Is it bad that I am intrigued by the idea of getting together with others and instead of having a book club (which of course would be great too) having a Money Club? Is it me, or do I feel that most others would not enjoy it? Is it because money is such a taboo topic among so many of us? I do not think a Money Club would necessarily need to be just women, but then maybe it would make women feel more empowered if it was just women. In any case, I am curious, if a monthly Money Club get-together is something folks would go to?
I got the idea from a LearnVest Daily email newsletter. I wish I had come up with the idea. I did not know the idea had been around for a long time. After doing a Google search I found quite a few websites that give details on how to start a Money Club. Regardless, I think it is something I might try to start. We all need to be more liberated about money issues, debt, talking to our spouses about our checking accounts, spending needs, etc. The above link shares steps for starting your own money club.
It is possible your Money Club might start out and be a bit uncomfortable. I think it is because of how little we talk with others about money, but it is so needed. I know plenty of individuals that are freaked out to even look at their checkbook so they just resist doing so and as a result do not know how much money they have to their name, or if their bank is hemorrhaging their accounts with unwanted and unnecessary fees. Others may not know what their joint income is and whether or not they have an emergency fund (maybe their spouse takes care of all of it and they never talk about it). A Money Club could help shed light on their current financial state, and if they are on track for retirement, are they financially prepared for the loss of spouse, or the loss of income. Or maybe it is about sharing resources, ideas, and encouragement for individuals wherever they are in their financial experience.
Financial conversations may not be something that you care about, and it may bore you to death, but it is as necessary as attending to many of our basic needs. Maybe I should start a virtual Money Club via phone or online if there are not enough interested individuals in my local area. So if an ETF or a living will leave you with a blank look on your face, maybe a Money Club is a great way to learn more, have fun, and get to know others while helping you to feel at peace about your financial future.
I am off to ponder this idea further.
random olio 
Talk to Betty. This is what she does either weekly or monthly. They invest and give each other tips etc. We all know she is a secret millionaire 😉
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So good to know. I’m totally curious about this – do you have contact information for Betty you can email me?
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That’s an interesting idea. We talk with some of our friends about money frustrations at times, but it’s pretty surface-level… not many details. The vagueness is probably a bit more of a useless formality since we all have a basic idea of where we’re at financially, but it’s something we haven’t really tried to dig deeper on.
Here are some questions for you:
Do you think the members in a Money Group would have to be at the same income level (or close) to keep it from being weird?
Do you think the members should be friends, acquaintances or “strangers” (can’t find a better word than that)?
My guess is that you may not be able to learn much from those in the same boat financially. I suppose it could go either way as a couple that is more well-off might not be able to relate or add helpful perspective. Hmmm. I’ll have to look up more of this when I’m not at work – my manager is a real hard ass 🙂
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Wow! I love your comments and have a few thoughts. I want to get rid of the formalities and while I respect where others are financially, I do not want that to be the focus, rather than creating a forum of education where folks in a group can learn about new offerings or things they can do to help their financial outlook, experience and knowledge. So I actually think if all individuals in the group are respectful and not cocky, you could have folks from different financial backgrounds/income level. They could be friends as long as there was a respect there too. I would probably trust friends/acquaintances more than strangers…
So for example, maybe you are doing something to cut back that I could learn from, and maybe I am doing something that you haven’t heard about and we learn from each other. Maybe it is encouraging someone to bike to work and how much one is saving from not having a 2nd car, as well as the health/exercise benefits. Maybe I have had experiences with having a will and I have kids, but you also have kids and do not know/have a background of why it is necessary to have a will when you have kids. I.e.: who would get your kids if something happened to you. Not a fun topic, but one that is crucial to parenting…
Thoughts?
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Ahhhh… gotcha. That totally makes sense. I absolutely agree and think this is not only a good idea, but it’s critical to success. All the wisest financial planners (and people just plain successful at life) have advisors or groups of people that they surround themselves with to bounce ideas off of, ask questions to, and/or seek council of.
I think it’s similar to running a company that is accountable to stockholders. The company appoints CEO’s, presidents, VP’s, etc (PARENTS) to lead the company to success and provide for themselves and the stockholders (CHILDREN/FAMILY). The company has a diverse board of experienced individuals that have proven themselves as successful decision-makers (MONEY CLUB). It’s not a perfect metaphor, but it works on some levels.
Bottom line, I agree 110%. I think formalities regarding money-discussions with close, trusted friends/family (as opposed to strangers) need to be dismantled. Where absolute specifics might still need to be somewhat guarded in order to protect the overall effectiveness of peoples ideas*, learning from what friends are doing to get ahead can be a great resource. If four couples are getting together for their monthly Money Club and two couples bring one idea each to the table, there is some serious growth potential that cannot be argued with.
*Again, talking about specifics might distract those that aren’t as financially stable from thinking that the benefits from others’ ideas are attainable. Leaving this specifics out, as you said, means that we’re actually talking about “templates” that can be applied to nearly any individual’s life.
Holy business… I’m going to wear out my welcome if I keep writing. I just love this post and think the tradition of secrecy around financial strategies is a good one to break.
Thanks for the post!
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I love the analogy of running a company. Just like they say it takes a village to raise kids, it takes the ideas, suggestions, experience from others to support the raising of those kids – with the finances needed. (What do they say it now is like $200,000 per kid these days?)
I agree that specifics can be guarded. Yes, templates, or ideas and inspiration. So for example, I am passionate about learning about different financial ideas, I read finance blogs (I know sounds boring). So there might be things I have heard or read about that others might not have heard of (or vice versa) that could be good investments, or good ideas to put into effect in ones life. Maybe it is something that means investing $20 a month towards retirement. Who knows?! I think the focus of the Money club could be just a genuine interest in bettering our financial lives (we do the same for fitness, relationships, etc, so why not our financial futures)?
Just the simple question: I got my bonus, should I invest the money or pay off credit card debt? Good question, but it all depends on a lot of other factors (like what is the APR on the credit card debt, what would you invest in, and what interest rate might you get for that, would all play a part in how I would answer). That can be discussed without details on how much folks make or have in the bank…
My core thought on the money club is that when I hear about something good I want to share it. I feel the same way about money ideas, experiences, and inspiration!
Thank YOU for commenting!!
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