5 Money Talks To Have With Your Kids Now So They Don’t Go Broke As Adults
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Kristen Mae
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As a parent, you want the best financial future for your children. You hope they’ll know how to save and spend responsibly and grow into confident investors. But at the most basic level, you want them to be able to support themselves — not end up broke or financially overwhelmed as adults.
Financial confidence and self-sufficiency don’t happen through modeling good habits alone. It requires early, ongoing conversations about money — conversations that help kids understand how money works long before they take the reins of their financial lives.
Just as children aren’t born with money skills, many parents aren’t sure how to talk about personal finances in a way that sticks. To help close that gap, GOBankingRates spoke with financial experts about the most important money talks to have with your kids now, so they’re better equipped to stand on their own financially as adults.
1. The Things You Want Cost Money
For many parents, knowing when to start conversations about money is the biggest challenge. The answer is usually sooner than expected. Louann Millar, head of youth and student banking at Wells Fargo, says parents should begin as soon as their kids start asking for toys.
“For younger children, start teaching that toys cost money, and before you buy one, ask them if the cost is worth it,” she said. “As children grasp the exchange of money for toys, you can start to talk about saving and eventually investing and giving.”
As kids grow older — and hopefully more mature — these conversations can continue, expanding to include bigger goals, such as saving for college, a car or travel. Millar also encourages parents of older children to explore “the many apps that help kids learn to spend, save and invest their money.”
2. You Have To Learn by Doing
While conversations are a strong starting point, kids are far more likely to internalize lessons when they can practice them. Parents who want to build real-world money skills can give children hands-on experience in controlled, age-appropriate ways.
For example, the popular money app Cash App offers a “Families” feature that allows teens to use a debit card, save money, send funds and even invest through supervised accounts that parents and guardians can monitor.
As kids gain experience managing money, families can set shared goals and track progress while continuing discussions about positive financial habits. These conversations can also build trust that encourages adult children to return to their parents for opinions and advice later in life.
3. Even Your Parents Make Mistakes
When kids feel like their parents are lecturing them from on high, they’re quick to tune out. But when parents share their own money mistakes — and what they learned from them — kids are more likely to listen. Millar is candid with her children about how trying to keep up with friends led her into serious debt.
“When I was in college and wanted to vacation with classmates, I didn’t have the money, so I borrowed $1,000 from a loan company,” she said. “The trip ended up costing more than $5,000. Was it worth it? No. Have I shared this mistake with my children? Yes.”
4. Waiting Is a Skill, Not a Punishment
Today’s parents are competing for their kids’ attention in an influencer-driven culture where the next must-have item is only a scroll away. According to D’Andre Clayton, co-founder of Clayton Financial Solutions, giving kids emotional armor against instant gratification needs to start early.
“Cause and effect should be the approach. Young children don’t tend to understand in between,” he said. “They understand if they touch the stove, they get burned. If they do their chores, they receive an allowance. It’s important to build an understanding that money is exchanged for effort or values.”
When children learn that money isn’t an instant resource, they’re more open to saving for what they want. Along the way, they may decide that the latest doodad from TikTok Shop isn’t worth the effort — their money has greater value elsewhere. Clayton sums it up this way: “Waiting is a skill, not a punishment.”
“So the conversation shifts to trade-offs and consequences,” he said. “Every financial decision has a time cost and a risk cost. Some mistakes compound faster than others.”
5. Ask Questions Before You Buy Anything
Teaching kids to be thoughtful consumers doesn’t just help them save money in the short term — it can shape how they think about spending as adults. Karen Holland, founder of Gifting Sense, says parents should encourage kids to ask a few key questions before making a purchase.
“Thinking before buying shows young people how much they can shape their future by quickly — but not arbitrarily — asking simple questions before making decisions,” she said.
Those questions might include, “What’s the return policy?” or “How often will I use this?” The goal isn’t to eliminate spending altogether — it’s to get kids thinking critically about each purchase.
Holland says learning caution with money can also prompt kids to seek out more sophisticated financial information later on.
“This is how something as simple as a household policy — ‘In this family, we think before we buy’ — instills an approach to decision-making that shapes productive money habits for life,” she said. “And the good news? Anyone can teach their kids to ask simple questions about typical purchases.”
The Bottom Line
Parenting comes with many conversations — some more awkward than others. Talking to your kids about money doesn’t have to be one of the awkward ones. Start early, keep the discussions age-appropriate and revisit them often.
Remind your kids that what they want costs money, encourage them to question the value of every purchase and share your own financial mistakes. These honest conversations can help ensure they grow into adults who are confident, capable and far less likely to go broke.
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