***This post is part of the #WomenRockMoney Movement, a large group of female personal finance bloggers who have come together to inspire more women to learn about money. ***

___________________

Money can elicit a multitude of emotions. Envy, shame, ignorance, superiority, dread and anxiety, to name a few.

For many, money is a source of confusion.

Cloaked in a combination of jargon and overly complex concepts, a basic understanding of personal finance seems insurmountable when first getting started.

This feeling is disproportionately true for women.

Studies have shown that women not only have lower rates of financial literacy then men but they are also less confident in their financial abilities. With more women becoming equal contributors in the household, or even the primary breadwinner, it’s important that we get a better grasp of the personal finance basics.

On a societal level the subject of money remans taboo. Although we deal with matters of personal finance on a daily basis, most of us don’t feel comfortable discussing money, even with our best friends or romantic partner.

In order to increase the financial knowledge and confidence of women we need to create an environment where we all feel comfortable talking about money. 

Did you know that people would rather have a conversation about death then talk about their personal finances? 

What?

Yes, it’s true. Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, author of “Breaking Money Silence,” found that nearly half of Americans would rather discuss death, religion or politics before having a conversation about their personal finances.

This is crazy!

While I have not found a comparable published statistic for Canadians, I am going to assume we share a similar sentiment with our Southern neighbours. (Side note: if you are aware of a similar study published about Canadians please let me know by leaving a comment below!)

The taboo that surrounds money is a massive barrier to increasing women’s financial knowledge and confidence. Our inability to openly discuss topics of personal finance prevents people who are experiencing crippling debt, or other forms of financial crisis, from seeking help.

I realize this all sounds very depressing BUT there is light at the end of this tunnel!

This post is about how we can start to remove the stigma attached to money.

Through a combination of education, communication and persistence we can begin to simplify the topic of personal finance, increase our financial literacy and remove the taboo that currently surrounds money.

Who are WE???

We are women.

Women are communicators, we are organizers, we are change makers.

2018 has been declared THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN Click To Tweet

With movements like #MeToo, #NeverAgain and #EqualPay, we are making our voices heard on a global level.

While the #EqualPay movement is extremely important when it comes to the topic at hand, it’s just one piece of a greater conversation.  We deserve to get paid the same as our male counterparts, no question. However, if we don’t know what to do with the money we earn and we don’t have the confidence to find out, then we still have a problem! 

In order to make change we don’t need to start a global hashtag, we can start a movement at the individual level by educating ourselves and by having open conversations with our families, friends and communities.

How do WE get started?

Educate Yourself.

Knowledge is power. Before we can teach others we need to educate ourselves.

For those of you about to enter college or university. If you are interested in pursuing a degree in finance or economics but feel intimidated, because you’re not a “numbers person,” or you don’t know a lot about money, don’t let this stop you. If you want something, go and get it. Don’t do a “safe” degree because you’re afraid.

I was afraid.

I really wanted to do a business/finance degree but was afraid of the first year calculus course that was required. I went to ONE class, felt totally overwhelmed and decided to do a degree in communications (…and then two more in psychology where I was required to do a TON of statistics courses…and excelled, go figure!).

I don’t regret the education that I have but, as you can tell by the central topic of this post, my interest is still in the area of personal finance… So, don’t let fear hold you back.  If you want to do something, find a way.

If you are thinking to yourself, I want to learn about personal finance but I don’t have the time, money and/or desire to pursue a formal degree. Well, good news!! You don’t need to go to post secondary to gain an appreciation and an understanding of personal finance, take it from me!

If you want to be financially savvy then pick up a book on personal finance from the library, download a podcast, start reading one of the MANY awesome personal finance blogs that the internet has to offer. We live in an amazing time where you can find information on literally ANYTHING.

But, remember, as with all content on the internet, it’s important you get your financial information from a reliable and trusted resource.

Communicate

Talk to your partner about money. No, it’s not the sexiest conversation you will ever have but it is 100% necessary. Trust me, this will help you to avoid a lot of fights and financial f-ups in the future.

Fighting about money is often cited as predictor of divorce (1), so it’s important that you and your partner can communicate about your finances starting early on in your relationship. 

Before you make a big commitment to each other (buying a house, getting married, having a baby, adopting a puppy…whatever) you MUST know the details of your partners financial situation. This is a non-negotiable. Nothing will test your relationship more then finding out three months into marriage that your partner has $80,000 in consumer debt.

I realize this is a difficult conversation for some people to have with their partner (I do not share this sentiment, my husband literally can’t make me shut up about this stuff) sooooo, if you need some help getting started here’s a list of 10 questions you should ask your partner about money.

10 Questions you Should ask Your Partner About Money

1. Do you have debt?
2. Have you ever been bankrupt?
3. What is  your credit score?
4. Do you pay off your credit card balance in full every month?
5. Are you a spender or a saver?
6. Who’s paying for what? (will you split things 50/50 or base it on who makes more money)?
7. Do you have a savings account?
8. Do you follow a budget?
9. Do you want to rent or own a home?
10. What are your financial goals?

For more details on each of these questions check out my post 10 Questions you Should ask Your Romantic Partner About Money 

Talk to your friends about money.

I find that many of my friends who are strong, educated and professional women know very little about their financial situation.

• “What are your monthly car payments?”
  “I don’t know.”

• “When you purchased your house did you use a bank or a mortgage broker?”
  “Oh, I’m not sure, my husband did all of that.”

• “Do you have life insurance?”
  “I don’t think so, maybe through work?”

Come on ladies…get your heads out of the sand. Do not rely on someone else (boyfriend, husband, parent, friend) to make your financial decisions. You need to be aware of your own situation.

As we just discussed, not every marriage ends in happily ever after. So, if you find yourself in an unfortunate position (separation, divorce, whatever you want to call it) you need to have a handle on your finances. Too many women get completely screwed during a separation. This is not the time to figure out that your partner has destroyed your credit due to a secret gambling addiction. It will be very difficult to start from scratch financially if you’ve never made any decisions about your money.

To get you started here are some of the questions you MUST be able to answer about your money and its whereabouts:

• • How much do you earn (you/you and partner depending on your situation)?

• • How much do you have in the bank?

• • How much do you have invested and where is it invested?

• • Do you know all of the passwords to your online accounts?

• • If you own a home, do you know your mortgage rate and term?

• • Do you/your partner carry any debt? If so, how much? Don’t guess, know the number.

• • Do you have life insurance/disability insurance etc.? How much and with who?

• Do you have an emergency fund? If not, you need to start saving.

How can we help each other to become more aware?

I challenge all of you to start talking to your friends about personal finance. You don’t have to share any of the dirty details about how much you make, or your level of consumer debt. You can start by talking about a great personal finance book you read. Share some of the tips that you found to be helpful.

Have a conversation about whether you think it’s a better idea to rent or buy in your city. If you are feeling brave share a financial issue that you’ve faced and listen to your friends advice…you don’t have to take it, but it’s a great way to start the conversation. Also, you might be surprised how many of your friends have encountered some of the same problems.

If you’re not ready to talk to your friends about money then join an online forum, Facebook group, (here’s a link to a great one) or start asking questions in the comment section of personal finance blogs to get a dialogue going.

Talk to your children about money.

I don’t know what the typical high school experience looks like today. But, when I was going through school there were no classes or lessons offered on personal finance. We weren’t taught how to make a budget, the basics of investing or about the magic of compound interest.

Upon graduation we were released into the “real world” to financially fend for ourselves….well, this might be a bit dramatic, I lived at home rent free until I was 22…but you get the picture.

When you enter post secondary it’s incredibly easy to get a credit card. The only pre-requisite is that you’re 18/19 years old (it depends on your province/territory).

Think about this, all you have to do is turn 18 and you can have access to a credit card with absolutely NO idea how it works. At 18 you can make financial decisions that could ruin your credit for the next seven plus years of your life.

I had a number of friends and acquaintances get into a considerable amount of credit card debt after their first year of school because they simply didn’t understand. They treated their credit like free money forgetting it had to be paid back, with 20% interest. They spent their “free money” on beer, cab fare and even vacations…not exactly wise financial decisions.

If the high schools aren’t going to participate in educating students on personal finance then post secondary institutions should make a first year finance course a mandatory pre-requisite for ALL STUDENTS.

Let’s be honest, we’re all faced with issues of personal finance on a daily basis, this seems more useful than a mandatory first year calculus, biology or statistics course….in my opinion.

Even better, the credit card companies should require all new customers to take a written exam on the basics of credit card usage before they issue a credit card. Things like, what is interest, what is the interest rate on this credit card, how long will it take to pay back your balance if you only make minimum payments….

Realistic, probably not….but one can dream!

Bottom line, if children and young adults are not learning about personal finance in school then it’s important that we, as mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunties and friends start these conversations early. If you don’t feel like you know enough to teach others, then check out some books from the library or find some good online resources to pass along.

Remember, you are doing your children/partner/mother/neighbour/friends a service just by having a conversation about money. By putting it out in the open you are demonstrating that money isn’t a secret, it’s not taboo, it’s something that can be openly discussed without shame.

CALL TO ACTION

Today I challenge you to take one small step to improve your financial knowledge. Your first step can be as simple as googling “personal finance” or “financial literacy.”

Then, visit https://www.mamafishsaves.com/womenrockmoney-movement/  to connect with a community of like minded women who want to share and learn. Also, you can join the conversation on twitter using #WomenRockMoney.

Let's get the conversation started. #WomenRockMoney Click To Tweet

References

(1) Dew, J., Britt, S., & Huston, S. (2012). Examining the relationship between financial issues and divorce. Family Relations, 61(4), 615-628.

Photo of girls by Bruce Dixon on Unsplash
Photo “I am a woman” by Pete Bellis on Unsplash
Photo of green eye woman by Eric Ward on Unsplash
Photo of girl in library by Clay Banks on Unsplash