Transcript of A Crisis of Financial Confidence is Reshaping the American Dream— Here's How to Navigate It, With U.S. Bank

Support for today's episode comes from Square, the easy way for business owners to take payments, book appointments, manage staff, and keep everything running in one place. On this show and in my books, I always talk about how important it is to have multiple streams of income. But how do you actually go from hobby to hustle? The answer? Square. I have seen it so many times in real life. Just this weekend at the Farmer's Market, there was a mom selling banana bread. We love banana bread, and I could not resist. In the past, I might have missed out because I carry cash, but with Square, she was able to take my card in seconds. I got my delicious treat. She got paid, and neither of us had to stress. With Square, you can get all the tools to run your business with none of the contracts or complexity. And why wait? Right now, you get up to $200 off Square hardware at square. Com/go-mnen. That's square. Com/go-mnen, as in Money News Network. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. Today's episode is a really special one for me. A few months ago, I signed a deal with US Bank.

At the time, I was still dealing with the wake of the LA fires. I was living in an Airbnb. I didn't have a studio or even a couch to record from. My team and I had hoped that we would find a partner that would help us rebuild the studio, and that this partner would want to support our work out of a shared belief in the importance of financial literacy. Us Bank got what we were doing immediately, and this This is probably the most personal partnership I have ever done, and I will forever be grateful for the heart that I've seen in US Bank, which is exactly what I want to see in the financial institutions I work with, and I'm sure you do, too. I have loved seeing how US Bank puts in the work to understand how people are feeling about their money right now. And what they found this year is that there's a crisis in confidence when it comes to money. So today, to help tackle this crisis and help you feel more confident, I'm talking with Scott Ford, Head of Wealth Management at US Bank, and Kate Falen, California Regional Director of Strategic Wealth Planning and Advice.

We'll get into what's really behind this financial anxiety, why younger generations feel like traditional success is out of reach, and how we can reclaim that sense of control even in the middle of economic chaos. We also get actionable, like how to prep for buying a home, what to prioritize at different life stages, how to approach retirement in a world where it's getting longer and less predictable, and what small money wins you can start to Today to build a real momentum.

Scott Ford and Kate Falen, welcome to Money Rehab.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah, great to be here.

I want to dig into the numbers here because a recent survey from US Bank found that there is a crisis of confidence going on, and I want to understand what that actually looks like to you from the numbers and from talking to clients and customers.

Yeah, no, it's a great question. We do these surveys annually, and this year's survey was really about how are people feeling just given the general economic environment. And what we learned is people feel pretty good about the things that are within their control, right? And they're doing a lot of the right things. They're saving, they're budgeting, they're cutting expenses where they can. But it's the things that are outside of their control, right? Like the overall economy, inflation, geopolitical environment. That's where it's causing a lot of anxiety for folks right now.

Makes so much sense. I mean, the only thing we can really control is ourselves, of course. But there are a lot of X factors out there, Kate. Do you think that that's translating into missed opportunities in the financial world?

I do. Unfortunately, I think that right now this crisis in people's confidence as we're seeing it has led them to maybe not panic, but freeze a little bit. When people think that they don't have control of the situation, they pull in. They maybe don't do the things that they would have otherwise in terms of their financial well-being because they want to and see what's going to happen. So I definitely think that people are missing opportunities or maybe making moves that may be disadvantageous for them, unfortunately.

Because I think generally, Scott, this idea of the American dream or what success looks like has changed. So when you talk to millennials and Gen Z who are trying to do the right things, trying to save, trying to invest, trying to save for a house, how do you frame success today for them?

Some of the insight suggests that the way people define I guess, financial success really has remained pretty constant. People still want to own a home. They still want to have a family. They still want to be able to save for retirement. I think that what feels different, especially for Gen Z and millennials, that feels like it's out of reach for a lot of folks. In some respects, some are even giving up. A quarter of millennials and Gen Z people are giving up on the idea of owning a home and having a family.

Yeah, I saw recent numbers that even if mortgage rates were zero, it would be hard to afford a home these days. Kate, what are you seeing as far as how success is defined in this climate and how it's changed from the generation before?

I agree with Scott in the sense of we look to these consistent milestones of what maybe that definition of success is. But to Scott's point, people are achieving success in much less linear and consistent ways. It used to be, Okay, I'm going to get out of college, and I'm going to get married, and I'm going to buy a house, and we're all on this journey. I look at the millennials, and they're all over the place in terms of when they're achieving that. I think that the milestones for success are the same, but what it looks like to achieve that success and how we're defining it for ourselves, I think that's changing a lot, which isn't a bad thing, by the way. It just changes the landscape in terms of the industry that Scott and I are in, and it changes the way that we talk about what that financial well-being looks like and feels like, because it's not the same. It's not as consistent or linear as it was a generation or two before us.

Yeah, the timeline has changed, which isn't necessarily good or bad. It's just different. It just is. So Kay, if we can double click for a second on home buying. If somebody is thinking about buying a home in the next five years, what should they be thinking about to set themselves up for success there?

There's the obvious, you've got to save for the down payment, and that feels sometimes insurmountable or like a lot just in of itself. But there are other things that people need to be doing to put themselves in a good position to be ready. So that includes things like, make sure that your credit score is in good shape. Make sure that you have other debt that you might be servicing, taking care of, right? Make sure that you're making a choice that is not the one that you think you need to make now because it's that time to hit that milestone. But it's a that you're actually ready for. And then don't lose sight of your financial well-being beyond that goal of buying the house. You still need to be doing things like, am I contributing to my 401k? Am I making some of these other small money moves that are going to put me in a good spot so that when I am ready to own the home, I'm truly ready? I think that it's not just about saving for that down payment. It's about being in a spot where you feel actually secure with what that's going to mean.

Because servicing a mortgage and being the one who's responsible when the water heater blows up and things happen like that is really different. People need to make sure that they've really thought that through and are prepared for it. I know.

It's never, is it the right time to buy a house, which we hear all the time. It's, is it the right time for me and my family, specifically. That's right. Kate was talking about your 401k. Us Bank found that longevity and this economic instability, uncertainty, if you will, markets don't like and savers and investors get nervous about, anxious about, as you said. How does that change how people should be thinking about retirement? If people are living longer, retirement is going to be longer, but it's also going to be more precarious. We're seeing this first generation even coming to retirement with a 401k.

That's right. Versus pensions. It's interesting. We've all benefited from advances in health care. People are generally trying to live healthier lifestyles. That's certainly true of Gen Z and millennials. And so we're living longer. But at the same time, people are reluctant to increase their savings. The thing we recommend people do is at least as it relates to your 401k plan or whatever your retirement plan is at work, if your company has a match, at least contribute up to that point. My mom, she taught school for 30 years. She retired at 55, and she's going to be 84. So people often underestimate the length of time that they're actually going to be retired. And if you put it off and start later and you don't save enough, you're going to potentially outlive your savings.

I mean, it's amazing for mama. Yes. But it's also expensive.

It is.

It is. So, Kate, if you're in a different part of your career, we're talking about shifting the timeline and millennials and Gen Z are doing that. How should somebody, say in the middle of their career or somebody in the peak of their career, think about prioritizing retirement differently?

I think that people need to bear in mind that you have a couple of different horizons that you're looking at. What am I trying to achieve financially in the next three or five years? And what am I trying to achieve long term for the rest of my life? And what will that look like? If you're in the heyday of your career, you're in that building wealth stage of life, you need to be thinking about all of the competing priorities that you have. So Scott makes a good point. It's one of, I think, the most critical for young people is make sure that you're matching your 401(k) contributions with what your employer will do, because if not, you're just leaving money on the table. So make some of those types of choices. But you also have to zoom out and look at life is expensive right now. So if you are a young person in your career, chances are good you might have young kids, you might have other expenses associated with that time in your life. And so you have to think about, how do I make choices that are going to be good for me right now without losing sight of, I do someday want to retire.

If you're in your 30s right now, retirement might feel like it is a long ways off, right? But you still have to make some of those choices about how am I going to prepare for it, especially to Scott's point. I think that we're going to see people who are retired for much longer than they used to be because of the longevity that we're seeing. That means you have to make different choices. Skip ahead if you're in your 50s or your 60s right now, and retirement is really something that you're like, Hey, that's going to happen really soon, then are you doing things like making the catch-up contributions to your 401(k)? And then beyond that, Scott and I like to talk about not just what does this look like for you financially, but what does it look like for you emotionally? Do you want to travel? Do you want to start a new hobby? Do you want to adventure in some other way? What does that look like? What's that going to cost? What does that take? Then bear in mind that that probably is going to look different. When you retire, you may have your, Scott, I think calls them the golden years of retirement, where you're out and you're traveling and you're doing stuff.

And later in retirement, you're probably not able to. Now you've got medical expenses, things like that. So that's a lot to think about all at once, which is why I like to zoom back to what am I doing right now? I need to make some choices about what I'm doing long term and then know that that's a journey and that's going to change along the way. Having a financial plan is super helpful to help you get rooted in that and just know what your picture is. But I think when you can balance that you have short and long term priorities, it makes feel a little bit more achievable because you don't have to achieve everything all at once today. It is truly a journey.

Yeah. And the earlier you start, the better. You can't really contemplate in your 20s and 30s what it will be like in retirement. But let's talk about Mama Ford. She was a teacher, so she wasn't making a lot of money. That's right. But if she started earlier, what you need is time more than a lot of money.

And that's what we educate people about. The earlier you start, the less you have to contribute because of the the power of compounding. The later you get started, the more you have to try to put away because you just have less time. And so we just encourage people, and I really do mean this, take advantage of what you have at work first because you can get some benefit from tax deferral and all those things and the company match that many employers will give. It's like you're doubling what you can potentially put away than if you didn't participate in that program.

Is there a different framework that we be thinking about when we're calculating retirement, which is, by the way, so morbid and never a fun day to think about, right? Because I'm assuming your mom took the annual expenses she had, multiplied it by the time she thought she was going to be alive after retirement. So it was from '55 to now '84, or I don't know what calculation she did at the time, but people are living longer. So is that an outdated formula?

First of all, I don't think mama was very deliberate and intentional about what she was going to put away for retirement. And she was fortunate that she had two things, like school teachers, and they get a pension, or at least they used to, and she had an opportunity to save in some tax-deferred accounts. So she did a little bit, and it was enough by the time she retired. When she got to that point, her house was paid off and your biggest expenses are behind you. But I don't think people really think about… She's been retired as long as she worked. If you're in relatively good health and your family history suggests that you might live a long time, you want to take those things into consideration. I think that's why people who have gone through that planning conversation, because for me, it's less about the document that gets printed out at the end. It's more about the process of thinking through those things and getting some sense of, Hey, this is where I am today. Given my current lifestyle, spending patterns, all of those things, I expect my expenses to be here, so I know I want my nest egg to be at least this.

But it's that process of going through that to make you think about it is, I think, probably the most helpful thing.

Well, the tricky part with that is that we don't know how much stuff is going to cost. That's right. That X-Factor, right, Kate, of inflation. And then you mentioned being in good health, but maybe you're not, God forbid. So how do you think about factoring in inflation or medical expenses is when you're doing this? And by the way, how do you even get into the idea of calculating your own mortality? Not my most favorite activity.

It's an important point, though, right? It's expensive now. It's probably going to get more expensive. And if you do end up in a situation where you're retired for a very long time, your expenses are going to change. And things like, what is it going to cost if I'm not well for part of my retirement? Then you need to think about that. It's not as easy as just saying, Here's what it will cost. There's not a straight-line formula that you can apply. Because of the way that we're seeing, particularly in these younger generations, this much less linear and consistent way that people are working and living their lives, you can apply that to the way that you look at retirement as well. I think the bottom line is that you have to account for it, especially now with the longevity that we're seeing. You have to think the fact that your health care expenses are almost certainly going to be a part of that analysis.

So, Scott, we started this conversation with the crisis of confidence. And so if people are hearing a bunch of scary headlines out of Washington skyrocketing dead, and then inflation that we saw a few years ago that was run away and possibly could happen again. And think, why am I doing any of this? Is it even worth it to be saving and budgeting and investing?

It's a great question. But what I encourage people to think about is the fact that some of the data from the survey suggests that this lack of confidence is really a function of the things that are outside of their control, like the economy, inflation, cost of housing, geopolitical tension, all those things. But really, all those things have always been there. We often look back and we use history as a guide, especially as we try to forecast going forward. There have always been recessions. There have always been geopolitical risk. They're always like inflation is looming in the background. You've never had any control over any of those things. I think that what is different today is people... It's almost you don't get a break from the headlines. We all, and I'm guilty of it, too, on our social media feeds, 24-hour news cycles. I I wake up first thing in the morning, I turn on the financial news, and sometimes I have to remind myself, Hey, turn that off for now. There's an intensity and a velocity, I think, in the current time that didn't exist before. So it feels terrible and hopeless, but it isn't.

This two show pass. We've been through these things before, and that's why it's important to stay the course, because if you get paralyzed, and for example, some people have given up on or not even started saving for retirement. They've given up on being able to own a home. They've given up on being able to start a family, according to some of the survey data. Got to believe that, Hey, this too shall pass. I'm going to keep doing the things that I can do that are within my control. I'm going to keep saving. I'm going to put away money for retirement. I'm going to start my family at some point. At some point, I will own a home, even if it takes a little longer.

Always a good reminder. It's not the velocity or intensity of what's happening in the news. It's the velocity, intensity of the consumption and how fast it's coming at us. Absolutely. We've never not recovered from a single recession or depression in US history. We're just seeing it a lot more in our face now. That's right. Speaking of scary headlines, as you guys know, I lost my home in the LA Fires. Us Bank has been with me during such a difficult time and such a big part of the community. So thank you, personally. Kate, you're an Angelino, so you've probably also been affected in one way or another. It was... I mean, as somebody who covers is this every single day. Going through it myself was a master class on how to financially prepare for unexpected disasters or hardships. What should somebody be thinking about before something like that happens?

So first off, I'm really sorry about your house. What we saw in LA earlier this year was just gut-wrenching. At the risk of sounding a little bit like a negative Nancy, my best advice when it comes to these of things is you have to accept that bad things are going to happen. It's not a matter of if you have a financial issue, it's a matter of when. So the sooner that you can say, you know what? Sometimes things are going to go wrong. My car is going to break down. I'm going to get sick. The roof is going to collapse. The dog is going to get sick. 60 % of Americans right now would be absolutely just taken down by a $1,000 unexpected expense. Everything costs $1,000 now. So you have to have a little bit of money set aside. Having that emergency fund, it's called an emergency fund for a reason, because bad things do happen sometimes. Don't have it be just truly insult to injury when you can't afford to face those types of things. From a bigger picture, one of the things that we saw after the fires, regrettably, were a lot of people who were underinsured or maybe misinsured or didn't know what their insurance looked like.

So I think it was hopefully a good wake up call for a lot of people to get out the insurance policy, take stock of what do we have, how do we have it insured, are we in a good spot, if heaven forbid, something like that were to happen. Making those kinds of preparations, like I said, it's just going to make it a little bit easier to withstand when something does go wrong.

All right, let's turn this into something more positive for a moment. We'll put Negative Nancy in the corner. Debbie Downer can take a seat. Let's talk about some financial wins that you guys both have that keep you excited about the progress. I know when I was getting my financial life together and I was getting myself out of credit card debt and compound interest, I only understood that force being used against me. I didn't realize that that same power could be used in my benefit through investing. And once I started seeing that progress, I was hooked. So how can people start thinking of that momentum for themselves to stay on it?

One of the things that I constantly tell people is, Pay yourself first. We all pay our bills all the time, and you're on automatic pilot, and those are the things that you growing up, taught to do. But think about your own financial health. I love what you said about paying down credit card debt. We've all been there. People often don't realize that if you're just making the minimum payments, it could take you a really long time to pay off that high interest credit card debt. So even before you start really investing, I would say that that's the place where you want to start. But I tell people, Pay yourself first and automate your savings. Put it on automatic pilot so you don't even have to think about it, that you don't touch it, you Don't miss it. You'll get used to just... And start where you are. It doesn't have to be monumental. It's like when you're going to start working out or exercising, just getting to the gym is the win. So setting up a savings savings account, automating your savings, making sure you have some automatic transfer to that account that you won't touch, that's not attached to your debit card, so you can't go pull the money out.

And you would be surprised how quickly that balance can start growing. And that's going to give you the confidence to keep going and even actually increase it.

It's so true. When I was pregnant, I could not go to the gym to save my life. I showed up one time, and I was just like, I'm happy that I put on stretch That was a win for me. How do you think about the avalanche method versus a snowball method?

Yeah, look, I think that it's like a diet. All of them work if you follow the method. And this is what I did Personally, by the way, I paid off the smaller balances first because it just felt like, psychologically, it felt like a win to see a credit card balance go to zero. And then you take that money that you were using to pay that one and put it on the next largest one. So you get the small the ones out of the way. And that's what I did personally. But I know they're all different types of ways to do it. You just have to do it.

Yeah. I did the avalanche method where I listed all my interest rates because actually, when I started, I didn't know, and I didn't know that they were different. So I listed highest to lowest, and I tackled the highest first. But I think that if you do stick to one plan, and I think of the highest interest rate first as my preferred plan, because that's what I personally did, you just can't switch mid-game.

That's right. That's right.

I want to tell you guys a story about early in my financial life, when I was in credit card debt, I was so overwhelmed about breaking that down because it felt like such a big number to me. And I'm first-generation American, so I grew up in a family that didn't talk about money, but when they did, it was just cash. I never learned what a mortgage was. I never understood the concept of debt. And so I felt a lot of shame, and I felt a lot of overwhelm because it was such a huge number. But I broke it down by the day, not even by the month or the year. I broke it down to $7 a day. And for me, it just felt more manageable. I was like, I could do $7 a day. That I can tackle. And I did. And it took me two years. I got out of credit card debt. I never turned back. I did the Same thing, actually, with my taxes. One day I thought, I'm going to sit down and do all my taxes on a Saturday. I blocked it out. And what ended up happening was all of my receipts were all over the floor.

I didn't do anything but probably drink wine and eat haagen-daz. Then I changed my methodology and I said, Okay, one day, all I'm going to do is uncrinkle my receipts. That's it. That's all I'm going to do. And then the next day, I'm going to put them in little baby piles. That's it. And so when I broke it down that way, it felt like something that I could stick to because I was actually getting those small steps done, and it helped me continue the momentum. What do you guys think? Unhinged?

No, absolutely not. Look, I think that, first of all, that's absolutely fantastic. But you hit on something that's really, really important. When you think about the big numbers in the aggregate, and that could be retirement, it could be paying off my credit card bills, it does feel insurmountable. So breaking it up into smaller pieces, I think was super, super smart and very, very insightful for you to do that. And by the way, it worked. And that's why I encourage people, start where you are, start small. It doesn't have to be, I'm going to get this all done in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. The reality is you didn't get in the situation you were in overnight, and it's going to take some time to get out of it. You lose 50 pounds, like five pounds at a time. You're not going to lose it all at once. And the same thing with your finances. Incremental improvements are absolutely going to get you there. I think what you did is pretty amazing. Thank you so much. $7 a day. Thank you. That's pretty cool.

I think the way that you handled it is sensational because you didn't get into credit card debt in a day. You're not going to get out of it in a day. And I think that you spoke about feeling that crushing shame and overwhelm. That's a feeling that a lot of people know, and then it can just weigh you down, right? And it will crush you. But if you say, Okay, I'm just going to chip away at this a little bit, now the control is with you, and you have to stick with it. It's not easy. It's not glamorous, it's not fun, but it is the best way to do it. I think with anything that we've talked about, right? Scott and I have talked a lot about that today, that it is these little wins that you can do that really start to add up. And I think people think that they've got to have it all figured out, and they've got to have all the money. You don't get all the money overnight. It doesn't work that way.

Kate, how do you think about small wins and keeping up momentum financially?

Yeah, so one of the things that I like to talk to people about is this idea of knowing where you are. I talk to a lot of people and they can't, off the top of their head, tell you where their money is. Is it in the home that you own? Is it in the car that you own? Is it in a checking account? Is it invested? Is it in your 401(k)? I think that regardless of the number of commas that are in your networth, your balance sheet, you should be able to say off the top of your head on any given day, this is the money that I have. This is the debt that I have. It is this way for for a certain reason, right? I'm saving for a house, or I'm investing for retirement, or I'm saving for my trip to Europe, whatever it is, where is your money? What do you have? What is your financial picture today? This isn't about keeping up with the Jones is or thinking about what your financial picture should be, but where are you today? The more that you know where you are today, I think the better positions you're going to be to get where you want to go in the future.

Because then you can take stock of what How do I need to achieve still to get to that next phase of my journey where I want to go? But knowing where your money is engaging with your money, it doesn't mean that you have to be some financial expert. It doesn't mean that you have to feel a certain way about how much you do or don't have. But having that engagement with your money, knowing what it's doing for you, is just, I think, really important for people to do the small things that they need to do to get ahead and get where they want to be And so I just think it's really important to be able to take stock of what is my networth? What is it that my money is doing for me at any given point of your journey?

Yeah, and I think it works to assuage some fear, because sometimes we suffer more in imagination than in reality. And so we think it's really, really bad until we actually take a look, rip off the bandaid. I, many, many moons ago, had my credit reports just sitting on my calendar counter, so scared of them, didn't want to open them. Just assume I would open them, it would say, I'm going to jail, or I don't know what. We just make up these things about our finances because we don't want to face them. But I think facing them really can calm some of that anxiety or some of the fear and understanding what it exactly looks like in reality, not just in your imagination. So, Kate, Scott, I saw you're both very involved in your local communities. As I'm thinking about how to teach my daughter financial literacy, I think about spend, share, save, like buckets. And this share component is really important to be philanthropic, to be part of your community. Kate, you're on the board of Girls, Inc, of Orange County. You are also involved in public counseling in Los Angeles. Scott, you're on the board of your church.

You also donate your time and money to alleviate food insecurity. When you think about a bank in the community, Where's the role of a bank?

Banks play really, really important roles in community. All healthy communities have a vibrant banking sector because they support just economic activity of communities. But One of the things I'm really proud about at US Bank is we put our money where our mouth is. Last year, we gave $111 million through corporate donations to various foundations, nonprofits, charities, and things like that. But I think what's even more impressive that I think speaks to the culture of the employees is through our volunteerism, we did over 300,000 hours of volunteer times across the company. I think it's just woven into who we are, and we all have this shared sense of commitment to giving back.

Yeah, I agree with that. I think it's important when you think about the role of a bank in the community, which is so critical as Scott said, it isn't only about the bank making the donations to the nonprofits. It's absolutely about our employees being out in the community, giving of their time. But it's also about how can the bank show up and help some of these low and moderate income communities get the loans that they need, get the access to capital that they need to start new businesses, to help the community rise up, if you will. So the access to those types of loans in California alone last year we gave, let me check my notes, 4. 3 billion with a B in developmental loans to these communities. I think that that's really important because it's not just about making donations and making contributions. It's about creating that access to the money that the community really needs so that it can take care of itself. I know that that's really important for us individually, but it says a lot about how the bank feels about its responsibility to the community. You look back when the fires happened earlier this year, the bank was really quick to say, How can we show up?

How can we be a part of sponsoring the things that are happening in terms of raising money and meeting the moment? And so I think that that's really important. And the financial industry as a whole is important to that. And we appreciate being a part of it.

It sounds cheesy almost, but it's real because a lot of people have so many traumatic memories potentially about banks. I saw my house being closed on when I was little. I was so scared of banks. And changing this perception is real because I think a lot of people might bring that or whatever memories they might have of a bank. I saw firsthand how it really made a difference to step up in a time of need. So thank you so much, guys. Truly, from the bottom of my heart. I end all of our episodes by asking our guests for a final tip that listeners can take straight to the It can be anything from investing, budgeting, negotiating, planning. Scott?

Yeah, I like that. The thing I would leave your audience with is a really important concept. It's not what you make, but what you keep that counts. I learned that very early in my career as a financial advisor. You see people that they might have high incomes, but they spend more money than they actually make. It's not what you make, it's what you keep that counts. Just be mindful of that, and you should fine.

Because lifestyle creep happens.

That's right.

I think in line with that, I really remind people, and we've talked about it a little bit already, is get started early. I think people sometimes get in their head that they can't start doing something until they're ready and they've got it all figured out. My dad taught me when I was little to save a little, a lot. And if you get in that habit of just putting a little bit away all the time, it really starts to add up over the long term. So there's really never too soon to get started on your savings habits, on putting your money to work for you. It's not enough to just save the money and shove it under the mattress. You got to put it into a vehicle where it's actually going to work for you. But the sooner that you get started If it's 10 bucks, it doesn't matter. That all really starts to add up over the long run, which puts you in a better position to keep more of what you've made.

I really like what your dad said, Kate.

Save a little a lot.

Save a little a lot.

I grew up in a family where we talked about money, and I don't know that a lot of people feel comfortable with that, even in today's day and age. And so I think that if you think about your baby girl, I think the sooner that you start talking to her about things like budgeting and saving up for something, I think the better for kids, right? I really think that we do them a disservice by sending them off to the real world and saying, oh, by the way, it's really expensive out there. Good luck. You got to get them I heard.

Oh, no. I've already started to talk. From the womb, she's getting her financial literacy education going on.

Absolutely. Kate brings up an important point. Our last survey was challenging conversations about money. And that was like, most families are not talking about money. And there's this shame and stigma around, for example, if you have credit card debt, especially if you're in a relationship, a lot of people don't want to share that with their partner. That's an important thing for you to be able to know together. I think starting early is sharing what you know and more importantly, sharing the mistakes you've made with money is super important and helpful.

Yeah, it's hilarious if you ask a kid, How much is a house or how much is a car? They have no clue. The answer is the same thing as, How old am I? That's right. But it's because we don't anchor them or we don't explain it to them. I I think that it's incumbent on us as parents, since we don't learn this stuff in school, to be able to take it on.

That's right. They don't teach it in school. They say money is the only thing that doesn't come with instructions.

It's for sure. I think that when people ask how to make financially literate kids, you have to look in the mirror because they're copying everything. I see this even really early on.

I go like this, and she goes, and so if I'm spending or I'm hoarding or I'm talking negatively about money, or even the little things that I've started thinking about when I'm going to be raising her is money doesn't grow on trees.

We all heard that growing up. And is that the right message that we should be giving them? Is it better to say money grows where you invest it.

That's right. Or something like that. That's right.

So there's less fear around that.

For sure. And giving them an allowance, right? So that they learn how to budget. I remember my youngest one, she was shopping with a friend of hers. This is a true story, shopping with a friend of hers, and she was just going around and spending money with a friend of hers. They were at the outlet mall, and she got to the store, and her car didn't work, right? So she called her mom, and her mom said, Oh, wow. Now, we knew what had happened, but she said, Maybe you better call customer service. So she called customer service and realized, Oh, my gosh, I spent all of my money, and I wasn't keeping track of what I spent. It never happened again. It never happened again. It's Just creating that awareness is really, really important. Yeah.

Swipe, swipe, swipe. If you don't explain it, it feels like free money. That's right. The magical card. That's right. That gets things. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network.

I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan LaVoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes.

Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your moneyquestions, moneyrehab@moneynewsnetwork. Com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even.