Budgeting Babe brings up some interesting questions for we chicas.
I seriously could not tell you whether any of my friends even has a savings account. I think this is a shame, because there is so much we could all be learning from each other. Then again, it may be for the better because there's a risk of judgement in sharing so much with your friends. What if I make a lot more than someone else? What if I become jealous of my friends' financial status? What if I am critical at how my friends spend their money? It's obvious that we run the gamut of incomes simply by the way we live. Would we think any differently of each other after we shared our financial health? I have a feeling that despite the open exchange of information, it might affect our friendships in ways we didn't expect.I know that I do get very judgemental about how other people spend their money sometimes but it's mostly because I fear that other people are judging me for what I spend, where I live, what I do. Your mileage, as usual, may vary.
On the flip side, I really do think that I've got a lot to learn from the way my friends manage money. Just by accident I've learned so much from them already, even with the social restrictions in place. Who knew that people I know have safety deposit boxes? I didn't think I had anything worth putting in such a place but it turns out I do.
As a result of not knowing I often don't negotiate properly for what I'm worth and I know the same thing happens to a lot of other women, too.
What do you think?
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It's not a woman thing, Kizz. It's a human thing. We all wrestle with judgement about money and fear that others judge us for what we do with ours. We all undervalue our time and work (until someone convinces us differently). Men deal with these issues differently than women, perhaps, but we deal with them just as much.
ReplyDeleteI'm with wayfarer. Human thing. I've got guy friends who suck more than I do at the whole money thing...and I'm so much better at it than I used to be, but still not as good at it as say, Reno. It's hard. And no one, NO ONE taught me anything about money growing up. I got the sex talk, the marriage talk, the change your oil in the car talk, how to make gravy talk and how you never pour straight bleach on a pair of jeans demo, but nothing about money and how to spend and or save. So without any basis to start from,I'm treading water and figuring it out the best I can.
ReplyDeleteThis is directed mainly at you women out there, because, unfortunatly, we are more likely to not be paid what we are worth. There was an article in Ms. Magazine recently that addressed the legalities of being paid less, which is quite interesting. It can be accessed at: http://www.alternet.org/story/44769/
ReplyDeleteAlso, there was an article in the Fall O5 Ms. Magazine with practical tips on how to get paid what you are worth, but I can't seem to access it online. However, the main person who wrote the article, Evelyn Murphy, founded a group called WAGE (Women are Getting Even) which you can access at: http://www.wageproject.org/
A quick look at the site seems to indicate that it, too, has tips for how to get paid what you are worth.
Hope this is helpful!