“We’re really talking about your life. This is your life and you have to make your life fit for you - whether you’re twenty-four or seventy-four. You have to make your life work.”
–Ruth Hayden
For over thirty years, Ruth has taught classes that challenge women to take charge of their lives as knowledgeable, strong and focused women. Her "Women and Money" course inspired the book entitled How To Turn Your Money Life Around: The Money Book for Women, which was nominated for the 1993 Minnesota Book Award.
In 2002, Hayden received the Award for Support and Encouragement of Girls and Women by an Individual from the Ann Bancroft Foundation.
In 2011, she received the Women Venture Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes:
• A long-time contributor to the advancement or promotion of women's economic prosperity, through significant individual contributions.
• A leader whose efforts have had a lasting impact on the financial welfare of women.
• A catalyst demonstrating lifetime commitment to creating opportunities to help women succeed.
Hayden also teaches a popular series of classes called "Couples and Money" which is the basis for her book, For Richer, Not Poorer: The Money Book for Couples. The book and these classes teach a workable partnership model of managing money.
She has been quoted in numerous national publications, including Money, Newsweek, Reader's Digest, Mademoiselle, Working Woman, Money Sense, New York Newsday, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents Magazine, Woman's World, Time, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Business Week, Forbes.com and Bankrate.com.
She is a 2006 winner of the Upsize Lifeline Award–an acknowledgement of her work in developing small businesses and iis a frequent guest and commentator on Minnesota Public Radio.