What’s your money story?

We all carry money stories—personal narratives on money or attitudes toward money formed through early experiences, conversations, or even lack of conversations around finances. These stories become the lens through which we view money as adults, influencing how we spend, save, earn, and even how we feel about wealth and debt.

Everyone’s money story is unique. Some money stories can be traced back to a very specific moment in time, while others are formed over many years or decades. However they began, our money stories are a key contributor to our attitudes and behaviors around money as adults. They are an ever-present factor in our daily emotions, decisions, and outlook on the future. So why aren’t we talking about our money stories more often? Well, they can also be painful, shameful, or anxiety-inducing.  

As parents, it can be difficult to manage our own feelings around money while also being a primary contributor to the early chapters of our childrens’ money stories. This does not mean you have to share your personal history around money with your children, but rather, having an awareness that they are in the process of writing their own money story can alter the way you talk about money with your kids. 

Ask you kids how they feel about money. What does it help them do? What does it not help them do? Just starting the conversation around money with your kids can be an open door to more conversations in the future and the potential to help them on their own money journeys. 

What’s your money story, and how has it shaped your relationship with money today?