When is The Last Time You Talked About Money?

This is a sponsored post curated by me on behalf of MassMutual. All opinions are 100% mine!

If I yell, “Let’s talk about sex”, people would turn their heads to see who said it, if I yelled, “Let’s talk about money”, people would almost hide and get out of the way to avoid the conversation altogether!

Many of us have been raised that money is that thing we don’t talk about.   We don’t share how much we make and definitely don’t share if we are in any financial trouble. This “taboo” topic has put so many people into deeper holes than necessary, all because they were scared or ashamed to talk about their financial situation.

The funny thing is that I was fortunate to be raised in a family that talked about money. My mom would sit down with me and allow me to watch her pay the monthly bills; show me her checkbook and bank statement; and made sure I understood what it really took to run a household financially. My grandparents would also often have financial conversations with me about the, “spenders and savers” in life. They also emphasized how,as a family, we were to support each other in our time of need. So, after reading MassMutual’s recent study that stated, “90% of African Americans believe that it is important to look out for one another”, I was not surprised, as that was exactly how I was raised.

About a year after starting my business, I hit a REALLY rough patch in my finances. It was hard for me because I have always been the person that was on top of her finances and had a financial plan, I had exhausted everything to pursue my dreams! All the while, I was still helping everyone else excel financially. But silently, I was drowning! Despite all of the financial conversations that I had growing up and all of the reassurance that I received that money was a open topic, I was scared to share with anyone the details of what I was dealing with.

When I finally put my pride to the side and admitted to the fact that I messed up financially, my family immediately jumped in to help in any way that they could. I was super shocked! I expected them to belittle me or give me a hard time for having such a big financial set back (silly me!). This was major as I realized that so many of us are struggling with our finances or various other areas of our lives. Instead of asking for help, we are too ashamed or embarrassed. The sooner we ask for guidance or advice, the sooner we can turn things around and start working on the problem before it worsens.

I challenge you to have the money conversation with your loved ones or your family. If you are dealing with anything financially or otherwise, ask for help or support from your family or friends. We are all in this together and want to uplift each other to live our best lives and bring all of our Dreams2Reality!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mass Mutual. The opinions and text are all mine.