Keke Palmer Says She's Investing Differently Now That She's a Mom

We call her Keke "Keep a Check" Palmer for a reason. But the multi-hyphenate — whose titles include actor, singer, media mogul, and new mom — wasn't always on top of her money.

As a child actor, Palmer became acquainted with financial literacy at a young age. Her parents set her up with a business manager at just 14 years old, she tells POPSUGAR. However, it wasn't until she was about 18, after her Nickelodeon sitcom, "True Jackson, VP," came to an end, when she realized her "attachment to money" wasn't "healthy." "I felt like a 60-year-old white man that no longer is the CEO of a major company," she says. "I felt like my identity was shattered. I was always really successful and money was never an issue for me, and then here it was that money was an issue."

It was then that she understood wealth could be "fleeting," and the experience pushed her to get serious about her money and diversify her financial portfolio. "I started getting really nervous and afraid about how to maintain [that money], just being young and knowing I'm not going to be young forever and work at the level I'm working at." She believes multiple revenue streams are necessary for a successful entertainment career, which she has previously talked about, echoing Taraji P. Henson's viral interview in which the actor broke down in tears discussing pay disparity in Hollywood.

And while spreading out her financial assets certainly allowed her to feel "more autonomous and a lot more free," now, as a mom, her attitude toward money continues to evolve. Since welcoming her 1-year-old son, Leodis, with now-ex Darius Jackson, Palmer has reevaluated how she wants to invest her money.

"For me, all of it is some form of a gamble, but I'm constantly thinking about things that either can make me money back or that I can leave for my son," she says. "When you have a child, you start thinking about wills, so I've been much more into real estate." Palmer and her son currently live with Palmer's sister and her three children in one house. "So I'm always like, what can I leave behind? What can I share? How can I keep things in our name? How can we have things for a long time that are going to increase in value as opposed to decrease?"

As someone who's long been honest about her financial journey, Palmer recently teamed up with Cash App to launch the brand's new Glitter Card, a customizable, no-hidden-fees debit card. She immediately wanted to know: "How can my card make money for me? How can my card actually help me?" As she explains, the card comes with instant discounts at a variety of merchants and no overdraft charge, which "is always a plus because sometimes we just be charging up and we don't really think about it too much."

Aside from the card's tangible benefits, the entrepreneur loves that it can be personalized to your liking. "I don't think we realize how much we live for aesthetics in our lives," she says. "I think that [people are] going to have a lot of fun with this card, myself included, because you get to make it your own." Cardholders can customize their Glitter Card with stickers, drawings, and stamps.

Sure, building wealth is important to Palmer, but she's no stranger to swiping her card for a shopping spree every now and then. She admittedly does "too damn much" on Farfetch specifically, splurging on designer items from brands like Jacquemus and Yves Saint Laurent. She also can't resist buying "little outfits" for Leo because, as she puts it, "We have to serve looks."

Because she's been able to achieve financial freedom and security for herself, she's passionate about giving back and helping to foster financial wellness within underserved communities. "We are only as strong as our weakest link," she says. "I want to see us continue to grow economically as a country and for us to maintain ourselves. So we gotta start thinking about how to give more financial literacy and economic understanding, so people can know how money works, where it's coming from, how we're doing it." She wants to reach inner cities and underprivileged communities in particular.

But ultimately, she underscores that financial literacy is a public policy issue. Between credit cards, savings, and investments, Palmer has learned a lot about money over the years. But the most important thing she's taken away is that "where you live matters."

"Not to make it all about voting, but you have to pay attention to where we live, what we're voting for, and what matters to us in all our communities, because where you live matters in terms of how much money you're able to save, keep, invest, and put in the proper places," she says. "That all ties into us being aware of what matters to us, what we're giving to, and what we associate our responsibility with."

Watch Palmer's Glitter Card ad below.