It Makes Total Cents: 12 Conversations to Change Your Child's Financial Future

Would you ever intentionally put your child at risk of having a stressful life that leads to poor health, broken relationships, and potential substance-abuse problems? No parent would purposely do that to their children. Yet, you might unconsciously be on that path, if you are not prioritizing having talks with your kids about money, before it is too late.

"If you want to know about the road ahead, ask the person coming back." That's me-I've been down this road before as a financial advisor for nearly three decades, and I've watched other parents who have been down this road, too. I've learned, by trial and error, what money topics are important to teach, when and how to teach them.

If you can engage your kids in conversations about money while demonstrating your family's values, the benefits will far exceed making them fiscally responsible. If you stay diligent about bringing these conversations up once a month, your kids are going to build a money vocabulary, and more important, it will open the lines of communication between you and them in a way you might never have experienced.

Parents are responsible for the development of their children's financial literacy. In the world we live in it is up to you.