I’m a banker, and I talk about money all the time. To be fair, most of my friends are also in the finance industry, and we have no problem talking about expenses, investments, our debts and financial situations, and even our incomes. When I mention to someone outside of my finance friend group, how much student debt I have or what money mistakes I’ve made in the past, they are usually shocked. Because they were told to not talk about money.

I totally agree that we need to talk about this more. There should be no stigma. If a stranger asks me how much money I have, I would be hesitant to response; but if it’s someone I know — of course. Talking about money helps us LEARN about it, and to learn from other people’s mistakes. Some of the best advice I’ve gotten in my life came from talking about money with others.