We don’t talk about money. And that kind of makes sense. Money is one of those things that you don’t want to boast about if you have it, and you don’t want others to suspect if you don’t have it. There’s a cultural stigma attached to talking about money. It can bring up negative emotions. Those who have more money seem to come out on top in power dynamics. Those who have less money can be looked down upon. And rather than inflict that into our everyday lives, we just don’t talk about it.
Unfortunately, money isn’t a topic that can just be avoided in life. Having money is a necessity to survive. You have to learn about how to manage it. How to earn it. How to save it. How to spend it wisely. How to insure against losing it. Perhaps things have changed since I was a kid, but this is not information I was taught in school.
My parents were always very secretive about how much money they made. I guess they thought that would give me some sort of protection against societal stratification at school. It really didn’t….but the thought was nice.
Luckily my parents did actually teach me some things about money. They taught me about how loans work when I borrowed some of the money I needed to add a tiny black and white television to my bedroom. They taught me about budgeting by giving me an allowance. They taught me about saving by setting up a savings account for me and encouraging me to add to it regularly. When I started my first minimum wage job at the local grocery store, they taught me how to use a checking account (and how to write a check, which is quickly becoming a lost art). When I started my first full time job, my father taught me the importance of contributing to the retirement account (at least enough to get the employer match) right away. And I’m sure there were many more examples over the years.
I count myself as lucky that my parents were able to teach me a bit about money. I count myself as very lucky that I was intrigued enough by the topic to become a lifelong student and teacher of personal finance. There is always more to learn. But we don’t talk about money. I honestly believe that if talking about money were less taboo, more people would have a better understanding of personal finance and would become better managers of their own money. Unfortunately, that isn’t the world we live in.
We don’t talk about money.
