Hello sweet friends!
This month's Table Setting is all about money money money! We will be discussing how we are all approaching or wish to approach Financial Independence and find Financial Power as we gain in years, think about our parents aging, and wish to support our children.
Some insight into my world to set the stage for why I'm personally invested in this conversation. I made some interesting financial choices in my history - went to a private college that landed me in 6 figures of debt which ultimately made me dependent on credit cards that I could only pay off and afford to live by having 2 (nearly full-time) jobs. I married someone with equally poor financial status. We have been lucky enough to claw our way out of debt over the last 15 years, but we still find it a bit awkward to save money. We are not used to having money in the bank. We like our lifestyle to be full of activity, which costs money, while also maintaining all the things like a house, cars, kids (oh, those pricey little angels).
We are now shipping money to different places of savings - I have a 401k with employer match, a Roth, a high-yield savings account, a rainy day/easy access savings, life insurance policies. We have equity in our cars and the house now. BUT, I'm still scared as shit to think about retirement. As we get older, so do our parents, so do our kids. We are in this odd place of financial dependency where we aren't sure what our nest egg will go to... whatever crisis happens first?
I, personally, am very curious what all of your plans and fears are with retirement, supporting your families, and how to live well, not just live a long time. Some questions that came up for me while I watched these videos: Estelle Gibson : the true cost of financial dependence and Elizabeth White : An honest look at the personal finance crisis
What does it mean to be old in America?
Do you share financial responsibility with your partner?
Do you include your kids in finance management?
What is your Retirement Plan?
When do you plan to retire? how old or at what milestone of life?
Do you feel responsible to help your parents? do they have a strategy or financial safety net?
How do you 'small up' as Elizabeth White describes?
SO MANY RESOURCES!
And I know for a fact that there are a few of you who are a wealth of knowledge on this topic, so I'm crossing my fingers you are able to join us in a couple of weeks!
Suze Orman is my personal financial hero from post-college days. She helped me understand where to send my money and the strategy for debt payments.
Women Who Money for all things finance 101 and 102 (love that they have beginner and intermediate references)
The Money Go-To for finance nerds is Nerd Wallet which is where I found some good options for high-yield savings and understandings of CDs and money market accounts (though I don't have those 2...yet). This one was sent by Kate who is very knowledgeable on this topic!
For our daughters : Financial Literacy for Women: How to Raise a Fearless Woman (Kiplinger)
Clever Girl Finance : This site has a lot of tips and tricks and courses (disclaimer that I haven't looked deeply at it yet but it caught my eye, so I will be exploring more!)
I look forward to de-shaming money talk with y'all! I love to shop, I love to do fun things, and I love talking about money. I just hate worrying about it. Feel the same?