Thursday Truths

Money Money Money--Or The Things We Never Learn & Never Discuss

So I have an confession to make--money terrifies me. The thought of not having, am I doing the right things with it, how to save it and how to spend it properly. I didn't grow up poor or anything that simple--but with my parents' divorce the biggest of all fights was about money more than us, the pets or the house. I saw both my parents do things that they didn't want or shouldn't have to do in the pursuit of it and it definitely shaped my perspective on it

She Would Be So Proud of My Confession

And when it comes to learning about money and how to best use it as an adult--I think most of us are left in the dark, Sure it is easy to understand how to spend and save from each check--and there are certain things that are non-negotiable like rent, power bills, cell phones and food... But when it comes to the large picture--how much should be spent on what, how to figure and budget for things like health insurance, credit cards and student loans most of us are in the dark

                            If Only Food Shopping Was This Simple-But With Winning

And when it has come to making the big decisions with money I would always hold off rather than take the financial plunge--it wasn't till this year that I even had health insurance and that was because the government forced me too. And because of how I was pushed on it--I was forced to really sit down and look at everything and ask for help from people who knew more than I did. Which was embarrassing because I always just imagined everyone else knew what there were doing while I was just in a holding pattern

I Just Want To Get Health Care And Pay Off My Credit Cards

It's funny because what I learned as I started to look into why I didn't know the basics--it really broke down to the a simple fact. While most other issues like racism, gay rights and women's liberation are becoming better--the biggest issue that America has in spades is classicism. We don't talk openly about money because if we can't manage our money properly then we are not building a better life for ourselves AKA the American Dream. And that makes us feel bad because we assume everyone else is doing so much better than us--which just makes us more worried and concerned about it.

This is How I See Everyone Else Manages Their Finances

The truth is we need a better and more open way to discuss money in this country. I actually think it is foolish that we don't teach our students about the basics of credit card debt, how and why insurance is actually a good investment into one's financial life and how student loan debt can play out long term. I think that we could all benefit from discuss financial management skills--it wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I learned that good money skills included things like how your rent or mortgage should only be on 1/4 of your take home pay. Imagine if more people understood simple things like that--we could have avoided the housing market bubble, the banks almost collapsing and the overall economic turmoil from the last few years.

It's Like this Right? One Big Game of Bubble Bobble

I guess what I'm saying is that when it comes to money--we shouldn't be afraid to talk about. Not just saying--oh I'm broke so no taco Friday this week, but how we all can better understand and manage our financial futures. How it is not about making 20 bucks and saving 5 and spending the rest. It's much more complicated than that--and something we could all learn more about.