1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to try talking more openly about finances 4 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: with your family, friends, and colleagues. Money is an important 5 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: part of life, and by normalizing conversations, we can start 6 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: using money just like we use time as an instrument 7 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: for achieving the lives we want. For many, if not most, 8 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: of us, talking openly about money feels uncomfortable. Perhaps we 9 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: were taught growing up that it was tacky or rude 10 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,279 Speaker 1: to talk about finances in the workplace. Some supervisors ask 11 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: their employees not to discuss salary, and that general prohibition 12 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: puts a damper on any money talk, even about things 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: like student loans or mortgage rates. Since we so really 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: have these conversations, the conversations we do have can feel 15 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: fraught today. However, I want to suggest that you push 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: yourself out of your comfort zone a little and try 17 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: talking about financial topics with at least one person in 18 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: your life. There are several reasons why talking about finances 19 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: is important. First, it's hard to learn about money without 20 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: talking about money. If you didn't grow up with a 21 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: family that had any sort of investments. The entire stock 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: market might seem like a casino until you talk with 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: normal people like you who have invested for retirement and 24 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,839 Speaker 1: index funds. It might not seem intuitive that a small 25 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: difference in interest rate could have a huge impact over 26 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: the life of a long loan until you talk to 27 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: fellow students who are also financing higher education. We can 28 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: learn a lot from candid friend to friend conversations with 29 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: people who have their act together, and if you have 30 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: your act together, you might be able to prevent into 31 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: relative or friend from making a big financial mistake. Second, 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: and this is not a small thing, a little transparency 33 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: is good for the cause of equity. There can be 34 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: huge disparities in salary for similar jobs. When you're negotiating 35 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: the salary for a new position or asking for a 36 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: promotion and raise, you'll feel far more confident if you 37 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: know what other people with similar salaries earn. If an 38 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: employer offers something on the low end, you'll know that 39 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: it is absolutely expected to ask up, but to know 40 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: that you have to talk. Of course, that doesn't make 41 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: it easy. As with any fraught topic of conversation, it's 42 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: better to have lots of smaller talks than one big one. 43 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: You might start by listening to other people talk about 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 1: money and then use that as an opening to start conversations. 45 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: There are a lot of great money focused podcasts. My 46 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: personal favorite is the how to Money podcast. You could 47 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: ask a friend, family member, or colleague to listen to 48 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: a particular episode and then discuss it. You might also 49 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: think of some money related conversation prompts that you would 50 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: feel comfortable broaching with friends. Maybe these could be questions 51 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 1: like do you give your kids an allowance and if so, 52 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: how much? Or what's the most important thing your parents 53 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: taught you about money. Having open money conversations doesn't mean 54 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: you have to divulge your exact salary, though perhaps that 55 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: would come up at some point. In any case, I'll 56 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: say that the world is a lot more transparent now 57 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: than it used to be. Perhaps you have noticed that 58 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: if you google someone's address, one of the first things 59 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: that tends to come up is how much they paid 60 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: for the house. When you know that, other topics start 61 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: to seem a little less totally taboo. In any case, 62 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: when you're having money talks, try to remember that there 63 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: are no dumb questions. If you aren't sure of what 64 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: a money related term means, or you're curious just how 65 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: others are planning to save for their kids college tuition. 66 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: Ask others in the room maybe wondering the same thing. 67 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: In the end, money can be an emotionally charged topic, 68 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 1: but it can also be a fun one, and once 69 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: you start talking, it usually gets easier and the payoff, 70 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: if you will, can be significant. In the meantime, this 71 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 72 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: most of our money and our time. Hey, everybody, I'd 73 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips, 74 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, 75 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b the 76 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also 77 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia 78 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all 79 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying 80 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. 81 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 82 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 83 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.