Family conversations about money

Money is one of those tricky topics of discussion with children. You have to answer their questions with the right amount of specifics for their age range. So, while our son knows that Mommy and Daddy work to afford the things we have and that we save and we budget our needs and our wants, he has no idea how much money we actually make or what our house costs (nor should he at his age). Money is a continuous teachable topic in our household.

So it is important to remember that money should be a continuous topic in your marriage. While some couples are forced to talk about money during their wedding planning, many couples get married without having a clear sense of their combined salaries, debts and feelings about money. It's no surprise that money is one of those topics that couples fight over.

But, it doesn't have to be. There is lots of advice out there for having financial discussions with your spouse. While the weekly check in on money matters might not work for every family, I am all in favor of a regular check in to make sure you are still on the same page as your partner when it comes to finances. This is especially true whenever there is a job change, new expense or even as you realize you have to start having money conversations with your children.

Like most parenting topics, it's better to present the united front for your children. Do you regularly talk about money as a family? Tell me in the comments.