EoR No. 14: The bad and the ugly of financial service providers

Plus, moving to a trans-friendly city, anti-budget parenting, stoop coffee, extreme savers and more!

Top of mind

Talking with a loan officer at a local bank this week reminded me just how bad most available financial information is — and why.

It occurred to me that she doesn’t clearly explain the terms of a loan, because she assumes the working-class folks in this community either won’t understand or they’ll be turned off by formal language because of an anti-intellectual bias. And they’ll simply go along with the bank’s demands over time to avoid being a bother. I noticed the same when a medical provider instructed my partner to sign a form that, they said, “just acknowledges we sometimes work with private providers,” but most likely waived his right to protections against surprise medical bills.

Americans aren’t taught how to be conscious consumers, and most of us have had no useful financial education to learn the ins and outs of the financial products (including insurance!) that run our lives. When the stewards who bring us those products wave away complex commitments like they’re negotiating pay with an evening babysitter, how can we be expected to “responsibly” incorporate those commitments into our lives?

Don’t let people treat you like you’re stupid. Read contracts they try to whisk you through, and ask questions until you have concrete answers. You have a right to understand the consequences of the financial commitments you make. And know that, if you feel out of your depth, that’s not because you’re stupid; it’s because the entire process is set up to make you feel that way.

News and upcoming events:

• Are you retired or semi-retired on a working-class income? I’d love to hear from you for a piece I’m writing for Business Insider! Reply to this email to set up a quick phone or email interview. Thank you! 🙏

• Still time to sign up for my webinar on estate planning! My friends at Legado will answer your questions about making a will or a trust in any kind of family — including special considerations for unmarried, same-sex, transgender and polyamorous partners, adoptive families and more.

• Editors! I’m presenting on language and finance at the annual ACES conference in Salt Lake City this Thursday. ACES is my happy place — come say hi if you’re attending!

Ch. 7 is all about the inner workings and consequences of various debt products so you can advocate for yourself! Buy You Don’t Need a Budget at Bookshop.org or wherever you buy books.

🥑 ICYMI at Healthy Rich this week

• Sometimes being a parent means breaking the ‘rules’ — my anti-budget approach to parenting by

  Sarah Elizabeth Graves

• Relocating at the drop of a hat to a trans-friendly state or city

🔗 Things to catch

• I was at my alma mater (employer) this week talking about what is — and isn’t — happening right now with student loans.

• Have you seen the circulating

  Supernuclear
  post about stoop coffee??

• With the CFPB kneecapped by the Trump administration, here are some alternative places to file a complaint about issues with your financial institutions.

• If you don’t know her already, you absolutely must meet Frances Perkins.

• Losing your job is bad for your health — but keeping a positive attitude can genuinely minimize the harm.

• How being a survivor of financial abuse impacts self-employed women.

• I appreciated

  Cara
  ’s story at
  The Quiet Spend
  about using debt in a crisis, even when it didn’t conform to conventional financial advice.

• The strange psychology of extreme savers — CFP

  Hanna Horvath
  of
  Your Brain on Money
  on what really drives frugality.

💬 Let’s discuss

Tell us about your interactions with financial services!

Have you opened an account, taken out a loan, signed up for insurance, dealt with a creditor, enrolled in debt relief or worked with a financial advisor recently? What were you hoping to get out of it, and what did you end up with? Did you feel respected, guided, accommodated, understood? What do you wish would have gone differently? What tips would you offer someone preparing to do the same?