Seeking your ideas: What drives you crazy 😖 about managing your personal finances 💸?

yxzhang·Oct 06, 2020

Posted in:Advice Family & Relationships Health & Wellness Lifestyle Money

👋Elpha Community,I’m designing a personal finance/investing online course and would love to get some feedback/ideas from those interested in the topic--a few questions below if you're willing to weigh in!Feel free to DM or email me at [email protected] if you prefer not to share publicly. 1. What's the biggest unanswered personal finance question you have?2. What money topic are you most interested in or most burdened by (e.g. budgeting, saving, investing, debt, something else?)3. What's the top pain point or goal you have when it comes to your finances & money?4. What's your core motivation when it comes to learning about and managing your finances well?5. As a woman, would you prefer learning about personal finance/investing with other women in a class tailored for women, or do you think you'd benefit in learning with both men and women and believe the best content should apply to both groups?

Magdalena205·Oct 07, 2020

Answering anonymously because this is a public post:1. The biggest unanswered personal finance question I have is "Will I ever be able to actually own a home in the United States and have money to retire there?" and if the answer is "No", what I can do instead. I find a lot of people, when I look into this question, to be very optimistic and positive, but I also think they're blowing smoke. I don't think their answers are realistic, but maybe I'm just being pessimistic.2. I am most burdened by the idea that I don't have "enough" and that I will never be able to make enough to be "free" or even to try for my own business.3. My top pain point is a fear of debt. I would like to be debt-free and financially independent, but I don't think I can actually achieve that goal where I am currently, and don't know where to look for long-term planning.4. My core motivation is fear. I've seen and experienced things I don't want to go through again, and I don't want to repeat the mistakes of my parents. 5. As a woman I am much more concerned about being in a class tailored for people from my own or similar economic background than I am about sex or race. I've tried to take financial education courses before, and usually I find they aren't a good match for my needs. The ones tailored "for women" have been caught up more in stuff like budgeting for childcare and how to face challenges based on gender; while the ones that have been "for both" assume a certain level of income and/or a certain cultural background that does not align with my needs.

yxzhang·Oct 07, 2020

Thanks so much for sharing your perspective. Have you looked into Ellevest? If so, curious what you think of them and if something like that matches your needs from long-term planning. I think they are trying to help people across socioeconomic levels and they do advise on debt.