Research shows that those who talk about money, are more likely to have better financial confidence and resilience. It can also be a way of teaching children good lifetime habits, ensuring that they can prepare for their financial future.
This year’s theme for Talk Money Week is ‘Do One Thing’. This could be a small step to improving your financial wellbeing, or perhaps tackling some much-needed admin. Some may decide to use this week as an opportunity to check in on their pension savings, review their investments or to reflect on their budgeting goals.
This week, Harris Allday is encouraging our colleagues and connections to reach out and talk to family members about money.
Children
Many children rely on their parents for financial education. Opening conversations around money can help to improve financial resilience. Many children begin to learn key habits about money from the age of six – which is when some parents begin to introduce key money related habits.
Conversations can look different for everyone. Whether it is introducing pocket money, encouraging saving to buy a new toy, or perhaps turning shopping into a learning experience.
Older children may benefit from increased financial responsibility. Managing your wages for the first time can help with understanding when it comes to assessing value when making purchase decisions. Good money management skills can help young adults to gain confidence in managing their spending habits, which can help them to budget as a student throughout university or focus on saving towards a larger personal goal, such as a new car or a deposit for a first home. Talking to children about their future ambitions will support in conversations around planning for the future.
Partner
It’s important to talk to your partner about money when your finances begin to mix. For most couples, this may be when living together – sharing a joint bank account.
Understanding each other’s attitudes towards money can help to prevent frustration in the future. It is important to set goals and budget together, to prepare for any changing life events which may have an impact on your finances.
For those who choose to have a family, outgoings and earnings may change significantly – particularly if one partner stops working to look after children.
Parents and grandparents
Conversations with parents or grandparents may include plans for long-term care.
These conversations are never easy as they can be huge life changes for the family, both financially and emotionally. It is important to understand your relatives wishes in advance of needing any urgent care, particularly so you can plan ahead. You may need a separate conversation with siblings to agree on how best to support your parents in the future.
Understanding how relatives may wish for their finances to be handled if they were no longer fit and able to manage their monies is not an easy conversation. Choosing a trusted relative as a power of attorney can help to ensure that their money is effectively managed whilst they may be unable to do so for a short period of time.
To ensure that your loved one is protected, it may be worth considering a lasting power of attorney if you are worried about their future mental capacity, and their ability to make good financial decisions in the future.
At Harris Allday we manage money for generations of clients, supporting them throughout various life stages. If you would like to discuss your investment portfolio and how we can help manage this, please contact our experts via email [email protected].
For more information about Talk Money Week, explore the Money and Pensions Services website. Further resources to support conversations about finances can be found at Money Helper.
https://maps.org.uk/en/our-work/talk-money-week
https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en
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