In many Black families, money is a taboo topic. We get it. This conversation can be really awkward, it might even bring up a range of complicated feelings from embarrassment, guilt, and envy to insecurity, jealousy, or shame.
So, let’s all take a collective breath and get started. Don’t wait for a crisis like a medical or financial emergency, if your children are high school age or older, now’s the time to have a family conversation about money.
Chat early and often! To help you open up communication, we’ve got some great tips from U.S. Bank!
Swap Stories
You don’t need to pull out all your excel grids and money management tools for the first conversation. Begin by engaging and connecting with them. Ask some goals-focused questions, like what are your needs, wants and wishes? Where do you want to be financially in 5 or 10 years? How do you think about money? And be sure to share your thoughts with them as well, they might be surprised to hear how you view money.
Share Know-How
While it will feel good to pass along your financial knowledge, this is also a great time to be a little vulnerable and talk about any money mistakes you or your friends and family may have made. Open communication like this helps establish a common ground and take any stigmas or feelings of shame out of the equation for your kids and start them on a successful path. This is also a good time to build on the questions from the last tip and have your child set their own goals and create their own financial identity.
Meet & Go Mobile
If your children don’t have their own accounts, make a bank appointment—you can head over to a local branch or most banks have virtual appointments as well. Once their accounts are in order and set up, introduce your kids to your bank’s mobile app. This is a fantastic tool for them (and for you!) as they go down their own financial path, so why not get comfortable now? Show how you can track your budget, manage spending, and so much more—it’s all accessible to you anywhere you are on your phone!
Get A Coach
If your kids played sports, then they already know the benefit of a great coach—but what they may not know is that some banks, like U.S. Bank, have Goals Coaches to help you reach your financial dreams. Working with a financial professional can help you manage your financial plan and can be a great resource to help start, or elevate, family conversations around money. If you want to see how you and your children can invest in the future with a personalized, goals-based portfolio or other financial goals, the specialists at U.S. Bank can help you plan your financial life to help you create, grow, and protect your wealth.
Create A Legacy
If you’re focused on building your legacy, including owning a home, growing and sustaining your small business, and investing and managing your wealth so it can be passed down to your children, then you’ve just got to check out the U.S. Bank Access Commitment™. They are dedicated to supporting Black communities on their own path to building wealth by ensuring that everyone has access to the tools, resources and networks that allow Black businesses and communities to thrive.
When you take the time to talk about money and planning as a family, you can prepare for emergencies and begin to build long-term personal wealth together.