Key takeaways
- The PC culture we live in has made it difficult to discuss almost anything without offending someone, somewhere.
- You might think some of the most sensitive, taboo-laden, topics are things like politics, drug use, racial issues, etc. but a recent survey found that talking about money far outranks the other topics when it comes to being taboo.
- We use money every single day of our lives, yet so many couples and families struggle with talking about it.
- The taboo on talking about money is the reason so many people have a hard time dealing with financial concerns.
- As a society, it’s clear we have an issue with money, especially if we can’t even comfortably talk about it.
What subjects are taboo to bring up in conversation? Considering our PC culture, it seems like almost everything is taboo for someone. It’s gotten to the point where almost anything you say is bound to raise the ire of somebody, somewhere. This makes it tough to have a discussion about anything—even important topics.
While our overly sensitive culture makes it harder, I think it’s fairly safe for me to talk about a survey I came across. After all, it’s not about what I believe, it’s about the findings of a survey conducted by the investment firm, Capital Group. Researchers surveyed 1,200 adults on what they see as taboo topics in conversation.
The results really surprised me and may surprise you too. Starting with the most taboo subject down to the least, check out these percentages:
- Household earnings – 39% of respondents
- Retirement savings – 38% of respondents
- Inheritance – 25% of respondents
- Politics – 17% of respondents
- Drug use – 14% of respondents
- Racial issues – 8% of respondents
You might have thought the last three would have ranked higher, especially politics or racial issues. I found it very interesting in light of all the changes we’ve seen over the past 20 to 25 years. These changes have opened people’s eyes to numerous issues and social concerns; yet, it’s still money that takes the top spots.
Why is money still so high ranking on the taboo talk list? It has been around a long time—it’s ubiquitous and it’s something we deal with every single day. We use it to purchase various goods and services. We go to work every day to earn money so we can afford the basics and then maybe some luxuries here and there. It’s how you pay for your food, mortgage, gasoline, utilities, clothes, streaming services, and Internet connectivity.
Even though money, in one form or another, plays such an inextricable role in our lives, it’s still a taboo subject for many adults. And therein lies the point. The reason so many people struggle when it comes to managing and dealing with money is because no one’s talking about it.
Should I start a movement to help eliminate the taboo about money talk? Maybe to help families develop specific communication skills for discussing money? I can tell you from my own personal experience working with families, they struggle deeply when a conversation involving money comes up. It’s tough for those with large amounts of wealth all the way down to those with average incomes. I see the difficulty arise when the discussion takes place across generations and also between couples. Apparently, the taboo around discussing money is still very prevalent in our society.
We have an issue with money in our culture. These survey results clearly show the disparity between things we imagine are taboo to discuss and the thing that actually carries a strong taboo. Money—it still holds the top taboo ranking by double or more than any of these other areas. I wanted to share these results with you because they’re interesting and surprising. You might consider these the next time you think about talking about money. Until next time, enjoy.
Gary