How to Talk About Money in a Way That's Not Awkward

"Money conversations can feel like they are the elephant in the living room. Everyone sees the financial issues shaping their lives, but politeness dictates that we pretend money doesn't shape our decisions and relationships. Without talking about money with others, we're left to wonder how our friends and family are able to afford their lives and whether we're the only ones who are sometimes worried about our finances."

"Researcher Matt Meister from the University of San Francisco and colleagues (2025) examined how openly discussing personal finances affects financial anxiety. Across eight studies that include large-scale surveys, longitudinal experiments, and text analysis of online forums, talking about money lowers financial anxiety. This result emerges because talking about money increased perceived financial control: Sharing helps people organize their thoughts, feel more capable of managing finances, and thus experience less distress."

"Interestingly, talking about money is even helpful when people do it anonymously, online with strangers. In one study with 302 U.S.-based university students, participants shared weekly posts over four weeks about either their financial health or their physical health in anonymously in moderated forums. The results showed that students in the financial health condition reported greater reductions in financial anxiety compared to those in the physical health condition."

Open conversations about personal finances reduce financial anxiety by increasing perceived financial control. Sharing financial concerns helps people organize thoughts, feel more capable of managing money, and experience less distress. The anxiety-reducing benefits are strongest when discussions focus on controllable aspects such as budgeting and spending rather than uncontrollable events like surprise expenses. Anonymous online exchanges with strangers can also lower financial anxiety; participants who posted about financial health reported greater reductions than those who posted about physical health. Evidence from large surveys, longitudinal experiments, and text analyses of online forums shows consistent improvements in financial wellbeing when people discuss their finances.

Read at Psychology Today