"Money makes the world go a-round."
Fred Ebb and John Kander, Cabaret
Last week was TALK MONEY week in the UK.
And another opportunity for me to make a reference to a musical! 🎶 👯♀️ 🎤 👐
Have you seen Cabaret? I loved the most recent Kit Kat Club version in the West End, and of course the original film with Joel Gray. How about you?
But before I go off on a musicals tangent, I think I might talk about money … let's do this!
What does your gut tell you when you think about talking about money?
What is your primary response?
£ = Boredom?
£ = Fear?
£ = Relief?
£ = Opportunity?
£ = Ignorance
£ = Nonchalance?
£ = Discomfort?
£ = Shame?
Money is part of everything we do. The life we lead, the decisions we make, the future we plan, the hard times we prepare for, the people we love, the careers we work in.
And yet, we don’t like to talk about money. It can even be considered distasteful to discuss money.
Ludicrous if you ask me.
Because we are not taught about money at school. We are not armed with tools to understand our options, manage our spend, understand our income, know what to do to prepare for hard times, or good times, or inheritance, or debt, or mortgages, or pensions … I could go on.
So if we are not taught about money,
and talking about money is taboo … it’s no wonder money becomes such a source of worry, stress, confusion, and is often swept under the carpet whilst we hope for the best.
Talking openly about money is vitally important for our health, wealth and relationships. The effect of the pandemic, and the difficult financial challenges we are going through currently as a nation, has made it more important than ever to start conversations about money.
But it’s always important. Money impacts everything we do from the moment we are born until the moment we die.
And people who talk about money:
🙌 Make better and less risky financial decisions.
By talking and sharing, we improve our financial literacy and knowledge.
🙌 Have stronger personal relationships.
Money is a leading cause of stress and tension in relationships. Talking about money increases empathy, understanding and patience with those we care about.
🙌 Help their children form good lifetime money habits.
So many of my clients worry about the impression their children are getting about money. Talking openly and practising good money habits in front of your children is a wonderful way to help them develop good money habits themselves.
🙌 And importantly, talking about money helps us to feel less stressed and more in control.
It gives the opportunity to improve our financial wellbeing, our self-awareness, and our overall mental health.
Though our money goals, challenges and positions are unique to us, we all have the ability to learn about money, talk about money, and make informed decisions that benefit both our pockets and our well-being.
Building money conversations into our everyday lives
also helps us build financial confidence and resilience to face whatever the future throws at us.
So …
💥 Let’s stop letting money be a taboo subject.
💥 Let’s start building money conversations into our everyday lives.
💥 Let’s reach out if we need guidance or support.
💥 Let’s not judge each other.
💥 Let’s talk about money!
And don't forget to share this blog with a friend who might need a little nudge to start talking about money 😊