Welcome to another week of the Women’s Personal Finance Wednesdays roundup. I started this series after months of debate because I wasn’t certain I wanted to up the ante and commit to publishing three posts a week. However, now that I’ve started sharing these posts, I’m so glad I started.
There are so many fabulous women writing about personal finance online, and yet there is still 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 my way of doing a small part to change that perception. There are 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.
The hardest part of this post every week always is narrowing it down to my favorites, because there is just so much good content out there. If you’re ever interested in what else I’m reading, I share quite a few other posts on Twitter (and that’s also where I read most of the content to begin with these days).
Our Women’s Personal Finance Facebook group 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, 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, I will be continuing this series every week to showcase some of the best of the new content I read. If you ever read a post you thing I absolutely need to consider for this roundup, please let me know! I am always open to reading new blogs (and posts of blogs I do know, because I miss some).
Women’s Personal Finance Wednesdays – Week 36
1. Is being a self confessed foodie compatible with achieving FIRE? Late Starter FIRE
Well, anyone who has followed my blog for any amount of time should know by now that I just had to read this post after reading the title. Clearly, I also think that is foodies can reach financial independence, but it’s definitely a constant struggle on that front.
Never will we get down to an average of two or even five dollars per person per meal, but that doesn’t mean we can use our foodie excuse to let those expenses just happen without any intentionality. Food and travel may be the only things we aren’t so frugal on, but it’s amazing how quickly those dollars add up if we aren’t careful.
I loved reading another blogger’s struggle on this front because it’s not something that we’ve been able to “fix” and then not have to think about it again. Over and over again we read about how people spend so little on food, and that just isn’t going to be realistic for us. But that’s clearly a priority in our family as well as her, so money spent on food will always command a larger portion of our expenses – but mindfully now.
2. The Weird Line Between Scarcity Mindset and Frugality Budget And The Beach
I have to admit, scarcity mindset is not something I grew up with and not something I’ve experienced myself, but it’s clear that this is a very common thing and that connection between it and frugality is very strong. I love Tonya’s reflection on her experiences as of late and how it impacts the way she looks and and spends – or saves her money.
I had also not looked at the theory of big rocks in terms of how you spend your money as well as your time. This is something I could – and will – probably spend quite a bit of time thinking on in terms of my own life. I think I do a decent job of this simply by being mindful about what I say yes to, but I like this alternative way at looking at the same limited time and resources.
3. Job Search (& Survival) Tips: Figure Out The Bad You Can Live With Champagne & Capital Gains
It seems like 2019 has been the year of terrible job situations as far as the personal finance community has been concerned. While I’ve been clear that my job is actually pretty great and not one I want to leave even after reaching financial independence, I realize that I have a serious unicorn of a job and most aren’t like mine.
That said, there is a huge spectrum of “jobs that suck” and those are the ones that are hardest to deal with when you still have to work for money. Looking for a new job? Wondering if you should stick out your current one for “X” amount of time? Read this post and make sure you’ve considered all your options as they are and might be. And then read the other posts tagged at the end of this one – there are some great stories and advice around career and jobs in this part of the internet.
I hope you enjoy the posts this week as much as I did. I read a ton of content and it was hard to narrow down my favorites. I’m looking forward to sharing some new ones with you again next week!
As always, if you’re looking for a categorized list of self identified women writing and speaking about personal finance, here is my comprehensive guide to the Women of the Financial Independence Community.
