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

privilege

Checking My Privilege (Part 2)

Checking My Privilege (Part 2)

I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. For the first twelve years of my life, my family lived in a beautiful, 3-bedroom home in a historic, upper middle class neighborhood. The neighborhood was filled with plenty of green space, a school with a playground, and even a fountain. It was no secret that outside of this idyllic neighborhood, though, this area of town wasn’t the best. Case in point: Even though there was an elementary school just a few blocks from my house, it was never a question that my brother and I would go to private school (as did just about every other kid in our neighborhood). The school district was known to be one of the worst in the area. So for preschool up through sixth grade we commuted to a local Catholic school about 20 minutes away.

How to Use Your Money to Be an Anti-Racist

How to Use Your Money to Be an Anti-Racist

Am I doing my work to become an anti-racist?

Like many white Americans, George Floyd’s death was a wake-up call for me. Not that the work of racial justice wasn’t important to me before, but it was something I was able to compartmentalize due to my own privilege. If the last few months have taught me anything, it’s that we can’t afford to silently support this cause from the sidelines. To shift the tide of systemic racism and dismantle white privilege, we all need to be willing to step into the ring and actively engage not just in the aftermath of a brutal murder but every single day.

I'm Listening

I'm Listening

If this week has taught me anything, it’s that I need to take more time to listen to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). I need to listen closely to their stories and their perspectives of news events. I need to be willing to trust them when they say justice has not been served, when they confide their fear of law enforcement, when they expose the seedy underbelly of white privilege that pervades just about every are of our culture. I must choose to listen closer even when it doesn’t immediately make sense in my predominately white world view and even when there’s no video to prove it. This isn’t just about George Floyd, this is about every day life in America for BIPOC.

Lift As We Climb

Lift As We Climb

For a couple of years now I’ve been following a community called BossedUp that aims to help women beat the cycle of burnout and create happy, healthy, and sustainable careers. So often becoming the “boss” of your own life — or even succeeding in your career — is framed as a solo activity. But BossedUp chooses a different framing, inviting us to find our tribe, create communities of courage, and, most importantly, “lift as we climb.”