Local Voices: Talking to Your Kids About Money

It seems that very few adults have conversations about family money with their children. I am sure that more parents try to educate children about sex than  about financial matters. Do we feel more anxiety from talking about money than  sex?

Whether you have twenty $20 million in the bank or $20,000, do you think your children should know the details and how you feel about it? If you do have wealth, what are your expectations of your children regarding their attitudes toward money? Have you communicated that to them? If you are working to achieve wealth, you may want to verbalize the values you want to instill in your kids and tell them where you are now. 

The next few weeks when many families are together may be a good time for this discussion.

Sometimes an informal talk around the dinner table allows everyone to participate and share information and feelings. Or, schedule a special meeting to talk about the financial state of the family. Either way, tell your children how you view money and wealth. Use everyday examples as teaching opportunities to illustrate the responsible uses of money. Help your children to think about their own values so they can incorporate productive financial behaviors at an early age. 

The odds are about even that you will either feel good or lousy after your first family money talk. But both results are actionable and can be followed up by working on the problems and enhancing what is working well. 

Joe Arndt III lives in Glendale and is president of Arndt & Associates in Webster Groves. He is a chartered life underwriter and chartered financial consultant.