Do It Yourself: How Women Are Changing Personal Finance

There’s a voice coming out at the forefront of personal finance that is newly communal. Economic news and forecasts have us talking: strangers or friends, when we get together we start asking, “How are you keeping it together? Where are you shopping and saving these days? What are your tips and tricks?” Where once money was as taboo a topic as sex in polite circles, personal finance has become a community conversation.

Women are great in community. Whatever the task, we don’t just do it individually; we accomplish it ourselves, literally. There is collaboration to our conversation. In contrast, when I listen to men talk about money (my husband and others), it is direct, and geared to results. I hear them share their triumphs in definitive actions: We cancelled the cable; we canned an employee. Women involve the village. We dole out resources and suggestions every time we get together.

As a result, the strength of our own experience depends upon our collective experiences. The burden of proof has evolved from, “Are you a Certified Financial Planner?” to “What have you done to maximize your money, and how can I do the same?” Experience is the new education, and conversations at cocktails rally around the woman whose business is wavering, as we offer up personal contacts we know could help, and approaches we’ve taken in our own efforts.

I call this “Mastering Money Through the Feminine Principle.” Women understand that our actions have a ripple affect on our community. By harnessing this impact, we can use our role in community to motivate ourselves when we are lacking.

Take a Walk: How to Be a Good Resource
It may be puzzling to know how to be a resource for people when you’re facing your own financial strife. Fear too often paralyzes output. If you can barely maintain your own life right now, let alone think about Suzy wanting to start a nail salon, this is the kind of time when it’s most important to be a part of a community.

The silver bullet is to get outside yourself, whether your problem is financial or otherwise. Do this by getting in motion. Move your body. Go for a walk. Physically move yourself out of the stuck place you are in. The physical activity sounds unrelated. But I assure you that when you get your body moving, your ideas begin to flow. Everything that has been jammed and locked will start unfolding and moving around your system. So that when you do get together with your girlfriends or your neighborhood group, you can speak to what your issues are. Their ideas and support will come pouring in, and believe it or not, your issues will affect someone else’s, to get theirs moving too.

Here’s an added tip to build your resource foundation.

Leave your problems behind for a moment, and get curious about your surroundings. Start thinking in ways you can be a resource for others. Do you know what is happening in your town? Your neighborhood? Try this awareness exercise: Take a drive or a walk and look at the new businesses coming in. Notice those that are closing. Go to the public library and log on to their Internet. Look at Craigslist activities and help wanted ads. Be curious. Your intent is to get an understanding of what is going on around you, so that you can be handy for the advice when the ask rolls your way. You don’t have to solve anyone’s problems. But when you are aware of your community, you are stronger for it, and so, as a result, is your community. Tap into the world around you, and change it for better.