Book Club Corner! Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

At its core, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a book about a young woman figuring out what she wants and making choices despite how others think her life should look. Nineteen year-old Margo decides to keep her baby and has to get creative in order to navigate structural barriers, make money, and support her child. Along the way, there’s commentary on art and performance, specifically what makes some forms of paid work socially “acceptable” (her dad’s pro-wrestling career) while others are considered vulgar (Margo’s OnlyFans account). It was a genuinely feminist read!

And of course, this is a book about money; it’s literally in the title! So let’s get into some of the core financial themes that stood out to me.

Childcare is a financial catch-22.

As a single mom, Margo needs to find childcare so she can work, but she needs to work so she can afford childcare. When she can't find childcare, she literally loses her waitressing job and therefore loses the income she needs to pay for childcare.

I loved how plainly the novel illustrates this cycle. We can tell women to earn more and become financially independent, but affordable childcare is often what makes earning an income possible in the first place.

Childcare isn't just an expense. It's financial infrastructure.

Not knowing is expensive.

When Margo is cornered by her baby's wealthy grandmother and a family lawyer, she agrees to an NDA and financial arrangement without realizing she can negotiate. The amount sounds enormous to her, so she doesn't know what she might be giving up by saying yes on the spot.

That's one of the less obvious advantages of generational wealth: knowing the rules of the game. Knowing when to negotiate, what to ask for, and when to bring in someone who can advocate for you.

Sometimes not knowing that you can ask for more is incredibly expensive.

Grandma is not a childcare plan.

I particularly loved how Margo's mom is portrayed. She loves her daughter and grandson, but makes it clear from the get-go that if Margo has this baby, it's her responsibility. She doesn't want to orient her life around babysitting and why should she?

We so often solve structural inequities with another woman's unpaid labor. Grandma will do it! But grandmothers have their own priorities, relationships, financial needs, and lives.

Relying on women’s unpaid labor is not a sustainable solution.

How we judge work is sexist.

This might have been my favorite theme. Margo starts an OnlyFans account to support herself and her son, and the novel forces us to question why we consider some paid work respectable and other work shameful. Specifically, in juxtaposition of her dad's former pro-wresting career. 

Her friend and roommate Suzie gets right to the heart of it. Why are people so triggered by Margo’s OnlyFans account? “It’s because you’re in control of it!” Margo knows people are looking at her, chooses the terms, and gets paid for it. The sexuality itself isn’t necessarily what makes people uncomfortable, it’s her agency over it.

Why does a woman controlling and profiting from her own sexuality change how we judge the work?

I had so much fun reading this book. Have you read it? What did you think? Email hello@financesforfeminists.com and let me know. I’m also partway through the Apple TV+ show and loving it. What a fantastic cast!