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 think 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 43
1. 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Feel Embarrassed To Attend Community College The Frugal Gene
Both my sister and one of my brothers did the community college route. We have a robust “running start” program in our area for starting classes while still in high school, and they both took advantage of that opportunity. After that, they both went to (and graduated from) highly ranked four year schools at the respective ages of 21 and 20. And then both promptly paid off what student loans they had accrued.
Years later, if the topic of college comes up – which rarely does past graduation – they both answer with the name of their alma mater. Community college saved them SO much money, and once they’d made the transfer, it never once mattered again that they didn’t start at a four year school. Granted, my brother actually graduated high school with his AA, but he still only went to the university for two years after that.
I only took one summer class at a community college, but I also graduated in three years at the age of 21 thanks to a ton of AP classes and intentionality in my schooling. The trope that you must go to a “real” school for four years just isn’t true, and it’s simply expensive. There are so many ways to reduce that cost, and community college is one great option.
2. What Does Your Money Want? Emily Guy Birken
I have to say, I have never once considered anthropomorphizing my money. After reading this post by Emily, I think I’m going to try this out. It seems a bit odd at first, but it makes a lot of sense. Go check it out and tell me what you think.
It’s so easy to land in a place of both stress and autopilot, our money included. This practice of being more mindful – especially of our emotions – can be a great way to infuse more gratitude in our lives. And I think most of us could use more gratitude. Life isn’t always good or always easy, but a positive mindset tends to help, as does allowing ourselves to feel the negative emotions as well.
3. How To Save Money At The Library Young Modern Money
I ADORE the library. When I was in high school and college, I spent a lot of time in libraries. A lot. I was definitely jealous of the people who got to work in our school library (but I did work at the Writing Center, so I was still around books that way).
Now that we have a young child, one of my favorite stops in a new town is to their library. So many of them have a ton of toys and games as well as books, and they’re a comfortable place to hang out on a hot or cold day. Or when we just need a bit of down time.
And then there are all the other things that libraries provide these days. I actually met one of my best mama friends at a cloth diapering class right before my son was born and her oldest was a newborn. That class was held at a library. I love that Carrie wrote a detailed post about all the things that happen at and around libraries, because they are so much more than just books. 
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.