Collectively, people are very private about their financial situation. It’s a rare day when a close friend will sit down and discuss how much in debt they are or about how much money they save each month. That’s why I felt I was in a different world when I went to a happy hour this past week with a bunch of other personal finance bloggers.

Our discussions were mixed, sometimes talking about our blogs, but we were also talking about our financial situations (specifically mine with regards to my car dilemma). This was the first time I had met most of those in attendance at the happy hour, and already they knew some of the most intimate details of my financial life. It was refreshing to have an open and unguarded conversation about such matters. Sure, you can discuss things anonymously online via blogs or forums, but sitting across from someone and having a discussion is much more insightful and informative.

Part of the reason I became interested in personal finance was because of my friend Chris. He and I have had very open conversations about money, and we have both learned a lot from each other. I can comfortably say we are both in better financial shape today because we decided to open up about our finances and bounce ideas off of one another.

Imagine being able to do that with five others individuals. Does it matter if they are virtually strangers? Money can be a more taboo topic of conversation than sex, politics or religion. At this point in my life, I don’t think that should be the case. The secrets we keep from our friends about our financial lives inhibit us from learning from one another. I am not talking about the impolite questions of “how much do you make?” However, think of how much we can learn from one another if we were to ask simple questions like, “how did you get out of debt?” or “what is it you do with your money?

Learning from one another’s ideas and experiences; that is what Building Wealth Together is all about.

I had a great time at our happy hour this week and I am really looking forward to the next one.  In attendance at the Brickskeller was:

• J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy. J. introduced me to this crowd and has been invaluable at helping me get my blog launched.
• MrsMicah who organized the event and is totally awesome. I am dedicated to somehow convincing her to let me meet her sister (wish me luck!)
• Clever Dude who is absolutely hilarious and has an amazing story. I am really excited to start reading his blog daily.
• Mapgirl, who has me all sorts of conflicted on this new or used car thing.
• And last but not least, Craig from Budget Pulse. His movie blog is quite entertaining and I am really looking forward to checking out Budget Pulse over the weekend; it certainly looks cool.

Each of these individuals are great people and write great content on their blogs. They have been added to my blogroll and I hope my readers give each of them a glance.

Have a great weekend.