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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Money - The New Hot Topic

I've never had a problem talking about money. I've been open with everyone I know about my finances. Even when I had huge debt with large interest rates I had accepted it. My friends, family and boyfriends over the years all knew I had debt and that it bothered me. I found that by being very frank about my own finances that people were eager to talk to me about their own with great ease.

Everyone needs support when it comes to finances. We should all be able to talk freely about money. After all, we all use it and we all are aware of the rewards and repercussions it brings.

I feel lucky to be living at a time where personal finance is such a hot topic. Thanks to people like Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Suze Orman and Alison Griffiths, to name a few, the topic of money is no longer so taboo. We are lucky to have so much information available. We can communicate and gather valuable information through blogging and online support. We don't have to be ashamed about financial problems, we just have to make a decision about it and take action.

I now have friends asking me about money and talking to me about their struggles. It feels good to know that people want to talk to me about money. I know I'm not an expert by any means but I can give some friendly advice and direct people to some good resources. I'm slowly seeing my money habits and theories playing out in the lives of people around me and it makes me feel really good. I'm happy these people are making positive steps in their lives. When your finances are in order it eliminates so much unwanted stress and worry.

When I was a little girl I used to think to myself that the one thing I never wanted to do would be to get into debt. Well... life happened, and I had to fix my mistakes. Making the decision to take hold of my finances and sticking to it was the best change I've made for myself. Money problems can make you doubt so much about yourself and can sometimes make you feel less of a person. Money should never control our emotions but we let it. This needs to change.

I am so happy and proud to be part of such an amazing blogging community. The support I have received since moving to Blogger is unbelievable. The comments on this blog brighten my day every time I log in and see them waiting for me. My only hope is that this new trend sticks around and that we are able to see many more bloggers go from debtors to savers.

Cheers to a new age of personal finance!

6 comments:

Canadian Saver said...

Great post, Dolly!!

I'm very different than you... I hid all of my debt... my sister and my parents have no idea I had so much credit card debt (they do know about the student loan though) and even though it's paid off now, I never want them to find out. I got all my support online, still do.

You are right, pf bloggers are awesome!!!

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

I'm like that too, but sometimes I just think to myself that I ought to shut up and let them talk to ME instead of my talking about PF all the time

Fabulously Broke in the City

"Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver."

Shevy said...

Growing up, money was always a secret. It's hard to get out of that in Real Life but I talk about debt just fine online!

And, on another note, I hope you felt better after getting some extra sleep!

Saver Queen said...

Excellent post. I agree that it is good to be alive - and young - at a time when people are talking about money. My parents consider it a super-private subject, one that they never talk about to anyone. In fact my Mom saw a post where I mentioned that my partner and I paid of $20,000 of debt this year and were debt free. She was horrified that I put that out there on my blog. But our blogging community thinks differently, and it is wonderful, you're right - the PF community is supportive, encouraging, and learning from one another.

DINKS said...

that's so cool people like talking to you about it! unfortunately since i'm anonymous on my blog no one really knows i'm into finance like this...

but those who know i write a pf blog do ask me stuff every now and then which i love :) i'd talk about money 40 hours a week if someone would pay me! haha....humm...perhaps that's my next career?

Dolly Iris said...

J Money - Only one friend that I know reads my blog periodically and he's on my reader list. Friends know I'm a PF blogger but I don't link them too it. It's obvious in my daily life that I'm into PF and I guess that's what attracts people to talking to me about it. :)