Grace Pomroy
Stuck in a Season of Waiting

Lately I feel like I’ve been stuck in a season of waiting. My husband and I have been dreaming of putting down roots in the Pacific Northwest since the first time we visited Oregon seven years ago. While we are just months away from making that goal a reality – we hope to buy a house sometime this summer – we are still in transition. In addition to waiting as we search for the right house, I spent the fall waiting to get an appointment with a doctor about a health concern I was dealing with, spent the winter waiting for medical tests, and am now spending the spring waiting to fully recover from surgery.

Stuck in a Season of Waiting
Grace Pomroy
How to Handle a Big Income Gap in Your ...

It’s not uncommon for couples to have an income gap between partners – in fact, it's the norm. According to data from Morning Consult and Insider, nearly three-quarters of Americans reported they had some income imbalance with their partner before they started dating. And while that imbalance can flip-flop as partners change jobs or receive a raise or bonus, at times it can be significant. This might happen when one partner retires, decides to go back to school, or opts to stay at home with the kids. This might also happen when one partner gets a big promotion or receives a large inheritance. How can you manage your finances so this imbalance in income doesn’t throw your relationship off balance? Consider these steps:

How to Handle a Big Income Gap in Your Relationship
Grace Pomroy
My 6 Favorite Money Psychology Hacks

I’m a big fan of the Financial Feminist podcast. A few weeks ago the host, Tori Dunlap, shared a money hack that she had heard about from another financial educator on Science Finance: Before making an impulse purchase, ask yourself: “How many ‘taco dollars’ does it cost?” That particular financial educator really loved tacos, so he judged each purchase by asking, “How many tacos could I buy for the cost of that item?” Concert tickets: 20 tacos. Cupcake: 1 taco. Fancy hotel stay: 83 tacos. Then, he would ask himself: “Is it really worth that many tacos?”

My 6 Favorite Money Psychology Hacks
Grace Pomroy
The Power of the Icebreaker (Part 2)

My last post on things that can jumpstart your financial life in 5 minutes or less got me thinking  about one of the most effective steps I ever took during our marriage: asking my husband an icebreaker question about our life together. That word icebreaker is key: these are questions designed to get conversation going, not shut it down. And that means the question has to be open-ended and asked with a spirit of genuine curiosity of learning what your partner thinks.

The Power of the Icebreaker (Part 2)
Grace Pomroy
Welcome "The Earner" Money Personality

Long-time readers of this blog are familiar with the four money personalities I discuss: the giver, the saver, the spender, and the acquirer. Over time, though, I’ve learned that while people tend to understand the first three, they often stumble over the last one. On first blush, people generally thought the “acquirer” referred to someone who liked to accumulate or collect things. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The acquirer was someone focused on how money came into their life, not what was done with the money after it was received. 

Welcome "The Earner" Money Personality

money conversations

Creating a Spending Plan For Two

Creating a Spending Plan For Two

The other day I felt my financial control freak tendencies kicking in again. My husband and I were out on our very first in-person shopping trip since early 2020. We were having a great time with friends shopping at my husband’s favorite menswear store, Jaxon Grey. (Seriously, if you’re ever in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, check it out — it’s a good one!) Anyway, as we were enjoying our shopping trip, I noticed the stack of clothes starting to pile up. I could feel my anxiety creeping in — yes, this was our first shopping trip in over a year, but did we really need to spend this much? What would the spending from this small shopping trip put into jeopardy?

The Value of Assuming Good Intent

The Value of Assuming Good Intent

Honest confession: I’m someone who tends to jump to conclusions. An off-handed remark in an email, a cryptic text, an unidentified debit charge on my bank account, I quickly make up a story in my head and it’s often not the right one. Throughout my life, and most particularly in my marriage, this quality has come back to bite me. I’ve blamed my partner for something he didn’t do. I’ve read something into a comment that was never there to begin with. While jumping to conclusions may feel like a smart, protective measure, it doesn’t tend to be all that helpful especially in a relationship.

How to Talk About Money with Your Parents

How to Talk About Money with Your Parents

One of the first financial things I learned in my childhood was that when you receive money it’s important to save at least some of it. I had a piggy bank, a savings account at our local bank, and I remember participating in a program where we stashed away quarters in a little booklet. There was a lot of emphasis on saving money, although I admit it wasn’t always clear what we were supposed to save for.

Why is talking about money so hard?

Why is talking about money so hard?

Let’s be real: Our culture doesn’t encourage talking about money. Whether that’s ethnic culture, family culture, or the culture of consumerism in America, there are a lot of people who believe finances are personal (read: private), and should be kept that way. While there may be some good reasons for this, I think it’s also a bit of a cop-out. It gives us permission to say this conventional wisdom is beyond our control, when in fact we are all part of creating, shaping, and maintaining cultural norms.