If you are afraid to talk about money, something might be wrong.

You might be insecure about your financial knowledge.  Money management may seem totally foreign to you.  Maybe you’ve never had to think about it on your own before.

Maybe you were taught that it’s taboo to talk about money in certain contexts, but you’ve applied that rule to all contexts.

Maybe it’s time you deal with this.

 

You Gotta Learn About It

To get comfortable talking about money, you need to start learning more about it.

Talking with others to get their thoughts and opinions is a good start.  Reading education material is another step in the right direction.  Making a budget and understanding your monthly finances is a great hands-on approach.

Whatever you do, start learning.

You (obviously) won’t learn everything overnight.  But the longer you wait, the less you’ll know, and the more awkward you’ll feel when the subject turns to money.

I’m not suggesting you go out an get a finance degree or certification, but I am saying that you should learn some basics so you feel more confident talking to your CPA or financial planner.  You’ll be able to ask better questions, and you’ll have more insight for when somebody tries to pull a fast one on you.

 

Financial Resources Abound

There are countless resources available for self-education, but I’ll only mention a couple of them here.

Dave Ramsey has a series of books and trainings that are designed to help teach people with little or no experience how to effectively manage their money.  My parents raved about his book Total Money Makeover, so I’d say that’s probably a good place to start if you struggle to stay on top of your monthly budget (or if you don’t even have one).

Anything from Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad series would also be a good choice.  The Rich Dad books cover the mindset you need to deal with money, and go on to give a good understanding of how money works (and how you can make it work for you).  These would be better once you’ve gotten a handle on your monthly finances.

There are also plenty of online finance blogs, such as Wise Bread and Get Rich Slowly.  These are great troves of free educational finance information.

 

No Excuses

At some point, you have to stop making excuses.  If you say that you want to be on top of your finances, you have to do something about it.

Set aside a couple of hours and make a budget.

Make some time each week to review your transactions.

Buy a book or subscribe to a finance blog, and start reading.

At this point, the only thing holding you back is you.  You don’t have to be afraid of your finances.  You’ll find that it gets easier with each step you take — you’ll understand more, and the knowledge will build.  You’ll gain confidence and you’ll be glad that you put in the effort.

Your finances aren’t going away.  When are you going to take charge?