Tag: financial wellness

I named my financial freedom blog “Think and Talk Money” because most of us don’t do enough of either. 

I believe we can make it easier on ourselves to make consistent, good money choices if we just spent a little time each week thinking and talking about money.

Wouldn’t most of us agree that doing new things, and especially doing hard things, is easier when we have a partner? Someone to bounce ideas off. Someone to keep us accountable. Someone to pick us up when we aren’t at our best.

Have you ever talked about money or read a financial freedom blog?

Who is the person that knows the most about you?

Your best friend? Significant other? Brother or sister?

This person knows your most embarrassing stories. This person has seen you cry. This person has been there for you through thick and thin.

But, have you ever talked to this person about money?

Have you ever shared what drives you to wake up at 6 a.m. for work? Have you mentioned that you’re worried about how you’re going to pay off debt? Have you ever talked about how you’d like to use money as a tool build your life on your terms?

You might be surprised how powerful these conversations can be. It’s likely the person you’re talking to will be relieved you started the conversation.

If you don’t know where to begin with conversations like this, a financial freedom blog is a good place to start.

I didn’t read a financial freedom blog or talk about money in 2010.

I certainly didn’t think to have conversations about money in 2010 when I fell deeper and deeper into debt. I still remember the day when I realized I was financially heading in the wrong direction.

It was an ordinary Monday. I had grabbed my mail on the way out the door as I headed to my job at the courthouse. When I got to my desk, I opened my credit card statement and was stunned by what I saw. $20,000 owed ($30,000 in today’s dollars) one year into my career.  

I was ashamed. I was supposed to be smart. Responsible. Trustworthy. How could I be so foolish?

Looking back, I wonder if I would have had these feelings for so long if I had read a financial freedom blog. Or, what if I was more willing to discuss my money choices with the people I trusted?

I likely would have saved myself a lot of worry, frustration, and time if I hadn’t struggled alone. Perhaps I would have learned that so many others were struggling with consumer debt like I was.

I made it harder on myself by not talking.

I unnecessarily did it the hard way, but I figured it out. I made it a priority to turn things around. I didn’t know the solution at that moment. But, I had been trained to do research so I could find answers to hard questions. So, that’s what I did.

Along the way, I realized that the fundamental and basic personal finance principles are, well, basic. George S. Clason wrote “The Richest Man in Babylon” nearly a century ago. His collection of parables set in ancient Babylon is legendary.

Everyone should read it. His advice is simple and excellent: spend less than you earn. Save. Invest. The same fundamentals are as true today as they were then. 

Easy, right? 

Money is about continuous choices.

Not exactly. Money is about continuous mindset and choices. The basic concepts are easy enough to understand. Consistently making good choices is hard.

Even as I was racking up credit card debt, I could have aced a quiz that asked, “Is it a good idea to spend more money than you earn every month and plummet deeper and deeper into debt?” 

For some reason, though, most of us choose to deal with money on our own. I’d like to change that with my financial freedom blog.  There’s a stigma that we shouldn’t talk about money. I’d like to change that, too. 

Get comfortable talking about money.

I want us to get comfortable with the idea of going to our friends and loved ones to talk about money, just as we would talk about anything else. There should be no embarrassment or shame in it. We’re all dealing with the same challenges.

By talking about money, we can help each other turn those challenges into opportunities. If we can alleviate our money stress, perhaps we can reverse the trend of lower happiness levels among young people today.

Talking about money is not about numbers.

We’ll have plenty more to say about how to talk money in this financial freedom blog. For now, let’s agree that talking about money is not about prying into how many dollars we each have in the bank.

We can benefit by talking about our money mindset, habits, and strategies, while still keeping certain information private.

Let’s also agree that talking money is a “no judgment” endeavor.

We have all had different experiences that have shaped our relationship with money. It’s important not to pass judgment, especially when talking to our significant others. Your conversation won’t last very long if you ignore this advice.

Each session I’m with my students, I learn from their experiences and money mindset, same as they learn from mine. I encourage them to continue the conversation outside the classroom with their loves ones.

When my students report back, they tell me how empowered they felt after starting these conversations. The more we can talk money, the less we’ll feel alone. We’ll all make better choices because of it.

What topics will we cover in this financial freedom blog?

In this financial freedom blog, we’ll talk about the importance of money mindset and why you should want to be good with money. Money mindset touches every aspect of personal finance, so it’s a theme we’ll keep returning to.

I didn’t realize the power of money mindset until I wrote down my Tiara Goals for financial independence on a beach in 2017.

We’ll talk about personal finance fundamentals, like eliminating disappearing dollars with a Budget After Thinking.

While very few people enjoy the budgeting process, it’s a crucial first step to generate fuel for our savings and investments, which ultimately fund our major life goals.

In addition to budgeting, saving, and investing, we’ll learn how to responsibly use debt and why credit is important.

We’ll spend a lot of time discussing real estate investing, one of my favorite ways to achieve financial freedom.

Along the way, you’ll hear me regularly share one of my core beliefs:

Talking about money is not taboo.

There’s no reason to embark on your journey to financial freedom alone. Share your accomplishments and struggles with your friends and loved ones. You’ll only be better off for it.

I certainly will be doing that with my financial freedom blog.

Please share in the comments below if you’ve ever benefited from talking about money with a friend or loved one.

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