By Jasmin Brown, BDO First Call Debt Solutions

BDO First Call Debt Solutions

How to talk to your kids about financial challenges during difficult times

Jul 15, 2020 | 10:20 AM

Families in Saskatchewan and across Canada are living with the unfortunate reality of drastically reduced incomes, forcing them to live within the framework of tight budgets. When parents need to rein in spending and go without extras, children do not always understand what is happening. Parents can be left wondering how honest they should be with their children about their current financial challenges.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to help your family weather the current financial challenges, openly and honestly.

Be as honest as possible

The conversations you have with your child about money problems will, of course, depend on your child’s age. Most experts suggest that parents explain what is happening and how your family is affected without oversharing or burdening your child. It may help your child to know that many families are struggling, and everyone is doing their best to work through it.

Start with a basic household budget

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A household budget is essential for managing money during difficult times. There are numerous resources and tools online that will help you teach your children how a budget works, and why it is important for tracking income and expenses. The website Talk With Our Kids About Money offers resources for kids of all ages. If you would like to include your pre-teen or teen in the process of creating and following a family budget, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has a terrific interactive online budget planner.

Have the wants-vs-needs conversation

For many Canadian families, especially those living on reduced incomes, making every dollar count is a necessity. A back-to-basics budget will most likely mean doing without a few items in the wants category in order to pay for the family’s basic needs. Talk to your children about the difference between something that is nice to have (a want) and something your family cannot live without (a need). If the reality of your financial situation requires that you alter the family lifestyle, be sure your kids understand that your family is not alone in this situation. Many families in their neighbourhood, town or province are doing the same; and the situation will get better sometime in the future.

Schedule a family brainstorming session

So much of what we are all experiencing during this pandemic is outside of our control. If you are feeling anxious or concerned about what life will be like in the weeks and months ahead, your child is likely aware of your concerns, on some level. One way to manage your family’s anxiety is to focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t do.

Why not schedule a family brainstorming session where everyone shares ideas for how to spend less and save resources? For example, you might want to get your children involved in planning and making home-cooked meals. Discuss positive habits you can all work on, such as conserving water by running the dishwasher and doing laundry less often. Spend some time thinking of free or almost-free activities to do together, like a family bike ride or visit to the park.

How and when you talk to your children about financial challenges during difficult times can help them develop positive and healthy money habits as they grow.

During this COVID-19 crisis, nothing is more important than ensuring the health and safety of our people, clients and communities. Currently the BDO Debt Solutions offices are temporarily closed, but we remain open. Our employees are working from home for the foreseeable future.

We will conduct consultations, sign-ups and counselling by phone or videoconferencing on whichever platform you are most comfortable with, including FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and more. We will be as flexible as possible with appointment times. For documents such as income and expense reports, and tax information that must be sent by email or fax, we offer free scanning apps like Adobe Scan. We are also accepting pre-authorized debit (PAD) to make payments.

Call us at 1-855-BDO-DEBT and let us know how best we can serve you

How do you talk about financial difficulties with your children? Join the conversation and find more resources and debt advice on Twitter and Facebook