11 Personal Finance Lessons I Learned from Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift may not be the most adored artist of all time, but she sure is one of the most successful — the woman knows how to make money and keep it. Have her songs being giving us secret personal finance lessons all this time?

I scoured through each of her albums (all 8 of them), and here are some Easter eggs that certainly were meant to give you financial advice — but we’ve simply been too busy linking them to her boyfriends instead:

1. This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Album: Reputation (2017)

It was so nice throwing big parties

Jump into the pool from the balcony

Everyone swimming in a champagne sea

And there are no rules when you show up here

Bass beat rattling the chandelier

Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year

So why'd you have to rain on my parade?

I'm shaking my head

I'm locking the gates

This is why we can’t have nice things, darling

Because you break them

I had to take them away

Secret message: Budget within your means

This is Miss Swift’s way of letting us know how important it is to keep within our budget. If we get all fancy and start emulating Gatsby, she’s going to take our 'nice things' away from us. Though she does admit that it’s fun for a while to 'live with no rules’, it is important that we don’t forget our roots — and our budget!

2. Mine

Album: Speak Now (2010)

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,

And there's a drawer of my things at your place.

You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded,

You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes.

But we got bills to pay,

We got nothing figured out,

When it was hard to take,

Yes, yes, this is what I thought about.

Secret message: Have an emergency fund

Amidst the story of the careless man’s careful daughter finding true love, lies this gem of how even eternal love can’t overcome the stress of overdue bills.

Maybe one of them lost their jobs or had a medical emergency. In any case, they were unable to pay their bills.

What do you think Taylor wants to hint here? Yes, you’re right! This song truly is about the importance of having a well-funded Emergency Fund (3–6 months of expenses), to rescue your happily ever after.

3. I Knew You Were Trouble

Album: Red (2012)

Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I’d never been

'Til you put me down, oh

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I’d never been

Now I’m lying on the cold hard ground

Secret message: Avoid credit card debt

Do you know what’s more dangerous than a 'player' boyfriend? Credit card debt.

We know it’s going to be trouble down the road, but it is just so tempting to enjoy it while it lasts. It will fly you places and buy you things that you cannot afford, just to leave you lying on the cold, hard ground with the 40% apar and a credit score in the double digits.

Shame on you, says Taylor.

4. Treacherous

Album: Red (2012)

I can't decide if it's a choice

Getting swept away

I hear the sound of my own voice

Asking you to stay

And all we are is skin and bone

Trained to get along

Forever going with the flow

But you're friction

This slope is treacherous

This path is reckless

This slope is treacherous

I, I, I like it

Secret message: Do not pick stocks

You know when you hear the frantic whispered advice of your friend, or the subreddit on Wall Street bets, about the next big multi-bagger. The next Amazon/Apple/Google. You know you want to put the $500 you have saved up, and dream of becoming a millionaire in a year or two. Well, you are as likely to win the lottery than that happening.

Well, Taylor knows it is well nigh impossible to pick stocks and wants you to avoid that treacherous slope. She knows it is easy to be swept away, and she’s telling you that it’s a choice you must make not to.

5. Wonderland

Album: 1989 (2014)

Flashing lights and we

Took a wrong turn and we

Fell down a rabbit hole

You held on tight to me

'Cause nothing's as it seems

And spinning out of control

Didn't they tell us don't rush into things?

Didn't you flash your green eyes at me?

Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?

Didn't it all seem new and exciting?

I felt your arms twisting around me

I should have slept with one eye open at night

Secret message: If you can’t afford to lose the money, do not invest in speculative assets

Taylor has captured the feeling of falling in love with the next big speculative investment with such aplomb in this deluxe song. Whether it is Dutch tulips of the 17th century, the gold mines of Transvaal, or the cryptocurrencies of today, it all seems so new and exciting, doesn’t it? But didn’t someone say, fools rush in where angels fear to tread?

Am I saying that no one has made money from such investments? No. But many more people have lost money than they have gained. What makes you think you are one of the lucky handful?

If you have extra money that you can afford to lose, go ahead and play. If not, better listen to Miss Swift, and sleep with one eye open.

6. I Know Places

Album: 1989(2014)

Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes

And guns

They are the hunters, we are the foxes

And we run

Baby, I know places we won't be found

And they'll be chasing their tails tryin' to track us down

Cause I, I know places we can hide

I know places, I know places

Secret message: Tax planning is important

What do they say about death and taxes? Ya, they are the only certainties in life. Except when they aren’t. Or at least, when taxes aren’t.

There are certainly places where the taxman can’t find you. I know — I am one of the dreaded tax persons. And Taylor knows it too.

These are called tax-exempt vehicles. No other decision will give you a greater return on your investment than to smartly structure your savings into one of these, and avoid the 30% or more going directly to Uncle Sam.

7. I Forgot That You Existed

Album: Lover (2019)

I forgot that you existed

And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn’t

And it was so nice

So peaceful and quiet

I forgot that you existed

It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference

Secret message: Systematic investments are the way to go

The best investment strategies are the ones you set and forget. If you depend on your self-control and discipline to actually put aside your savings, it’s never going to happen. After all, most of us (80%) fail in achieving our elevated New Year’s resolutions by mid-February.

It may be difficult to let go of that control over your money, and if you’re as dramatic as Tay, you think that it will kill you. But, as she discovered, not only did she live through it, but also discovered the peace and quiet that comes from a system that requires no involvement from you.

So, set up a monthly standing instruction to automatically deduct your savings amount from your account and shift it to investment. Soon, you’ll forget that the money even existed, leaving you with a sizeable retirement nest-egg when it’s time.

8. Daylight

Album: Lover (2019)

Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky

And so I became the butt of the joke

I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked

Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke

Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down

Maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town

Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now

It's brighter now, now

I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you

I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you

I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty year dark night

And now I see daylight

Secret message: Invest in low-cost index funds

So many of us have been struggling with multiple investment choices, not knowing which is right and which isn’t. And somehow it seems that we are the only unlucky ones.

But it’s morning now. And the bright daylight (and a lot of research) has shown that the only good way to invest in equity is through a low-cost broad-based index fund. If you don’t trust my word, here’s Warren Buffet telling you the same thing.

Once you have discovered this beautifully simple investment strategy, you aren’t going to think or look at anything else. It’s all clear as daylight now.

9. Stay, Stay, Stay

Album: Red (2012)

You took the time to memorize me:

My fears, my hopes, and dreams.

I just like hangin' out with you all the time.

All those times that you didn't leave;

It's been occurring to me I'd like to hang out with you for my whole life.

Stay.

And I’ll be loving you for quite some time.

No one else is gonna love me, when I get mad, mad, mad.

So I think that it’s best if we both stay.

Secret message: Buy and hold your investments

The best investments are the ones you never sell.

But even if you do, give your investments some time to grow. The stock market is volatile — but only in the short term. Over the long term, it is one of a handful of asset classes that will almost certainly give you a positive return after inflation.

So, be like Taylor. Hang out with your investments for quite some time, and Stay.

10. Should’ve Said No

Album: Taylor Swift (2006)

You say that you'd take it all back, given one chance

It was a moment of weakness and you said, "Yes."

You should’ve said "No", you should’ve gone home

You should’ve thought twice 'fore you let it all go

You should’ve known that word

'Bout what you did with her’d

Get back to me.

And I should’ve been there in the back of your mind

I shouldn’t be asking myself, "Why?"

You shouldn’t be begging for forgiveness at my feet...

You should’ve said "No", baby, and you might still have me

Secret message: Do not panic sell your investments during market crashes

This is what so many investors felt in the aftermath of the 2008 market bloodbath. It is natural to panic when everyone is exiting the market, predicting the collapse of the world order.

It is also the single worst thing you could do to your investments. Those who stayed through the crash, or even bought more during it, are the ones whom history has crowned winners.

You should have said no.

11. Mean

Album: Speak Now (2010)

You, with your switching sides

And your wildfire lies and your humiliation

You have pointed out my flaws again

As if I don’t already see them

I walk with my head down

Trying to block you out 'cause I’ll never impress you

I just wanna feel okay again

Secret message: Stay away from those who guilt you for your financial situation

And ending with my favorite personal finance advice.

Somehow personal finance has become a 'my way or the highway’ cult, with no room for individual situations.

It doesn’t have to be. Every person who is in any sort of financial trouble knows what has gone wrong and what they need to do. They do not need someone breathing down their neck berating them for their missteps.

Personal finance, while important, can be fun too! Just like spelling (Sorry, the Swiftie in me couldn’t resist).

So, that’s my interpretation of Taylor Swift’s songs, and I think I’m right. For so many years, we have assumed that she only writes about her exes, whereas all this while, she has been a savvy businesswoman trying to teach us how to be rich!