Money Musings 💭 Why people don’t look 🙈
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Ask your questions here and I'll share via video responses.
Okay, back to it!
Before starting the Fiscal Femme one of the reasons I avoided looking at my bank account 🏦 was so that I could pretend.
If I didn’t look, I could pretend things were "fine" or that the number in my bank account was higher than it was.
Things weren’t going well and I didn’t have to face it. And I rationalized that it was less stressful if I ignored it.
But the truth is, even though I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on in there (there being my bank account), I had a strong (if not certain) hunch, it wasn’t good. I was pretending but I was still stressed.
When I started to keep a money journal and get more awareness around my spending I was not looking forward to seeing the result. If I’m being honest, I was dreading it. Bye bye pretending, hello reality.
But what actually happened surprised me. When I saw what was going on (even though it wasn’t great) I actually felt better. I felt better knowing what wasn’t working and by how much I was overspending. It felt good to be taking steps towards changing it. It wasn’t as irreparable as I thought it was.
All this to say, I know a lot of people still feel how I did. After a month of higher than planned spending (a month long vacation perhaps 🫠), I still feel some dread as I’m about to go through my credit card statement. 💰
But after I do, I always feel better. Not because I didn’t overspend. But because now I have real numbers I can work with, and I can make a plan.
If this sounds like you, check out my money journal to start getting more awareness of your spending. Or get started with or update your spending plan.
I want to make an important distinction here. It’s one thing to not look at your bank account because you’re avoiding it or dreading it (i.e. me in this story). And it’s another to not look because you don’t have to.
Once you have a spending and savings plan that’s working (and that you’re checking in on), you won’t need to check your bank balance often because you already have a good idea of what’s there. That’s wonderful and completely different!
Have you ever dreaded looking at a bank account balance or credit card statement? How did you face it? Hit reply and let me know.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
PARTY WITH YOUR MONEY SERIES - PART 4: GET ACCOUNTABILITY.
To make sure you follow through on everything you have planned for your money party (here, here and here), get some accountability. 🤝
Accountability works. When we tell someone we’re going to do something, there’s a 65% likelihood we’re going to do it. If we make a plan to check in with them, that goes up to 95%.
You can get this accountability from a bestie, family member, colleague, or even your partner. I call these money buddies our dream team. You don’t have to share any money details with them; they are just holding you accountable for having your money party.
Who will hold you accountable for having your money party?
If you want a fabulous group of feminist money buddies to hold you accountable, share resources and support you in your journey, join our Slack Community. 👩🏽🤝👩🏻👩🏿🤝👩🏼
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
EQUAL PAY DAY FOR BLACK WOMEN.
Black Women's Equal Pay Day is the day a Black woman must work into the new year to make what white man made at the end of the previous year. This year, it’s July 27th.
To put it another way, Black women have to work almost 7 additional months (19 months) to earn what a white man earns in 12 months.
The wage gap adds up to more than $1,000,000 lost over a lifetime.
The pay gap for Black women is compounded by both discrimination based on race and sex, and has also perpetuated the racial wealth gap Black families face. This gap not only affects Black women themselves but also their families. 80% of Black mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners in their homes.
If the pay gap were eliminated, Black women could pay for: two years of childcare, two years of tuition, 19 more months of. rent, or 2 years of average student loans payments (see the full list here).
What can we do about it?
Vote! ✊ Vote for candidates who support raising the minimum wage, mandated paid parental leave, and affordable high quality childcare.
Share your salary on salary websites like Glassdoor, Salary.com and Career Contessa
Negotiate your comp and become a leader
Advocate for change within your company where you can. Speak up when you hear a stereotype or microaggression, distribute the non-promotable work equitably, adjust the interview and/or review processes to remove bias, and advocate for pay equity audits - just to name a few
your weekly money wins
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week 👏👏👏
Shal: My bestie and I live in different continents and wanted to be more accountable with our finances so we set up our own money club of 2. We’re having our first zoom meeting next month and going back to basics, looking at our goals and pitfalls. We’ve made it an essential agreement each month to keep it to 1 hour tops, focus on 3 key areas and set intentional, monthly financial ‘homework’
Ally C: Adding more $$ to my automatic transfers into my savings accounts!!
Erika S: Met with a financial planner for the first time! Hired her 😊
Brianne D: Set up extensive budget & savings plan for our wedding next yr! & booked venue!
Grace H: Found out I missed something off my tax return which gave me £1300 refund. Win for the travel fund!
Ay N: I transferred $2,000 into my Emergency Fund for a fully funded 6 month EF!!!! 🥹🎉
Ali D: $430 trip to Barcelona - including hotel room for overnight layover! TY CC pts!
Katie F: Had 2 emergencies and covered both with savings. Now back to saving!