Family Finance 101

The Family Meeting

Hayden often suggests that clients use family meetings to keep all family members on the same page about the household’s finances. She recommends once-a-week meetings, no more than 45 minutes long, to talk about time and money. The weekly schedule should be discussed (who is doing what and when) in addition to the family’s spending strategy. The conversation should be specific—for instance, future clothing purchases, upcoming activities, groceries, and allowances. Make sure to celebrate the successes when the family’s cost-cutting goals are met.

“Family meetings are a great way to bring the subject [of money] to the forefront and to establish the fact that ‘we’re all in this together,’” Hayden says. That means establishing limits and spending priorities. When it comes to teaching children about those limits, Hayden recommends a heavy emphasis on cash rather than checks or credit cards, because it’s easier to understand that when the wallet is empty, the money is gone.

Children of all ages should participate in the family finances. However, if there’s a lot of stress surrounding the family’s money issues, then the six-years-old-and-younger set should be left out.

“Really young children are little stress meters,” Hayden says. “When parents are under stress about money, they pick right up on that and it can really scare them.”

Do you fear that your little darlings will blurt out some sensitive financial data at church or on the playground? Hayden stresses that the family meeting conversation should be about day-to-day spending and how to cut back, not about the big money picture.