Our relationships with money are emotional, and we blame ourselves when things go wrong.

Sound familiar?

Let’s have the money convo, shall we?

Money is the last taboo because we’re still not talking about it.

Everyone else is either bragging about how much they have or keeping silent. It’s considered rude to talk about your paycheck. It’s not classy to discuss rates. Businesses have it in their contract that if you disclose your salary you will be fired. Millionaire athletes say they do it for the love since their salaries are public.

The result is we don’t know how much we should charge for our work, spend on ourselves, or save for our future. We feel lost, stupid, and alone. Wages have stagnated for decades even as productivity and the cost of living soar. Who does this silence benefit? There are zero social cues around saving money. $0. When we do talk about savings, our discussions are usually abstract threats like, “Stop buying things you don’t need!” or hidden social cues about spending like, “I saved $20 on this new shirt I bought.”

Let’s change the way we talk about money by actually talking about money.

Let’s have patience for ourselves, empathy for our communities and clarity in our conversations.