My first encounters with money relate to chewing gum. Growing up in a German village, I was lucky enough to live only one street away from a manual vending machine with all the promises a child could wish for: Something sweet, something to play with, something colorful. And all of that for a coin & the twist of a button. The process of asking for this money was, at the same time, a transcontextual testing of relationships. Was I big enough to do his transaction? Did my parents & grandparents trust me? What would wait for me? Would I like the taste? How big of a coin would I need? A fascination that wouldn’t cease. Of course, back then I preferred the smaller coins as the big ones rendered useless in the face of the slit in the machine.
I never really received pocket money, but I would most often get what I was asking for if the request came from an honest place. I remember the moment when Germany switched to the Euro & the machine was changing currency. It felt like a meaningful change, as suddenly, the number on the coin I had to insert was split in half. Would I get more gummies for the same amount of coins? Why did we have to go to the bank with our cash & suddenly only have half the amount on our accounts? The new money was sparkly, but no one could really explain this to me. I remember the day when they took the machine away. I was a teenager already, and still, there was a pinch in me.
Until now, no one tried to introduce me to the 'secrets of money': not my school, not my university, not 'my government', not even my bank. I’m growing aware of the privilege financial education really is, and of all the things I learned out of contexts like vending machine interactions on sunny summer days. The statistics are shocking all around the globe, in particular for women+ & marginalized groups. Even in Europe & the US, high financial literacy (whatever you consider that) is limited to less than half of the population. It took me until my mid twenties to start asking questions & look for helpful resources to un-myth money & start taking informed action. And I know for certain I am not alone with the shame, the struggle, and the questions around how to align my beliefs with what my money does in the world. Good education often isn't free though and remains a privilege that easily could be addressed by new ways of economising on the micro level, by repurposing funds or shifting curricula from primary to higher education. It makes my heart sing to see such initiatives pop up & work alongside each other with their respective focuses. It makes me breathe deeply that only few find ways to integrate the systemic crisis we are facing, and the possibilities/dilemmas one has to move, earn, spend, save conciously. At Money, Bling!, our approach is one of exploration rather than education. We hold communal spaces to dive into the diverse aspects around money with an awareness for the sensitivity many people feel around the topic, and tremendous curiosity for the stories behind our beliefs & understandings. Inviting to these spaces contributes big time to my own learning which is fluid & ever-changing, like the social construct of money itself.
How have you been learning about money?
Have you dedicated conscious time to consider your relationship to money?
We'd love to hear!
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