The results can be huge; paying off thousands in debt, building a stock portfolio, saving a down payment in record speed, complete elimination of financial anxiety, budgeting prowess.
Money clubs bring people together to talk, learn more about, and take action on their money. They’re like a book club and the topics can be scaled to be age and experience appropriate and typically cover pop finance trends, classic principles around investing or budgeting, and some even focus on group goals like saving a certain amount of money each or crashing down debt.
These nifty clubs are popping up on Facebook, in-person meetups, at schools, community centres, neighbour parent groups, workplaces and churches. If you’ve considered either joining a money mastermind group or starting a money club yourself, here are a few ideas to make the most of the experience.
Think about your goals, and who the right people are to pair up with
Is debt-freedom your top priority? Learning to invest? Budgeting basics or money-saving hacks? Developing a better understanding of the crypto market? Tax planning? Saving a whole bunch of money really fast? Real estate investing?
Before you start your own club and begin recruiting members, ask around to see if a money club already exists that would work for your goals. What’s the criteria for joining? Do you like the people? If nothing exists that works for you, you can start your own club. My advice is to approach people to join who share your goals and have a vibe you’re comfortable with.
When I joined my book club, as an example, I could have gone with the club that reads one book a month, meets each month, and talks in depth about the book for a solid two hours. For me, as a mom with young kids, that was simply too much. So I joined the alternative book club, where the reading pace is half, and I’m welcome to show up and socialize with my book-loving friends whether I’ve read the book or not.
Once you have your money people committed, you can discuss the format and frequency that works best for your group — in-person, virtual, hybrid meetups. Are you expected to bring your laptop? How intimate are you going to get with each other about your personal finances (are you sharing your balances, or percentages, or just progress points)? Are you planning to hold each other accountable? Will you invite speakers, etc.?
Clubs with agendas get more done
Mark the dates in everyone’s calendars, set up your WhatsApp group and start working on agendas for the meetings you’ll be having in 2025. An agenda for a beginner’s money club meetup could look like this:
Welcome (10 minutes): Share one financial goal each person is working on, or a challenge, and how it’s going.
Theme of the meeting (five minutes): Introduce the session’s main topic (building a budget, saving strategies, understanding credit, etc.).
Educational segment (15 minutes, or have people do this in advance): A short presentation, podcast, audio clip or YouTube video on the chosen topic.
Group activity or discussion (20 minutes): Hands-on activity (fill in a net-worth tracker, create a budget, brainstorm saving hacks). Share.
Action planning (10 minutes): Each member identifies one actionable step they will take before the next meeting (tracking expenses, opening a high-interest savings account). If your group has an accountability or resource sharing component, you’d outline that in this step.
Q&A (10 minutes): For teens who want to start a money club (I did this as a teen and it was super fun), these are great agenda items for money meetups: easy budgeting; divorced parents giving different financial advice and who to side with; the cost of university or college and the extra dollars required to study in a different location; paying rent vs. living at home; financial arrangements with roommates and friends; what’s worth spending money on and what’s not; investing versus saving or short-term versus long-term financial goals; mock portfolios; ETFs and robo-advisers; what to do if your BF or GF is horrible with money; how to not pay banking fees; managing credit cards and lines of credit; writing a resume using AI; practice interviews; the fin-fluencers worth following.
What about investing clubs where money gets pooled together to buy stocks?
This is an investment club that is a self-managed group of people. These folks pool their money to invest together and the members usually collaborate to make investment decisions. Investment clubs can be very educational and fun, and they are quite popular with young professional women right now. However, be mindful of who is in charge of managing the money. You don’t want the club leader to waltz off with your cash, or invest it in something you didn’t agree to. Investment clubs are subject to securities laws and regulations with certain exemptions. Look into this before investing any money.
Starting a money club can be an empowering way to build financial literacy, support a community (and be supported), and achieve personal financial goals together. Togetherness also helps people feel more connected and less “alone” with their financial journeys, and that’s powerful.
