I was speaking today with a moneyworker whom I respect a great deal.  The conversation largely focused on financial literacy, and the fact that it's not common in our communities.  (I think that's more because we are a microcosm of a society in which education about money is sorely lacking, but we spoke more about solutions than causes.)  We floated a number of ideas about how we can lift each other up from the self-perpetuating cycles of poverty and money anxiety, and those ideas are certainly going to manifest in our communities, but I want to know what you know, and what you don't, about money.

Some questions which come to mind include:

• Can you balance a check book?  If you can, when's the last time you did so?
• Do you know your credit rating and credit score?  Do you understand the difference between the two, or the factors which contribute to them?
• What about budgeting?  Are you able to predict if you will run out of money before the end of the month, or have some left over?
• Does compound interest make you anxious, cause your eyes to glaze over, or have you reaching for a calculator?
• When you hear about what's going on in the stock market, does it feel connected to your life at all?  If you have money invested in stocks, how is it connected to your values?  Would you know how to find out if your investments reflect your values?

That's off the top of my head, but I'm more interested in what questions rise for my readers.  Would you please share with me what you want to know about the basics of money in our society?

Comments on this blog or through the W&P Facebook page are welcome.  If you prefer to share privately, send a message to my own Facebook page.  I won't be providing individual answers; this is your way of helping me find out what we, as a religious community, need to learn about money.