Finances and the Social Worker

Most social workers will tell you that they aren't very good at math.  That's why they didn't become engineers, accountants and so on.

As social workers, we can be involved with finances through processing benefits for our clients, determining client's eligibility for financial programs, and making sure we are regularly getting paid!

Beyond that I would say most of us social workers are clueless when it comes to finances.  And we often spend so much time and energy helping our clients that we have little time at the end of the day to take a serious look at our own financial situation.  As long as the bills are getting paid we tend not to worry.

However, there are some financial traps that social workers experience which I would like to discuss.  The first is neglecting our own financial health.  Many of us are saddled with student loans, mortgages and car loans which eat up a big chunk of our salary.  And depending on the type of agency you work for such as non-profit or government run, it can have a big impact on our salary.  When taking our first jobs out of school, many of us have taken whatever social work jobs we could get.  If you are finding yourself in that situation - having an entry social work job then make sure you are paying off your debt even if it is just the minimum.  You want to develop good financial habits before you start making more money and have the potential for making more money mistakes.

Looking back when I first began as a social worker all I had was a student loan.  I was also renting a room that was quite cheap.  Finances were not a problem for me then, however once I got a vehicle (as it was required for my job) my payments every month started to increase.

I then moved around a bit, doing different social work jobs.  This meant I had to buy furniture and eventually sell some of it.  I moved from a two bedroom apartment to renting a two bedroom house to buying my own small home.  I enjoy the independence and the quiet of where I live, however there is a cost to every decision we make.  My salary has not increased very much from when I started as a social worker but my debts have, even though I got a smaller and more fuel efficient car in the last year.  Sometimes I long for the simpler days of when I was first living in that basement apartment, but I do not miss having roommates.

Another trap social workers can fall into is eating out all the time and buying yourself nice gifts as a "reward" for all your hard work.  I admit there has been several times I have done this - go out for dinner because I am just too tired to cook, and buying a new outfit or new pair of shoes almost every week as a form of "shopping therapy."  We do so much for others that it is nice to finally do something for ourselves.  However, if this is your way of life then you will find yourself constantly broke and wondering where all your money went.  I suggest creating a chart and keeping track of your expenses if you find yourself in this boat.  And remember, you can always treat yourself to a quiet evening with a good book - taken out from the library - as a reward for a hard day's work.

As social workers we are expected to have knowledge about a lot of different areas.  We learn about housing, the justice system, the school system and more.  We also need to make it a priority to learn about finances, not only so we can give good information to our clients, but also to ourselves to ensure we are keeping in good financial health.

As always,

Patti