Talking About Money With Friends: 5 Benefits

What if I told you that changing one thing in your financial planning and budget could help raise your chance of success, lower your stress, and make it more fun?
We as Americans tend to have a social stigma regarding talking about finances.  Even among my friends, we’re more likely to fight over who’s going to be the hero and pay for girls’ night dinner rather than real talk about our struggles and successes.  But just like any other habit, making your goals less private and owning your wins and losses helps you in so many ways. Here are five benefits of talking about money with friends.

Knowing you’ll check in once a week or every other week means you’re more likely to actually forego that crafting trip to Hobby Lobby that would have cost you a couple hundred bucks.

You get to learn from each other and find ways to say no to spending or to celebrate on the cheap when you have a financial success.

I call this my rideshare.  I choose someone who isn’t WAY better at finances than me (as it can be disheartening) nor someone who’s WAY worse (because they will never hold me to the high standard I want).  But it’s a friend who’s willing to be honest and who has some struggles like I do.

There are apps that help with habit tracking for extra motivation and accountability.  I’ve used HabitShare to share habits with my friends, schedule habit reminders and more.

There’s something that’s life-giving about sharing your time and self with others, knowing in a tangible way that we’re not doing life alone.  We all have money struggles and issues.  But as we learn together, we grow together.
Personal finance can and should be a vital, empowering part of life, so talking about money with friends could be a great way to empower your financial life.
Need a jump start to your financial plan?  Want on-demand accountability and tips from the experts to get things going?  Check out Apprisen’s Financial Health Program, Propel.