Lo Bosworth says she became financially independent when she was just 17 years old.
The founder of Love Wellness, a women’s health and personal care company, Bosworth got her start as a reality star on “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” in the early 2000s. The shows earned her enough money to live independently as a young adult, she says.
But she knew she still wanted a college degree to give herself options if she decided not to work in entertainment forever.
“I wasn’t enamored enough with the entertainment industry to pivot away from getting my degree,” Bosworth tells CNBC Make It. “Hollywood can be very tantalizing in that way to a lot of people … but the way that I would be forced to live my life if I continued in the entertainment industry simply wasn’t for me, and I learned that at a very young age.”
Inspired by her own health journey, Bosworth started Love Wellness in 2016, which makes supplements and personal care products without sugar, synthetic flavors or colors, or corn syrup. It was bringing in “about $50 million in annual net revenue” when Bosworth stepped down as CEO in 2023, she told The Glossy Beauty podcast in 2024.
Lo Bosworth (center) spoke with host Jennifer Borget (left) and Lauren Yoder (right), VP of product management at Northwestern Mutual for the “A Better Way to Money” podcast.
AP
While Bosworth has been promoting physical wellness for almost a decade, she’s also been focused on financial wellness for herself and her business. She recently appeared on Northwestern Mutual’s “A Better Way to Money” podcast to talk about her financial journey and how she’s planning for major milestones ahead.
Here are three money lessons Bosworth says she’s learned to be more confident in her business and her personal life.
1. Give yourself a solid foundation
While Bosworth was figuring out how best to manage her money, she mainly focused on not running out of it, which she did at least once, she says.
“Going broke is not fun,” she says. “It creates a deep sense of fear and insecurity. And I think for me, my relationship with money has always been really focused on that security and always making sure that I have enough to cover my baseline expenditures.”
Her early missteps helped teach her the importance of good money management, Bosworth says. As she grew older, she figured out how to not just cover the basics, but plan for her future and build a solid financial foundation.
When asked what business advice helped shape her personal finances, Bosworth told Northwestern Mutual: “Invest in the foundation before the façade.”
“In business, that means focusing on infrastructure before branding,” she said. “Personally, it means prioritizing savings, security and systems before splurges.”
A solid foundation can help protect you from financial hiccups, but also, “you’re more free to take creative and emotional risks — in life and in work,” Bosworth added.
2. Spend according to your values
When she was still working in the entertainment industry, Bosworth felt a lot of pressure to look good for the cameras, which often meant splurging on designer clothes she otherwise didn’t care about, she says. Changing her lifestyle meant needing to reevaluate her spending and learn how to put her money toward things that actually matter to her.
If she could tell her younger self one thing, it would be: “The sooner you learn to spend in alignment with your values — not other people’s expectations — the freer you’ll feel,” she said on the podcast. “Save more. Spend slower. And remember: Wealth isn’t always loud.”
Ultimately, the biggest mistake she says she made was not having a real plan for her money when she was younger and overspending as a result.
“I definitely have shifted away from just being a spender who does not understand the meaning of the dollar, or where your next money is coming from, to somebody that is pretty focused on saving and planning for the rest of my life,” she says. “When you have a plan, you can feel a lot better about spending your money.”
3. Money is emotional
While Bosworth has had to let go of fear and insecurity to feel more confident around money, she says, she also learned that her feelings can guide smart money decisions. She used the last of her savings from her reality TV days to start Love Wellness, she says.
“That taught me that significant emotional money moves — when grounded in passion — can really pay off,” she said on the podcast. “Invest in what you love, whether that’s a business, travel or your home.”
Starting a business made Bosworth even more intentional with her money, she says. It also helped her become more comfortable betting on herself — “but always strategically.”
In her personal life, she’s been recently reminded of the impact emotions can have on your financial decisions. As she and her fiancé pared down plans for a big expensive wedding to be able to focus on starting a family, it became even more apparent that money can be extremely emotional.
“The biggest surprise [of wedding planning] has been how emotional money conversations can be when you’re building a life with someone,” she said. “You’re not just talking about numbers, you’re talking about values, priorities, fears and dreams.”
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