📋 Why We Shared Financial Details With Our Adult Children (AARP Article)

[Winter2025VA]

FROM THE ARTICLE.

Kids can benefit from open family discussions about money. Here’s how to have them.

By Cameron Huddleston, AARP. Published September 15, 2025.

My husband and I decided to tell our daughters something this year that a lot of parents keep a secret from their kids. My parents certainly never revealed the same sort of details to me when I was growing up. And numerous studies have found a majority of families avoid this sort of conversation.

Nonetheless, we sat down with our daughters when they were home from college on winter break to have “the talk.” It seemed like the right time to expose the nitty, gritty details … of our finances.

USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE.

https://www.aarp.org/money/personal-finance/talk-to-your-kids-about-money-finances/

[Winter2025VA]

I donot feel kids of a certain age need to know about our finances. Yes, when they are "adults" and we are old. This info "helps" them to better UNDERSTAND what we are dealing with.

Growing up, I was an "only" child for 7 GLORIOUS years = yes spoilt. I wish my parents had NOT done this as this affected my adult life at age 18. But life taught me well = hard knocks school.

With my now 30+ "only" child, from an "early" age when she could UNDERSTAND - we had a wish list & a need to have in order to survive list for HER stuff.

She learn't to SAVE her pocket money for HER Wish List.

The "have to have list" was MINE & she grew up KNOWING things like food, car gas, rent and so on had to be paid no matter what.

She also learn't to make her Pocket Money LAST in case she saw something BETTER on down the road.

Any parents out there?  🤔

We would luv to hear your two cents!!!

Take care,

Nicole (Friends & Family Forum)

[GailL1]

@Winter2025VA 

I think it depends on the kid and the family situation - I opened up my parents 1st bank account when I was 14 years old.  I knew everything about their financial situation - what they owned and where their rather meager money was -

I became guardian of my mother when I was ALMOST 20 years old due to  my father’s early death.  Believe me, that was something I did not really want to do - but HAD to do.  I gave her independence up to a certain measure but over that she had to have my permission to spend a big amount of money on anything Or make any big decisions that would affect her finances.   I did it to the best of my ability, taking what she had and made it grow so that she could be taken care of later in life in a nice facility without living with me.  That’s the way it had to be for both our sake.

Actually, I think she kind of liked it since it took a lot of concern off her shoulders.  But then there did come a time when she could no longer live alone and I did have to put my foot down in forcing some decisions but she still got to choose from a selection - first, to an independent living facility then years later to an assisted living facility and then to a personal care home for the last year of her life.