The shelf · Ageing alone
Does On My Own Two Feet hold up?
On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance, by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar (2007)
A beginner's personal-finance guide for young, single, working women.
The short answer
Its money advice is sound, but its statistics are dated or overstated, including a widely repeated '90%' figure with no traceable source.
The claims, checked
About 90% of American women will at some point be solely in charge of their own finances.
Contested No primary study was found. AARP's survey found about 90% of women are the main or joint decision-maker, which is a different measure.
Evidence: AARP, 2007
The average woman on Social Security receives under $1,100 a month.
Outdated Women retired workers averaged $1,780 a month in December 2024, against $2,181 for men.
Evidence: Social Security Administration, 2025
Women are twice as likely as men to be poor in old age.
Does not hold On the official measure, 11.0% of women aged 65 and over were poor in 2020–22 against 8.5% of men; on the Supplemental Poverty Measure, 12.4% against 10.2%. About 30% higher, not double.
Evidence: KFF, on Census Bureau data