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| Uncommon Sense | Blogging toward financial sanity
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I was skeptical about starting a blog, but then a real community emerged -- and together, we're bucking up our fiscal resolve to battle spending and debt.
By MP Dunleavey
Editor's note: Columnist MP Dunleavey and eight other women have come together online to strip away the myths surrounding money, lay bare their assets and liberate themselves from debt. Follow the quest for financial fabulousness of these Women in Red every second Monday in Dunleavey's column on MSN Money.
I have to admit, I was less than thrilled when my cigar-chomping editor told me last spring that I would have to add blogging to my writerly duties. He wanted all the Women in Red to participate.
As a general rule, I try to avoid as many technological innovations as I can. Like today's over-endowed cell phones, they rarely add to your quality of life (blurry picture, anyone?).
Besides, what could I say on a blog that I wasn't saying in my column? How could yet more words thrown into the giant landfill that is the Internet possibly help anyone -- especially financially?
Still, I had a job to do and I had to figure out a way to do it. So I posted a rant about expensive friends and how I was embarrassed about the fact that I sometimes wash and reuse my plastic baggies.
It was one of those small acts of frugality that I would never admit out loud because any hint that you're pennywise is like admitting you're a poor, pathetic loser.
Groundswell of honesty
I was practically knocked flat by the wave of sympathetic, been-there postings I got in response. I was preaching to a choir of frugal-minded women who, like me, were tired of sneaking around, pretending they didn't care about financial sanity when they did.
What emerged in that discussion and ones that followed was a wealth of broader concerns about money and behavior, status and social consciousness.
Related news and commentary on MSN Money
My fellow bloggers agreed that when you hide these small acts of financial sanity -- taking a doggy bag at the restaurant, admitting you can't afford something or that you shop at Goodwill -- you play into the prevailing, financially destructive cultural myth that it's embarrassing, dumb or somehow "wrong" to be prudent about money.
As a woman named Danielle wrote, echoing the thoughts of others:
"The economy is in the toilet, gas prices are skyrocketing, the unemployment rate is high, yet a lot of people seem to be functioning like nothing has changed in their pocketbooks. I dont know why living within your means should be such a shameful thing to do." Even more astonishing was the way this blast of collective honesty seemed to inspire people to let their hair down and reach out to each other.
When I asked people to introduce themselves -- in that anonymous blog way, of course -- it was eye-opening to see how similar everyones financial stories were.
Whether it was medical school, a divorce, a prolonged illness, a big wedding or foolishly running up credit card bills, all of us had grappled with -- and most of us still were struggling with -- immense amounts of debt. Among the score of women who officially introduced themselves, the collective credit card debt alone was about $200,000.
School and car loans put that amount much higher.
"I started out last August with almost $7,000 in credit card debt, $49,000 in student loans, and $18,000 on a car loan," wrote Ang. "Last month I made my last credit card payment. I am so proud!" Just venting can be therapeutic, of course, but I was intrigued and impressed to realize that women were also using the group as a source of support.
"Support" may sound nebulous and insubstantial. But when it comes to money, support becomes a tangible asset if it helps you make progress on your financial goals.
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MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
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