"The Great Money Taboo"

"The Great Money Taboo"
BynLinda McCarrin, BA, CHLC
Certified Holistic Life Coach

There is a saying;: “ Money talks” but how many of us freely involve ourselves in money discussions? Yes, I understand what the meaning of that quote is…that if you have money you probably have a lot of other things in your life…but really, how many of us FEEL comfortable talking about money in specific situations, as opposed to generalities as opposed to not talking about it at all?

I was having a conversation today with a co-worker about tickets to see the play, “Wicked.” She couldn’t tell me how much she paid…just that they were “e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e” (you have to say it slowly and deliberately!)
Another incident was when I first took my job and after having had lunch in the lunchroom, 3-4 people crowded around me warning me about this particular co-worker who had been at our table. As they hovered around me they said things like, “Watch out for her, she’ll ask you what you earn, what your mortgage is, and more.” I felt like I’d been enveloped by the rumor mongers of the company hoping I’d be on their side! I didn’t have the wherewithal to say anything then, but just recently I told them how I felt at that earlier moment and how I wanted to tell them that I could choose my own friends, thank you very much!! In getting to know the “colleague-in-question” better, I realized that she was much more fully expressed and comfortable about a lot of topics. AND, she was fair because she had no problem speaking about her finances, in fact she offered them…which REALLY made people nervous.

Right or wrong…good or bad…money still is one of those taboo topics.
Can learn from these examples by being more open about discussing money? Who can learn from it? What are the payoffs for opening up about this subject? What do we have to hide about it? What are the possible consequences? What feelings surface for you when you think about discussing money? Has anyone ever asked about your money? What came up for you then? Where did you feel it?

Linda McCarrin, BA,CHLC