There’s a reason I started publicly talking about money management, and I’m about to break it down.
I get a LOT of money management emails (because I sign up for everything financial in an effort to better support you all reading my blog and who I work with) and got this, below, recently. Can you name what’s wrong with this email?
If you said WHY ARE ONLY WHITE SUIT-WEARING DADS here, you’d be right!
Look, I think Vanguard is a great company with awesome, diversified, low-cost index funds and I invest with them and suggest people use them. This tragic email will not change that. But it reminds me why I think it’s so important to talk about money no matter who you are. Because literally everyone has to deal with money, not just white upwardly-mobile dad types. And therefore we need more types of people advising on money, in positions of power around money, and just plain old talking about money!!
For me, talking with people about money is life-affirming: yes, you’re going to get old and will want things along the way so let’s see how you can get them!
Talking about money with people is a way of naming persistence and tenacity.
It’s also often a way to vision support and sharing — and look, the women, radicals, creatives, queer folks and others I work with have WAY different worldviews and priorities than most white upwardly-mobile dad types. So, we need other types of people who can hold space for these other ways of dreaming and planning into existence the world we want.
Yes, at the end of the day: numbers crunch the same no matter who you talk to, and neither me nor these dads control the hands on the market. But considering the affect effect, and that trust-building happens with people like ourselves, means that the financial services industry is really ready for some new folks in it.
I’m glad I’m here at Ride Free Fearless Money, giving education and information so you all can make well-informed decisions for your contexts, and my new interview series and courses over at Lets Talk About Money are all about raising the conversation and education to another level.
There’s also a lot of other cool women in the biz right now, so if you want to, check out these folks whose work I admire:
- Tiffany the Budgetnista
- Robyn Crane
- The Money Witch
- Kristin Wong
- Ellevest
- Priya Malani of Stash Wealth
Dang. This would be an amazing panel! #LifeGoals
I’d love it if you talked about money with your besties, partner(s) and crew like it’s an everyday topic (p.s. it is an everyday topic). But you can also talk about it with your little sister, millennial coworker, or in art and writing. I constantly hear from folks I’ve worked with that getting to face money stuff head on changes their lives for the better. We all deserve that! So find someone you trust and have a chat.