This post may contain affiliate links and WPF may earn money or products from companies mentioned. More info
Welcome to the Women’s Personal Finance Wednesday Roundup! We started this series back in 2018 on TreadLightlyRetireEarly.com to showcase the fabulous women in the online personal finance community who are talking about money online. Even now, there is a perception that women aren’t good with money, don’t care about money, or don’t understand it on a granular level beyond perhaps knowing how to coupon and score a good shopping deal.
These roundups are our way of doing a small part to change that perception. There is no shortage of women online doing their part to make it clear that they DO understand money, and these posts are meant to amplify that fact.
Why does it matter? Because representation matters. Because reading and hearing stories from those who (may or may not) look like us show us that yes, we too can figure out this money thing, that we too have important stories to tell. And that we too know quite a lot about money and are experts worth listening to.
Since Women’s Personal Finance has grown up to get its own website, it’s time to transition these roundups over here to the dedicated website. Same great content, new home!
Our Women’s Personal Finance Facebook group on Facebook also has a sharing thread on Fridays, and that’s the place to read all the blog posts written by members over the previous week. If you’re looking for more articles written by women and nonbinary folks, that’s a great place to continue reading (plus we have plenty of great discussions on finances the rest of the week as well!).
If you don’t have the time or inclination to go searching down myriad posts, though, we will be continuing this series every week to showcase some of the best of the new content we read. If you ever read a post you think we absolutely need to consider for this roundup, please let us know! We are always open to reading new blogs and want to celebrate those newer voices as well as the more seasoned ones.
And with that, here is the best (in our opinion) content by women and nonbinary folks this past week. Let us know what you think in the comments! We love discussion.
Table of Contents
Women’s Personal Finance Weekly Roundup #104 (Actually, 243)
1. Weeding Out Money Demons and Financial Weak Spots at the Root NZ Muse
“As an adult, I’m relearning how to embrace the concept of pleasure. This probably also ties in with my difficulty receiving – I’m just not used to it, I feel really uncomfortable being given anything, as being the recipient of generosity is so … foreign.
Little wonder it’s hard to receive anything. Even now, I receive cash every year for my birthday, and it’s not something I fully feel comfortable about.
And that definitely links up with the drive to earn (that’s a whole thing of its own!), through hard work and hustle, and prove myself. It’s all connected.”
2. Our Approach to Paying Off $277k of Debt Social Work to Wealth
“When I think about how much debt we have it’s still mind-blowing to me that we were allowed to take out loans of this size.
In May of 2022 we started out with $277k of debt and now we have $239k. It wasn’t all student loans, but most of it was (and is).
What a huge mountain to conquer.
For many of us, our debt feels like a weight that is hard to carry and something we will never be able to get rid of.
I now know someday we will pay it off if we continue on the current path we are on, but it is still a heavy burden to bear.“
3. When is it enough? Badgerland Budgeting
“I fell through the cracks. I was a high achiever; a seemingly social butterfly who never attached to any one group in high school. But I was never close to anyone. I would envelop myself in worlds within books when home and try my best to “fit in” to the world around me when I didn’t know what the rules were and why people were upset with me when I didn’t play by the same rules they wanted me to.
My sister fell through the cracks. For years struggling with everyday things, routines that worked for her weren’t good enough for our parents.
… The systems at be aren’t made for us to succeed in. We can’t thrive in harsh conditions and even as much as people say “dandelions grow in the harshest conditions” doesn’t mean we, as people, can handle that same toxicity and environment day in and day out.”
Thanks For Supporting These Creators!
As always, if you’re looking for a categorized list of self-identified women and nonbinary folks writing and speaking about personal finance, here is the comprehensive guide to the Women of the Financial Independence Community.