How to talk to parents about money?

You must have heard several times, "Everything starts at home."  

Remember the first time you received money as a reward from your parents or as a gift from your relatives on festivals. What did you do with that? Bought something for yourself or saved it in your piggy bank for the future?  

Well, it totally depends on your interest. Fyp has discovered that teenagers love saving and are curious to know effective ways of money management. To understand money better, the first step is to initiate a discussion with your parents. 

Dinner table conversations in Indian Households are about studies, food, vacation etc. But it's rarely seen families talking about money on a regular basis.  

Financial talks with your parents don't have to be awkward or emotionally charged one-time event. Ideally, it should be a series of informative and ongoing conversations that give you added peace of mind. If you're struggling to get started, try using these tips to ease the discussion with Mom and Dad. 

Step 1: Choose the right time to talk to your parents

Conversations with your parents about their money matters can happen naturally. But even if you can broach the topic casually, you should set a time to have a more in-depth discussion, a series of conversations, or gather details about their finances.  

Pick up a time when your parents seem calm and have no work stress. Tell them that you need to discuss something with them and what will be a good time for the same. 

Step 2: Have a good plan for starting the conversation.  

Before talking to your parents about money matters, decide what approach you want to take to get them to open up. For example, if you have a good relationship with them and money is not a taboo topic in your family, intimate them about your intentions to learn about money management.  

In case, you are hesitant, try some of the below-mentioned ways to start the conversation:

 

• You know Dad one of my friends.... : Use a story about your friend who had to get involved with their parent's in financial talks and how it benefitted him/her.

• Mom, I need one piece of advice: Start with your personal struggles with money management and seek for advice. Ask them how did they manage when they were of your age. Their response will give you hints about the financial planning they have done or not done
• Let's play a game: You can make it fun by playing a game. Prepare chits with suggested questions and tell them to pick and answer. 
  • What's the one thing you did with your money that you're most proud of?  
  • If you could do anything differently with your self earned money, what would it be?  
  • What's the biggest financial risk you took and did it pay off?     

Asking these questions will allow them to pull up old memories and get a sense of the legacy they're leaving. Honestly, nothing is more valuable than that.  

Money topics are never just about money. These subjects will always be emotional and touchy, so don't over expect when you talk about them. But don't let a little awkwardness keep you from having these conversations. They will be rewarding and even life-changing.  

Here is an example of conversation:

E.g.:   

SON: Good morning, papa!  

DAD: Good morning beta.

SON: Dad, I need to talk to you.  

DAD: Sit down and tell me. 

Son: Dad, how can I manage my pocket money? It gets over mid-month itself. 

DAD: Well, why did the thought of managing come to your mind?  

Son: Papa, I have been reading certain posts on various blogs on how savings from a young age that will help in the long run. And I need to buy a new Ps5 but from my own savings. 

DAD: That's very out of the blue, but I am glad that we talked about this. Firstly, prioritize your spending. Um, you could try minimizing your day-to-day expenses by not eating food from outside.

Son: Yes, I agree with you, Dad. Can you please guide me through this? How did you start savings?   

This is how the conversation can go on...... It's easy peasy, Right!!

Step 3: Remind yourself to be respectful and calm.   

Knowing what not to say to your mom and dad when talking about money is as important as knowing what to say. Don't be snobbish, don't appear to have selfish motives, and don't issue ultimatums. Communicate your intention clearly to them.

Step 4: Research is Important

Once you speak to your parents about money management, start researching about the same as well. Keep the conversations happening basis your research.

Just discussing would not help; execution is the key to success.

For example:

Maybe you want the latest tablet or a new guitar. First, find out exactly where you can get the best deal and how much it will cost. Then see if your mom and dad might chip in. Once you know how much you will need to cover, shoot for saving a little more. 

First, take your purchase amount minus any savings you have already set aside. Then, based on when you want to make your purchase, divide the remaining amount you need by the number of weeks or months until your purchase. That's how much you have to put away each week/month to meet your goal. If the numbers seem impossible, you might try to give yourself more time to save.  

Trust us, your parents will be happy to see that you are interested in learning about money management.

To get a good handle on your money, track your monthly expenses on your Fyp app. Once you get started, you will find where your savings/money is going. You'll probably also notice that small amounts can quickly add to a big amounts.

So next, look at what you are spending your money on and see if you can cut out certain things that are not essential compared to your bigger goal. You can also replace any regular expenses with something cheaper. 

Conclusion:

It could take several attempts before your parents understand why you want to discuss about money with them and are willing to open up to you. So keep trying different approaches, and, hopefully, your parents will recognize how important it is to you to have this conversation. 

So, do try to initiate the conversation and write to us at hello@fypmoney.in to share your stories. We would love to hear them!!