WEBVTT - Why (and how) to talk money

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to try talking more openly about finances

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<v Speaker 1>with your family, friends, and colleagues. Money is an important

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<v Speaker 1>part of life, and by normalizing conversations, we can start

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<v Speaker 1>using money just like we use time as an instrument

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<v Speaker 1>for achieving the lives we want. For many, if not most,

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<v Speaker 1>of us, talking openly about money feels uncomfortable. Perhaps we

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<v Speaker 1>were taught growing up that it was tacky or rude

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about finances in the workplace. Some supervisors ask

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<v Speaker 1>their employees not to discuss salary, and that general prohibition

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<v Speaker 1>puts a damper on any money talk, even about things

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<v Speaker 1>like student loans or mortgage rates. Since we so really

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<v Speaker 1>have these conversations, the conversations we do have can feel

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<v Speaker 1>fraught today. However, I want to suggest that you push

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<v Speaker 1>yourself out of your comfort zone a little and try

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<v Speaker 1>talking about financial topics with at least one person in

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<v Speaker 1>your life. There are several reasons why talking about finances

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<v Speaker 1>is important. First, it's hard to learn about money without

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<v Speaker 1>talking about money. If you didn't grow up with a

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<v Speaker 1>family that had any sort of investments. The entire stock

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<v Speaker 1>market might seem like a casino until you talk with

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<v Speaker 1>normal people like you who have invested for retirement and

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<v Speaker 1>index funds. It might not seem intuitive that a small

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<v Speaker 1>difference in interest rate could have a huge impact over

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<v Speaker 1>the life of a long loan until you talk to

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<v Speaker 1>fellow students who are also financing higher education. We can

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<v Speaker 1>learn a lot from candid friend to friend conversations with

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<v Speaker 1>people who have their act together, and if you have

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<v Speaker 1>your act together, you might be able to prevent into

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<v Speaker 1>relative or friend from making a big financial mistake. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is not a small thing, a little transparency

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<v Speaker 1>is good for the cause of equity. There can be

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<v Speaker 1>huge disparities in salary for similar jobs. When you're negotiating

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<v Speaker 1>the salary for a new position or asking for a

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<v Speaker 1>promotion and raise, you'll feel far more confident if you

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<v Speaker 1>know what other people with similar salaries earn. If an

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<v Speaker 1>employer offers something on the low end, you'll know that

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<v Speaker 1>it is absolutely expected to ask up, but to know

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<v Speaker 1>that you have to talk. Of course, that doesn't make

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<v Speaker 1>it easy. As with any fraught topic of conversation, it's

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<v Speaker 1>better to have lots of smaller talks than one big one.

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<v Speaker 1>You might start by listening to other people talk about

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<v Speaker 1>money and then use that as an opening to start conversations.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a lot of great money focused podcasts. My

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<v Speaker 1>personal favorite is the how to Money podcast. You could

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<v Speaker 1>ask a friend, family member, or colleague to listen to

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<v Speaker 1>a particular episode and then discuss it. You might also

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<v Speaker 1>think of some money related conversation prompts that you would

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<v Speaker 1>feel comfortable broaching with friends. Maybe these could be questions

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<v Speaker 1>like do you give your kids an allowance and if so,

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<v Speaker 1>how much? Or what's the most important thing your parents

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<v Speaker 1>taught you about money. Having open money conversations doesn't mean

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<v Speaker 1>you have to divulge your exact salary, though perhaps that

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<v Speaker 1>would come up at some point. In any case, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>say that the world is a lot more transparent now

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<v Speaker 1>than it used to be. Perhaps you have noticed that

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<v Speaker 1>if you google someone's address, one of the first things

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<v Speaker 1>that tends to come up is how much they paid

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<v Speaker 1>for the house. When you know that, other topics start

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<v Speaker 1>to seem a little less totally taboo. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>when you're having money talks, try to remember that there

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<v Speaker 1>are no dumb questions. If you aren't sure of what

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<v Speaker 1>a money related term means, or you're curious just how

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<v Speaker 1>others are planning to save for their kids college tuition.

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<v Speaker 1>Ask others in the room maybe wondering the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, money can be an emotionally charged topic,

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<v Speaker 1>but it can also be a fun one, and once

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<v Speaker 1>you start talking, it usually gets easier and the payoff,

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<v Speaker 1>if you will, can be significant. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our money and our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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