. Definitely check this book out because it is helpful and you can learn a lot to help you now and in the long run.
June 24, 2025
This was a very readable, fun book on money habits. I'm old enough (already semiretired) that a lot of it wasn't particularly relevant to me, but the guidance seemed solid and was presented in an engaging way. I hope it will help younger queer folks make good choices!
My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
September 8, 2026
Breaks everything down nicely. I understand he wants to make it more accessible to readers, but sometimes feels like he is trying too hard to fit in pop culture references.
Book is targeted toward US readers, but still lots of useful information for other readers. Non-US readers can skip the sections about tax IMO.
Book is targeted toward US readers, but still lots of useful information for other readers. Non-US readers can skip the sections about tax IMO.
January 18, 2026
This is not an book I would have typically read and wasn't aware that it targeted a particular group of people, but the message itself wasn't bad. I can agree with a lot of his finance suggestions and would tweak a few others myself.
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July 2, 2025Thanks to NetGallery for providing an advanced e-copy of the book.
You can read my review here
You can read my review here
February 24, 2026
Nick - You got me to stop putting things on my credit card “just in case.” That alone is worth 5 stars!
June 12, 2026
Is money... 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈????
Well, no. That’s an absurd thing to say, since money is an arbitrarily structured method of identifying, coding, and valuing certain goods on an exchange-based market. It’s also... not a person and thus can’t have romantic feelings toward others? 💸💯
BUT the ways that queer individuals understand, value, and hold a relationship to money can be different than others, based on a combination of external and internal factors. And MONEY PROUD, the first book by Nick Wolny, takes the time to examine personal finance through the unique lens of being a queer individual.
At it’s core, this is a compact, digestible, important personal finance book that will help even the most clueless of us begin to understand how to create wealth in our own lives. Put simply - if you need someone to use RuPaul’s Drag Race references to explain to you the importance of compounded interest, you’re in the right place.
But this book goes beyond that - Wolny examines the social pressures that cause queer individuals, be it because of their upbringing, their communities, or their insecurities, to examine money differently. With a distinctly millennial mindset on the topic, Wolny helps us move past the fear many of us have around money, giving us the tools we need to get ahead of it going forward.
This was a pleasure to read, and I genuinely learned a lot of new information. Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for my gifted copy!
Well, no. That’s an absurd thing to say, since money is an arbitrarily structured method of identifying, coding, and valuing certain goods on an exchange-based market. It’s also... not a person and thus can’t have romantic feelings toward others? 💸💯
BUT the ways that queer individuals understand, value, and hold a relationship to money can be different than others, based on a combination of external and internal factors. And MONEY PROUD, the first book by Nick Wolny, takes the time to examine personal finance through the unique lens of being a queer individual.
At it’s core, this is a compact, digestible, important personal finance book that will help even the most clueless of us begin to understand how to create wealth in our own lives. Put simply - if you need someone to use RuPaul’s Drag Race references to explain to you the importance of compounded interest, you’re in the right place.
But this book goes beyond that - Wolny examines the social pressures that cause queer individuals, be it because of their upbringing, their communities, or their insecurities, to examine money differently. With a distinctly millennial mindset on the topic, Wolny helps us move past the fear many of us have around money, giving us the tools we need to get ahead of it going forward.
This was a pleasure to read, and I genuinely learned a lot of new information. Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for my gifted copy!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews