Talking About Money with Kids: Part 2

Last week we talked about why it is so important to talk about money with children. We narrowed in on ways that you can start having these conversations (and bonus - they work with adults too!). This week, we’re going to focus on how to determine your end goal for the conversations. Knowing that end goal will help you decide which of those action steps from last week really work best for you. 

There are a ton of good reasons to talk to children about money: 

• Increased financial knowledge

• Decreased underlying worry or fear around money

• Financial empowerment

• Increased curiosity about money and the economy

• Overall degradation of the money taboo 

The question is: why is it important for you to talk to your kids or loved ones about money? If it is really about financial knowledge, then it is important that your conversations are about imparting wisdom (not sure you have that to impart? Check out the Verdi Money Club!). If, instead it is about decreasing worry and increasing curiosity, then it is important that your conversations are about encouraging questions and discussing money emotions (not sure you’re ready for that? Check out this series on money emotions: part 1, part 2, and part 3).

Once you know your “why” it is a heck of a lot easier to move forward with the actual action steps. Your why is your guide -- it encourages you to get out of your comfort zone and reminds you of the good that you are doing. That’s not to say that it’ll be easy. Most of us have been taught that talking about money is inappropriate and those social norms are often deeply ingrained into our beings. Practice will make it easier though! The more you recognize those uncomfortable feelings and then respond to them by acting in opposition to them, the less uncomfortable you’ll feel. 

Next week we’ll switch gears and talk about which numbers are important for everyone to know about their financial reality. 

XOXO