Got a Money Goal? Try a Financial Support Group

January 16, 2017    Magnifymoney.com Interview

THESE WOMEN PAID OFF $262,000 WORTH OF DEBT USING ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS

Know someone who wants to get out of debt? Accountability groups are a great support. They can help you stick to a plan and offer lots of ways to get there. Read about me and and three other women puppetleaningondollarwho got out of substantial debt on the Magnify Money site! It was a pleasure to be interviewed and share my story.

Read my whole story–of finding myself in a tough financial situation and emerging with compassion and love — in Bankruptcy: A Love Story, coming spring 2017.

Why a Personal Finance Blog?

“Why write about money?” friends have asked.

CarRomance6_14Since rebounding from a major financial knockout, I find the how’s and why’s of personal finance fascinating. Other people must agree as this photo of a bumper sticker, “You Can’t Have Any Finance w/o Romance,” was snapped by my son on a California highway.

Plus, I wish I had had Romance Your Finances when I was in the thick of my money crisis. I wish I had had the trusted friend who could’ve taken me by the hand and shown me how to get my life back. If you’ve read My Story, you know my money life crashed and burned spectacularly. It makes for a fascinating read so stay tuned for my memoir, Bankruptcy: A Love Story.

Well before we were in crisis, my husband and I went to a debt consolidation company.  I walked through that office crying out for help, like a suicide victim. I wanted those folks to show me how to manage day-to-day. Not investment advice, for which financial planners a-plenty will welcome you. But someone willing to show me how to live within my means and make a spending plan work.

At the end of our meeting, the nice debt consolidation folks said we were in good shape because we were making our payments. They claimed we didn’t any help. After that, things nose-dived. My husband continued to debt and ended up further in the hole.

So Romance Your Finances is my attempt to bring readers back to personal money basics—to give back. So many people helped me.

Being healthy around money, which includes having a spiritual, nurturing attitude towards our dollars and ourselves can be achieved by anyone. But you need to be willing to look at your numbers and make courageous changes in your habits. You don’t have to be a math genius to have a sane money life. You just need to know how to add and subtract.  And if you’re struggling with debt, I urge you to try Debtor’s Anonymous.

So let’s get back to basics. Let’s breach the personal finance taboo and start talking about our money lives. And abundance and prosperity will find you.

Are You Comfortable Talking About Money?

Message StonesDiscussing finances came up as a topic on Linked In last week. I was astonished at the number, passion, and variety of responses.

Some people brought up never discussing salary with co-workers. Others wrote of being extremely comfortable within their families and with spouses as if to say, isn’t that what everyone does? And yet others admitted dread at the mention because no one ever talked about money in their families growing up.

I contend that money, sadly, is the last taboo. People will talk about sex, their affairs, their mothers, even death but will zip the lip when it comes to the almighty buck.

Like all things, a discussion of money needs to be appropriate, i.e., not bragging about your Mercedes purchase or the new wing you just added to your mini mansion. Not in today’s economy.

An aversion to any discussion of money can, perhaps, be the result of fear and shame (being judged), questioning self-worth (feeling like you don’t measure up), and lack of knowledge (feeling uneducated in these matters). But the truth is, we use money everyday and breaking the taboo can be freeing and expanding, if you are willing.

A healthy discussion of money is paramount because how else will you learn? We need money to live.

A few trusted friends or a group can help. I am a grateful member of a wonderful Debtor’s Anonymous (DA) group. I get to be part of an amazing circle that meets weekly to discuss the money relationship. It can be a touchy subject but we manage it in the confines of the 12 steps.

There’s a lot to say on this topic. Check out my colleague Barbara Stanny’s site and comment about the money taboo here.

What do you think?