Do your children know of your debt?
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Do your children know of your debt?
| Mon, 03-16-2009 - 12:21pm |
No matter the age of your children, have you confided your debt to them?
If so, have you divulged everything or just the basics?

I'll bite. I regularly remind my kids that I am paying back some hefty bills, things are tight, and we need to be frugal in many areas so that we can have other luxuries like cable TV, great Internet service, and a few new pieces of clothing per month.
I didn't like it once when my child told my ex that I wouldn't buy any more clothes one month because I was in debt (her words, not what I said), but hey, it was not far from the truth, and at least they get it that I have other priorities!
When my daughter was younger (i.e. before she was 20 years old), I did not divulge my debt-load.
Kate
My children are young. 5 & 2.
I will tell my son that we aren't buying something right now b/c of money and he will sometimes ask why. I explain to him that we pay for things - the house we live in, the clothes he wears, the food on our table, the dog that we own.....etc. I try to teach him that things aren't free but I don't use the word debt or anything around him. He's a kid and need to enjoy that time.
I also don't make it sound like a burden to go to work. I work a night job and he'll tell me he wishes I could be home to read stories ( I only work 2 nights a week ) and I tell him that sometimes mommies go to work and sometimes daddies go to work. My DH is always home when I go to work and vice versa. I want him to know that work is and should be a fun thing even though as adults its never viewed that way.
Our kids are teenagers - 15 and 17 and they know things are tight and that I just don't spend willy nilly.
Yes, he's 27, lives next door, we share EVERTHING!
Norma
Norma
"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus
Our son Connor, 15, knows our debt.
We have divulged everything. It really helps in making budgetary decisions with the kids on board. They realize the importance of budgeting and that no matter how much people make, they can always live beyond their means. We watch a lot of documentaries on credit card companies and debt and so on, too. We use it as an educational opportunity as well as creating unity in decision making. DH and I both had parents where money was a big mystery and it didn't serve us very well at all. We're trying a much difference tactic with our kids.
Dee
My parents were always very open and honest with me about everything, financial matters included.