Stretching their dollars - en masse

Once a month, the Femmes Frugal leave bedtime rituals behind and settle in at a St. Paul coffee shop to swap tips about budget meal planning and affordable holiday gifts. St. Paul moms and neighborhood friends Rhonda Black and Andrea Erickson started the money group as a way to take the drudgery out of dollar-stretching. As the name suggests, this is no serious study group. "We wanted to make frugal fun and chic, not down in the dumps," Erickson said.

Across town in Eden Prairie, 16 women meet at the Lawlor Group, where Molly Schomburg works. The group, made up mostly of real estate agents, marketers, entrepreneurs and managers in their 40s and 50s, focuses on heftier financial topics such as asset allocation, the economic cycle and long-term care. "We're striving to educate ourselves," Schomburg said.

Both are examples of money clubs, groups of like-minded individuals -- usually women -- who gather to talk about the personal finance issues they care about most. Some have a passion for the topic. Others don't, and know this is the only way they'll focus on their finances. Then there are those who figure that if their husbands won't talk money, they'd better find some people who will.

In this recession, I'd think that the interest in money clubs would be on the rise. But Ginita Wall, co-founder of moneyclubs.com, whose group trademarked the term "Money Club," said that interest is down. "People don't like to face negative things," Wall said. "Just like investment clubs faltered when we hit 2000 and the stock market went down, you would think people would need to know more about how to invest money. ... But it wasn't much fun anymore. This bad recession has taken the fun out of thinking about your finances."

In an e-mail, Black wrote that Femmes Frugal's purpose is to put the fun back in. "Let's face it, at times budgeting and going without, even with a fabulous goal in sight, becomes dreary drudge work," she said. "I believe all the Femmes are really talented and have great resources and humor."

The Eden Prairie study group "creates a lot of awareness for us to be more cognizant of our money," Schomburg said. Added Kricket Chandarana: "I feel less intimidated with my adviser ... and can ask better questions and not be so glazed over when I leave my appointment."

We need money groups now more than ever. It's a lot easier to cut the family budget when you know others are making tough choices too. You're more likely to pay off debt or stay out of it if you are accountable to someone. And if there's anything that the past couple of years has taught us, it's that we need to educate ourselves so we can make wise decisions about financing a home, taking on debt and crafting an investment portfolio with the right amount of risk.

Find the right people. Michele Durkin ran a Minneapolis money group in 2008 called Chica Rica. Inspired by financial fitness clubs that were being organized by her employer, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, she solicited members on meetup.com. "What I wanted was something that spoke directly to me as a young, professional woman with disposable income. I wanted to kind of create this persona that attracted young women who were interested in becoming more knowledgeable about their financial situation," Durkin said. The meetings were well attended, but not always by the same people. Anyone considering launching a money group should look for people who "have a natural affinity with each other," she said.

Erickson agrees. The first Femmes Frugal group started in 2001, but broke up because members were spread out and in different life phases. "Femmes Frugal 2.0" is thriving one year later, because members are married moms with young kids and choose to work part time or not at all. "We are all pretty much in the same socioeconomic boat," she said. Plus, because they all live in St. Paul's Hamline-Midway neighborhood, "we are sharing information of things going on here." If members want to add to the seven-person group, everyone must approve and there is a trial period.

Set expectations. When you begin, make sure that your individual goals are consistent with the group's goals. If the group's focus works for you, set a time, date and location. And plan topics ahead of time. Longer lead times mean more opportunities to research topics and be prepared for meetings. The Eden Prairie group read "Smart Women Finish Rich" and "A Woman's Guide to Investing" to ensure they all had a layer of common knowledge. Now they rotate responsibility for meeting topics and prep work. The Femmes stick to a monthly agenda and use a timer to stay on track.

Be supportive, not judgmental. This is key. Money is a sensitive topic and members need to know that what's said in the group stays in the group. "Everything has to be very confidential. ... Respect is huge, as is listening," Black said.

Bring in the experts. All of the groups have had guest speakers or used a group member's expertise on financial issues. The Eden Prairie group has had several speakers, including a financial adviser, someone from the Social Security Administration and yours truly. Erickson is still grateful to the woman with an insurance background in her first money group. She helped Erickson figure out how much insurance coverage she really needed, but did not earn a commission. Selling is a huge no-no. These groups are all about banding together to help one another, not to profit from each other.