Hi everyone!
For those of you who didn’t know, we took a break from meeting in person during the month of September and will be back in November 🤗 I have missed our meetings so much, and I wanted to share some of what has been going through my mind these past couple of months (September felt like two months to me, anyone else?).
Not only did the student loan forgiveness situation finally go through in September, but the fed also rose rates (again) and the market is still going through some volatile times, and on top of that we have all the regular stuff we regular folks have to deal with. So! I’m setting a date for our next meet up to be November 17. Send me an email if you’d like to join at muralnomad@gmail.com. I’m adding a virtual listen-in option for those who can’t make it in person, but please be aware that there will not be a chat and the camera will be off so I can stay focused and engaged in our conversation!
Don’t forget the reason we’re able to have this club is thanks to Future Front Texas! Make sure you support this amazing nonprofit because thanks to our organization we’re able to host community clubs like this and many more.
Student Loan Forgiveness in September
Something we’ve talked about on all of our meet ups is our student debt situation and how everyone was handling them through out the pandemic while payments were paused, so now that we know the new rules I’m wondering how everyone is feeling about this. What is everyone doing and how has this this affected or helped you? Would love to know more.
From what I’ve heard so far it’s nice that the government is canceling some of the debt. Some wonder if it’s just a band-aid to a bigger issue? I personally love that people are getting some of that debt erased, it’s not like we’ll get thousdands of dollars to spend but it’s nice to make those debt numbers smaller.
Lesbians who tech summit 2022 San Francisco & Virtual
I was able to attend the Lesbians who tech summit last week virtually and even though I was mainly there for the amazing tech line up I also caught two really good financial wellness talks they had. One was with Ariel Lester who is not a financial advisor, she is a Director at Meck, a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing company. So just like us, a person sharing her own journey about financial wellness. She let the guests ask her questions and she talked about her principals (non negotiables) and then answered questions like “how much should be kept in savings?” and “how do you find a financial advisors?” All things we have touched on at our club! I was glad that this conference had sessions about finances.
Some of the insights that stayed with me were around the question “What is your advise for people under 25?”, not because I’m 25 but simply because this is advice I have gotten around investing over and over again no matter how old I am… Start now! Why? Compound Interest, and the power of time. If like me, you have a bad habit of putting stuff off, ‘over educate’ yourself by researching way too much naturally you put off actually investing, which depends on time itself, then you make the same mistake most older people say they made when it comes to investing. Waited too long.
I’m afraid that’s what happens to a lot of people who are skeptical about our financial system (and I am!), the market and investing overall. We want to hear ‘all sides’ to make sure we’re making the ‘right decision’ when: 1. we don’t have to spend THAT much investing, and 2. the faster we make the decision to invest LONG TERM the more compound interest we’ll get. For more about Compound Interest head here
I can’t wait to see you all next month, at our new spot with more accessible features.
Have a nice week!
~ Lina