Results from Parents, Kids & Money Survey

What do kids want to know about money?  Who do kids turn to first with their money questions?  Do kids think parents are setting good money examples?  What’s the most common financial regret for parents? These questions and many juicy others are tackled by the 2012 Annual Parent, Kids & Money Survey by T. Rowe Price.

Overall, parents actually say they feel prepared for discussions about money, which is great to see, but a full 1/3rd avoid talking to their kids about finances.  And parents think they encourage their kids to talk about money, but a quarter of kids actually disagree.

Kids think they know more about money than they actually do.  This is a common phenomenon even among adults.  Before you know about something, you think you know more than you actually do because you aren’t aware of how much you don’t know.

Bullying, drugs, and smoking… they are all easier for parents to talk about with their kids than money.

FamilyMint is out to help you change all of this.  One of the most frequent benefits we hear from parents about using FamilyMint is all the teachable moments it helps create.  Even if we didn’t get a great start from our own parents, it’s easy to give your kids a leg up today.

Talking with your kids is a great start.  Talk about what you’ve done right, as well as the money mistakes you’ve made.  Your experience, no matter how little you think you know, will benefit your kids if you share it.  Both your successes and your mistakes can help create a foundation from which to build your kids' interest in their own money skill set.  To make it stick though, kids need to experience it themselves, learn by doing, and in the process, form great foundational long term habits.

See the study results: http://familyeducationmediakit.troweprice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/T_Rowe_Price_PKM_Survey_Results.pdf

Oh, and the most common financial regret for parents?  Not saving enough.