When I was growing up in Iowa, we didn’t talk about money in my
family. My parents valued teaching my siblings and me about
saving, budgeting and earning money, but conversations about our
family’s economic situation and financial decisions were rare.
This was typical at the time — especially in the Midwest, so to
my friends and me, money was shrouded in some level of secrecy.
Later, when my family hit a rough patch during the farm crisis,
we began having more open conversations about money. And while
those talks were very difficult at first, it was a relief to
understand more about our family’s finances. Apparently, times
haven’t changed much when it comes to family money talks. Recent
research by the American Institute of CPAs indicates that money
remains among the lowest priorities in conversations between
parents and their children. In fact, parents are much more
likely to have prioritized discussions about pretty much
everything else before money. The number who say they’ve
discussed manners (95%), eatin