Money Talks: Testing a Series of Financial Literacy Modules to Encourage Financial Conversations in Middle School Families

The financial conversations parents/caregivers have with their children play a pivotal role in their financial development. Yet, little is known about strategies or interventions to promote these financial conversations. Focusing on parents/caregivers of middle school students in a Midwestern state, this exploratory study investigated the experiences of parents/caregivers who engage in financial conversations with their middle schoolers. We developed and tested “Money Talks”, an online series of financial literacy modules to enhance parent–child financial conversations. Using qualitative interview data of 10 parents/caregivers as well as baseline, module, and follow-up survey data of up to 318 parents/caregivers, we examined the predictors of financial conversations and the impact of the modules on increasing both frequency and parents’ confidence for engaging in financial conversations. Five key financial conversation topics emerged from parent/caregiver interviews including spending, banking, saving/investing, credit/debt, and financial decision-making. In surveys, confidence about financial topics emerged as the most important predictor of financial conversations. The follow-up survey results point to a greater amount of time spent on financial conversations rather than more frequent conversations and demonstrate that the modules were most effective in “Starting a conversation” with their middle schooler. Future research should experiment with different online and offline approaches for engaging parents/caregivers in financial conversations with their children and promoting other financial socialization methods such as financial modeling and experiential learning.