Talking actual numbers with kids

I think at 11 or almost any age the exact numbers are NOT important. What IS important are the percentages you spend and where they go. I'd also ask her questions like if we're short in one place, where should we spend less on. That teaches her very valuable lessons that the CC is not the answer.

I can say I never knew my parent's numbers and still only have a rough idea. IMHO, it is not important that a child knows numbers. It doesn't help them. They wouldn't have the whole picture unless they had all of the numbers - including bills and savings rate.

I remember a time when it was fun for kids to brag that their dad made $100 a week. That was the late 60s. I asked if my dad mad more than $100 a week. I was told that it depends and it is more complicated than that.

I have shared actual numbers including my salary and savings balances with my 11 year old. I was raised talking about money but I didn't know actual numbers. So it does feel a little unnatural but I do hope it is for the better.

I feel like it unlocks additional conversations, like why don't we spend our savings on a bigger house, how we prioritize spending, and what it has taken to earn the salary we have.

As my child get closer to working age and having a career, I hope our conversations will have provided a rooted perspective and make them feel comfortable openly discussing these topics with me.

I would agree that at 11 years old, generalities are probably best. You might ask why she was asking. What was the root of the curiosity?

You might also explain that being "rich" has far more to do with how you spend your money than with how much you make. A person who makes $300K a year and spends $300K a year is poorer than someone who makes $60K and spends $55K.

I talk about money with my kids all the time, but more about our values, why we spend the way we do, why we save, how we use credit cards.

As a last thought, you have to know your kid. Is she the type that will use that information to try to squeeze money out of you? Is she the type to share that information, or be responsible if you tell her it isn't to be shared?

My daughter, 17, knows our numbers generally. Before I told her said numbers, she had expressed to me how she had guessed at what we make but didn't want to share/talk about money with her friends. (She has also told me her friends are stupid with money. She's trying to teach them slowly. 😉 ) As she is nearing college, we've been talking more concretely about what she has in her savings accounts and in her 529.

My daughter, 13, doesn't know our numbers. She knows we sock away her Christmas/birthday money into a savings account. She has an idea of how much is in her account. She knows we're not worried about money, but that we still pay attention to our spending and spend according to our values.

I don't know if that helps!