"I know a great investment..." "I got a raise." "I made a killing in the market." "I have a great investment advisor."   "I pay too much in taxes." "My kid's private school tuition is killing me."

These are the kinds of conversations that we have about money. Usually about our successes or about money issues that make us look prosperous.

But are these really the conversations that we need to be having? Aren't we all suffering from the silence about real money topics?

What kind of topics am I talking about? These are the ones that occur to me.

Financial Freedom

Every commercial tells us to focus on what we can buy. Why aren't we talking about why so many Americans are teetering on the edge of financial disaster?

We would benefit from discussions about how to assure our financial security with day-to-day actions and supportive behaviors. Why aren't we talking about how we can work as long as we want to, rather than how long we have to? Why don't we brag about how we saved more money, or about how it could be more important to skip that trip to Europe this year to avoid getting into debt.

Affording Our Lives without Stress

We make choices every day about what to include (or not include) in our lifestyle. Sometimes the expenses start to feel necessary and unavoidable, but truly they are decisions we made at some point and have since chosen to continue.

Why aren't we talking about how much we already have in our lives rather than what more we need? There doesn't seem to be much dialogue about gratitude and appreciation for all the things we have already. What I hear more often is about how more is needed and how anything less would be deprivation.

Couples' Financial Partnerships

Have you ever bragged about a great conversation about money with your husband? Have you ever had a friend or relative talk with you about how to manage money as a couple so that both of you feel heard and powerful?

I remember an aunt showing me how to iron a man's shirt. I was shown how to clean a bathtub (really...I'm not making this up). But no one in my family ever talked to me about financial conversations with a spouse.

So many of us have great information about making money work well for us. But we don't get to take advantage of it because we're not talking about money in a way that vitalizes our everyday behaviors and affects our daily decisions.

Wouldn't it be fabulous if each of us blogged for a day about what money secrets we've discovered? About what we're most grateful for? About which behaviors have brought you the greatest return when sustained in your financial life? Wouldn't that be a banner day on Facebook?

We can change the conversations we have. We can share with friends and family about what is working well in our financial lives, how we've solved problems without spending a lot of money, how we've trained ourselves to be happy with what we have. We can stop looking at and evaluating those around us by their outsides and not their insides.

Here are some ideas to get you started with changing your money conversations:

• Talk with your kids about money the way you wish your parents had talked with you.  Share tips and tricks you've learned that have helped you in your financial life.
• Open up (gently) to your friends, asking them if they've found a solution to something that is tripping you up in your money life.  The opening up is as important as the information you get, because in opening that door you are inviting them to do the same.
• Be attuned to attempts of those around you to talk about money in a meaningful way.  The subject has been taboo for so long that it's easy to re-direct the conversation and ignore those attempts.

If you'd like to discuss anything about money, I'd love to hear from you. There is so much information - on the internet, in the news, from many, many books - on money. But are you able to translate it all into a stress-free financial life that assures that you'll meet your goals?

Let me help you with that translation. We can start with a conversation to help show you the road toward what you're looking for in a consistent way. We can talk about what works, how to put it into effect with as little effort as possible, and how to make it sustainable.

Those are conversations worth having...and sharing. We don't have to keep it secret anymore. Call me, email me...let's get started.