Family is the most important thing to a human being and money is essential to take care of your family. Despite this, one does not discuss their financial situation with their family. Having money conversation regularly with all the family members is necessary and it may not be the easiest conversation one can have. Nevertheless, these conversations strengthen the family bond and make every member aware and responsible. Here are a few tips that one can use to have financial conversations with their family – 

• Set a Time – Don’t have the conversation randomly when there is a social gathering or at a party. Set some time aside as a family and make it a real meeting.  When a time is set aside, it makes the conversation real and everyone is prepared to take part and won’t feel ambushed. 

• Inclusion of every member – By including every member – dependent parents/sibling/relative, children and spouse makes everyone aware of the financial standing, challenges, goals and equal responsibility.. When one is unaware of how finance flows and its management, they cannot appreciate the efforts and don’t feel any responsibility towards contributing. Contribution necessarily does not have to be monetary; it can be by saving the pocket money or planning and saving to buy a new gadget.

• Builds Confidence – Having an honest conversation with the family leads to financial confidence in the members, like if parents are aware that their children have planned to look after them in their old age, it gives them financial breather if they only have a small income. 

• Plan together – The couple should do their financial planning together, this way each one’s goals and aspirations are considered and working towards that together can make it easier. Planning of retirement funds, children’s welfare or a second home becomes easy and leads to a peaceful environment when both are aware of the situation and plan.

• Include children – When children are introduced to financial planning at a young age, it makes them financially independent adults. Children these days are aware of situations and can sense the drift easily. Making them manage their own small fund will make them aware of planning, budgeting and saving. Parents should explain to the children their family’s unique financial position, their goals, their planning and roadmap to achieve them, practicality of aspirations and expenses of the family and how to balance it.

• Discuss retirement plan – If there are older children, discuss with them the retirement plan, saving for the same, what one’s wishes are for long term care or if the children will have to support in retirement.

Some are of the opinion that discussing finances with family, especially children, can make them lazy after becoming aware of the inheritance. But that isn’t always true, if one has to make a decision, they would make them anyway because they don’t know any different. It is values that matter and this is what one should strive to pass on as legacy to their future generation.