How often do you talk about money in your home? What do you teach your kids about money?
Money can be somewhat of a taboo subject. The worse-off someone is financially, the more they don’t want to talk about money and that can make things even worse.
Financial problems don’t just go away by not talking about them.
You’ve heard “the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem”? That applies to money too!
Don’t be afraid to talk about money.
Finances Remain a Leading Cause of Divorce
Don’t let it happen to you.
Marriage is one of the most important places to discuss your finances.
I know, you don’t do the finances, your spouse does. Or…you do the finances and your spouse doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.
You may be setting yourself, and your marriage, up for failure.
I am not suggesting that both people in a relationship need to handle the finances, but they both need to know what’s going on. Why? There are a few reasons.
Life Happens and Sometimes in a Bad Way
In an emergency situation, it’s important for both people in a relationship to have an understanding of where they are financially. It’s equally important that you both have an understanding before the emergency happens.
If you handle the money, you need to make sure your spouse has all of the information and access to everything (legal documents, account information, etc.). If your spouse handles the money, you need to at least have an idea what’s going on.
You should have a plan set in place in the event of an emergency.
You are setting your spouse up for failure if they are blind to what’s going on with your money.
Marriage isn’t the only place you should be talking about money…
You May Be All Your Children Have
Most schools will not teach your children very much about handling their finances.
Some parents are afraid to talk to their kids about money because they don’t know what to say or they don’t feel like they know enough to teach their children, but it’s so important for you to talk to your kids about money.
You don’t feel qualified? Just remember: you (most likely) know more than they do and that’s a good starting place.
Obviously, you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t trying to financially educate yourself. Financial education is a life-long journey. You will never know everything about finances, so just start where you are.
So many parents refuse to let their children in on anything involving their money, but they can learn so much from you just by discussing things like your income, your budget and even your debt!
If you are great with your money, teach them about it! If you are terrible with your money, teach them about it! You can at least teach them what not to do. Let them learn from your mistakes, so they won’t follow in your financial footsteps.
For more on teaching your kids about handling money, check out: Financial Peace Jr.: Teaching Kids About Money! Cool Tools For Training Tomorrow’s Millionaires!