Talking about Money with Children

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Hi, this is Linda Rogers from Planning Within Reach.

What was your experience with money growing up?

I often ask this question because the answer can tell a lot about our relationship with money as adults. And if you yourself decide to have children, you might want to reflect on your experience with money growing up to decide if you want to do things the same or different with your children. Perhaps your parents were diligent savers. Maybe they fought about money and were stressed about paying bills on time. Maybe they didn't talk about money at all to you. I am a big advocate of talking about money with your children just because then money won't become this taboo subject. And you can do this in a variety of ways.

Use real life examples to talk to your children about money.

For example, there are a lot of people refinancing their mortgage right now. So that would just be a great opportunity to explain that you had to borrow money to get this house. There is a cost to borrow money that's called an interest rate. Interest rates are changing all the time and they're very low right now. So we want to take advantage of that and get a new loan at this lower rate.

You could do the same thing with savings accounts. The money that's in this bank is earning this interest rate. If I move it to this high yield account, I get a higher interest rate. Same amount of money, move it over, and I can earn more.

You can talk about spending choices. Our family loves to travel and I once overheard my daughter telling another adult that our family likes to eat at home and save money on meals so that we can spend it on trips. So she had already picked up on a spending choice that we had talked about, which is we can't do everything all at the same time and we chose to take more trips versus eating at nice restaurants.

You can also use books to drive home money concepts for children.

I am going to do a whole separate video on money books for children with different ages but I do always have this one in my background, The Berenstain Bears, "Trouble with Money", which is great for 6 to 10 year olds. And I have it there because it's on my videos and when I'm doing my meetings, kids will often pop on to see their parents - just check in with them while the parents are talking to me. They'll see the recognizable characters and ask about it, and so then I can say what the book is about and it's about money and you should read it. And they're seeing their parents talk to me about their finances. So it's all hopefully just creating this healthy relationship with money that they can carry on into their adult life. Reach out with any questions.

My name is Linda Rogers, Owner of Planning Within Reach.

Linda Rogers, CFP®, EA, MSBA is the owner and founder of Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR). Originally from New Jersey, Linda services clients throughout San Diego county and nationwide. She leads the design of PWR's investment portfolios which utilize broad, low-cost investments that integrate environmentally, socially, and governance (ESG) factors.

Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR) is a fee-only and fiduciary wealth management firm offering one-time comprehensive financial planning, ongoing impact-focused investment management and tax preparation services in San Diego and nationwide. PWR is a woman-owned firm that specializes in busy professionals and impact investors. Planning Within Reach, LLC and their advisors do not receive commissions and do not hold any insurance licenses or brokerage relationships.