Money is always a touchy and sensitive topic for anyone to engage in, and this is no different for children and their parents. However, these are inevitable and important conversations that are necessary and cannot be avoided. Sitting down and having a financial talk with parents about legal and monetary matters will leave you feeling more secure and aware of your financial situation going forward in the future. To help you with this process, we have compiled some useful pointers on how to broach this subject with your loved ones.
Find the Right Time and Approach Them with Tact
As mentioned before, money is often a sensitive topic. No doubt your queries about your loved one’s financial state come from legitimate care and concern. However, starting these conversations requires delicacy and discretion so you do not appear meddlesome, disrespectful, or financially motivated in a greedy manner. Hence, choose your words carefully. Likewise, a poorly-timed conversation could cause your parents to react negatively. Before jumping into the subject, test the waters so as to gauge how open your parents are to having that discussion presently. Find a time where they are calm, logical, and not overly emotional so that the conversation can go as smoothly as possible.
Tell Them About the Dangers of Failing to Plan
Once you have successfully broken the ice, it could be helpful to adopt a cautionary approach. You could warn your parents about the issues that could arise if they fail to adequately prepare for the future. Explain to them the importance of planning and how working with a financial advisor to draft up a retirement plan can help relieve monetary strain and decrease finance-related stress. You can also talk about how failure to leave behind a will can cause a tedious legal process of trying to obtain guardianship over estates and properties.
Incorporate Daily News into the Conversation
If your parents follow the daily, local news, then another approach could be to use this as a starting point for the conversation. News updates on health care and financial policies for retirees can be a way to lead the discussion. Perhaps you can begin by asking their point of view on current government policies and then slowly steer the conversation into your intended topic. This method is effective since it brings in current events and the bigger picture of things instead of putting their financial situation on blast immediately.
Share Your Own Financial Plans with Them
Another simple yet effective way is to share your own personal financial plans with your parents. By bringing up meetings you have had with your own personal advisor or talking about your own comprehensive plans, this could encourage them to do the same. Tell them about how you yourself have decided to sort out your finances and how doing so as helped you feel more financially secure and stable.
To conclude, discussing finances with your parents need not be volatile or awkward. Just be sure to always remain respectful of their freedom and independence so that their privacy is not infringed on!
