What You Wish You’d Learned at Home About Money

As I was talking to The Boo Boos (what I collectively call my nieces and nephew) about allowances, savings, spending, and making enough money so they can take care of me when I get older (just kidding but really not LOL), I realized that I didn’t get this same conversation or anything like it when I was younger. 

What I knew about money was that there never seemed like it was enough and when you did get some, you better hold on to it for those times when you really need it. 

Don’t get me wrong…my mom did her thug thizzle working 2 jobs and raising 2 kids on her own (plus other people’s kids as our house was always full!).

An aside…

Let me take a moment to address something here. My friends and I, who are now in our 40s, talk about this a lot. Our parents didn’t purposely hide financial education from us. They simply didn’t know much about it themselves.

Our schools didn’t teach it.

Our churches rarely brought up money, except to tithe.

Most parents in that era – 70s and 80s – were just too busy trying to raise their families and live life as best they could.

During that time, there were systemic factors that contributed to economic disparities among Black Americans, such as historical and ongoing discrimination, unequal access to education and employment opportunities, and a racial wealth gap. All of that made it more difficult for Black individuals and families to accumulate wealth and pass on financial knowledge to future generations. Not all, of course, but probably very many.

With that said, none of my family members talked to me about investing or giving or saving or how money works or what compound interest is and how if I start early, I can be set once I’m ready to sit back and relax in my golden years.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming…

So now that I found myself in a guardian role and realized the mistakes I made with money – like being a victim of the credit card company reps who knew how to sweet talk us poor college kids into signing up for credit cards for “emergencies” but somehow I didn’t quite grasp what a true emergency really was! That’s when the trouble started…It took me years to get out of the college credit card debt. *sigh*

Older and wiser, I simply cannot let The Boo Boos go down that same path. 

Did you know that the talk you DON’T have with your family about money can cost them AND you?!

Soooo….I had the talk. No, not the sex talk (that’s a conversation for another post 😂). I’m talking about the money talk. Teaching the kiddos about what I wish I’d learned:

• How to create financial independence
• What healthy spending is
• How to budget
• How to use online tools to keep track of bills, due dates, spending
• Giving money to favorite places and causes and why it’s important
• Getting clear about the difference between being RICH and WEALTHY (with a focus on the latter!) and fostering a wealth consciousness
• Resisting impulse buying (this one cost me thousands of unnecessary money)
• Understanding the difference between a NEED and a WANT
• Knowing how to spot deals and comparison shop
• Making money with hobbies
• The importance of emergency funds
• Learning not just about life insurance but disability insurance (which I value more since I want to maintain my quality of life if I’m unable to work) and other types as well
• Why using words like wealth, abundance and prosperity in conversation (to self and others) is beneficial
• How keeping up with The Joneses can keep you in pain, debt, and sick!

All this plus some is what our money conversations should be about to promote greater financial literacy and economic equality for all individuals and communities. And not just one time, but regularly and OFTEN! I’m continuing to learn more about money and wealth not just for myself, but to give the same tools to others!

It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.

Robert Kiyosaki

Over to you?

What’s one thing you wish you’d learned about money at home? Do you have the opportunity now to teach the next generation what you didn’t learn? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!