We talk about EVERYTHING ELSE. Why don’t we talk about money? The answer is actually so obvious, it’s just f*cking stupid. We don’t talk about money because as a society, we ascribe value to people based on their financial worth.
We don’t discuss money because we’re ashamed that we’re not in the place we want to be. We have debt, we don’t make enough, we don’t save enough, whatever. The irony is that discussing things passes education on, and education allows us to do better. While I understand that there are times and places not to discuss financial circumstances, I do think we (women) need to have more open, social conversations around income, debt, investment, and goals for the future. Our friends can be our greatest teachers and I’m keen to make financial discussion inspiring, not depressing.
I used to host personal finance sessions and my findings were pretty predictable, most people don’t understand the financial system or how to invest their money. Investing money should be as commonplace as spending it. Hence, conversations about investments should be as easy as conversations about which designer bag we want to buy. This may sound like I’m pink-washing finance, but this is a legitimate example. My girlfriends are all successful women, and we all like nice things. A few of my friends own Chanel bags and provide advice here and there to those of us who don’t, but might like to at some point. One of my girlfriends is an expert at finding deals on authentic luxury items and turned me on to shopping consignment a couple years ago. That tip has significantly bettered my wardrobe at affordable prices, so the conversation was well worthwhile.
What if we translated that conversation into stock market talk; giving each other tips on how to identify when to buy or sell, or why we like a particular company? This obviously isn’t new, the boys have been doing it since the inception of the markets. But women are late to the game. I want to change the culture around money, so I’m planning to start hosting personal finance sessions again, but in a different way this time. I’ll share that when I’m ready. In the meantime, I encourage you to ask your friends, maybe one on one to start, what they consider a healthy salary to be, what financial goals they have, and what kind of financial planning they do. The worst thing that can happen is that they have no financial plans, but you’ll plant a seed in their minds to get started.
