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 62
1. Why I Don’t Recommenced No Spend Days A Dime Saved
Since I’ve been a big proponent of No Spend Days (they were integral in getting me to get a much closer handle on our money), I knew I needed to read this one. My own views on them have shifted quite a bit in the time I’ve been tracking our spending, but ultimately they were a key piece of getting intentional with our money.
I’m not sure I agree that no spend days are gimmicks on their face, but they can end up acting that way. The truth is that there are no quick fixes with personal finance or anything else. No spend days CAN be helpful as a kickstart to a change in habits, but they aren’t sustainable over the long run an can end up being just a bandaid and incentive to binge later. Like most things, know yourself, and figure out what works best for you, because personal finance is really dang personal.
2. Why I Learned From My 30-Day Digital Declutter Tiny Ambitions
As a content creator and someone who is online a lot – optionally, like Britt – this was a fascinating read.
I totally relate to her comments about Twitter and wanting to share thoughts there – and like her, my reaction pre-Twitter, and even now, is to share those thoughts with friends via text as well. Pretty much always, I’ve been an over-sharer of (many) thoughts. While the internet and social media isn’t the only thing that makes it possible, it certainly makes it a lot easier. And that isn’t always a good thing.
I’ve toyed with skipping a week or two of blog posting in the past, but I’ve worried that I’d end up stretching that too long if I got off track with my schedule. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I love this blog and want to keep it going for a long time. The idea of a scheduled one month time frame is really intriguing to me though, and one I may implement in the future. A set break makes me think I’d be more likely to jump back on and resume normally after that. I’d really love your thoughts on this one.
3. Why Should Moms Have to Justify Their Choices? Brave Saver
While I didn’t grow up in a Mormon community or in another religion so overly focused on little girls growing up becoming mothers above all else, that pervasiveness seeps into our society as a whole.
Just a couple weeks ago, I was flat out told that women should stay home with their children – while I had my son with me and I was clearly on my way to work.
I find myself justifying enjoying my career and choosing to work, even when people don’t directly ask. The assumption is there, even when it isn’t asked outright. Mothers are expected to be the ones making choices for their families first, and their careers and themselves second.
Mom guilt is real, and it is so frustrating. We should not have to justify our choices, and yet we do it time and time again.
Next time you talk to a mother, or a childfree woman, or a little girl, be aware of the words you choose so perhaps the next generation won’t feel these pressures so strongly.
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.
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These are all such great posts! I am honored to be included amongst them. Thank you for sharing these incredible women’s stories with us!
Thanks for sharing a different, well formed perspective!
Thanks so much for including me!! I think breaks from blogging can be helpful if you need time to evaluate your perspective and aren’t sure how you want to move forward. It seems like you have a really clear voice and know what your content niche is, so I wouldn’t be stressed about not doing a digital declutter.
More I can see the draw of stepping away from spending too much time connected online 🙂
I hope you punched that person who told you to stay home. But I know you didn’t and I wouldn’t have either. But hopefully they get punched at some point.
I totally get where that woman is coming from. I was just having a similar conversation about this last night; I think post-WW2 had some very detrimental effects on gender and motherhood that didn’t exist before, and the Mormon church was not immune to the cultural change. I feel very lucky that I have a working mom, a working grandma, and a great-grandma Rosie the Riveter :). My grandparents didn’t adopt those thoughts after the war and didn’t raise their daughters with a mothers-only mindset, and my mom was a convert to the church so she didn’t grow up going to church with people who did have that mindset. It’s fun to see how those thoughts are slowly changing, both in society and in the church. Yay for progress!
It has seeped into all parts of society for sure. And it definitely took all my self control not to rail against that comment 😬
Ugh, people who make uninvited comments like that to working mothers (or to stay at home mothers about how they should work) need to learn to pull their heads in. It’s like they forget that women have been working for generations, it’s just not talked about and there’s this fairytale that it’s a recent thing. My mother worked full time in the 70’s and part time in the 80’s, my grandmother worked in a shop, and so did my great grandmother! All while they had kids. I dont know about further back, but I’d bet they worked in some capacity too!
YEP. The “mommy wars” narrative makes it seem like it’s the moms perpetuating it, but it really is society as a whole and it comes from all sides.
Thanks so much for sharing Britt’s post on Digital Minimalism and Detox today ! That was a gem
Right??