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Review of Nathan Dungan's 11/10/10 Parent Awareness presentation, Family, Money & Habits |
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Giving your Family Financial Responsibility and Self-esteem
By Courtney Darby
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, Nathan Dungan's presentation, "Family, Money, & Habits: Navigating the New Normal and How NOT to be Your Child’s ATM,” was perfectly timed. Sponsored by the YWCA Parent Awareness Network and Darien Library, over 130 residents came out on a chilly November night to hear this personal finance expert discuss the effects of mass marketing on young people and help parents and teens discover new ways to talk and think about money.
The mantra for the evening was, “The choices we make with our money can change the world.” Dungan began by providing an overview of why people overspend. Among the key reasons, he outlined were: paying with plastic, buying in bulk, buying off the clearance rack and shopping without a list. Teens quickly follow in their parent’s footsteps and account for over $70 billion in spending each year. Dungan explained that being bombarded with over 5,000 advertising images each day, consistently chips away at a kid’s self-esteem while blurring the line between needs and wants.
In order to reign in family spending, Dungan recommends a three-pronged strategy: engage, educate and equip. First, parents need to start by engaging the entire family in the financial decision-making process. The family unit needs to understand current spending habits and then identify its needs vs. wants. Dungan suggested sharing stories about family history. In addition, Dungan advised that the financial decision-making process needs to honor each person’s values, and set clear financial goals that include saving and sharing. The audience received take-home tools to use with family members and peers.
To nurture responsible spending habits in children, Dungan suggests that parents engage in some basic family practices. These include:
1) Be more intentional about initiating financial planning conversations
2) Learn to Earn – encourage part-time work in high school and college
3) Develop a values-based budget for the family
4) Engage in experiential philanthropy by donating both time and money
5) Understand the time-value of money- saving at age 18 will be significantly more rewarding than waiting until age 40
Studies show that youth who are more financially responsible also have a better sense of self-esteem, Dungan explained. With less stress about what families are buying and spending, family members can then live happier and healthier lives.
Nathan Dungan is the founder and president of Share Save Spend®. For over 20 years, he has been an industry thought-leader on helping youth and adults link their money decisions to their values. He is the author of “Prodigal Sons & Material Daughters: How Not to Be Your Child’s ATM,” and his new book, just released, is “Money Sanity Solutions: Linking Money and Meaning”. On the topic of personal finances, Mr. Dungan has been widely quoted in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Parent Awareness is a YWCA program that promotes the healthy, positive development of Darien youth and families. Parent Awareness and Darien Library are members of Thriving Youth: Connected Community, a catalyst for developmental asset building through meaningful relationship experiences, skills and opportunities that benefit all our children. Questions may be addressed to
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