According to the National Financial Educators Council, over 51% of 15 to 18 year olds failed a national financial literacy test in 2023. Many schools across the US do not have a formal financial curriculum, therefore leaving children to rely on the knowledge of their parents. Money Mindfulness Expert & Author David Delisle joins Wealth! to give insight into financial education for families.

Delisle explains that vacations may be a good place to educate kids about financial literacy: "If we're trying to teach them lifelong goals or budgeting or doing without, it's hard with the time frames, but with vacations, we can simply give them the money we plan to spend on them anyway for, you know, treats and souvenirs or toys or ride ticket, and let them start making those decisions. The stakes are low. If they end up spending all of their money, that's fine. If they buy something they didn't like, that's fine. It's a great opportunity for them to start having a little bit more autonomy, understand the value of money, and making those decisions themselves."

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Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Well, over 51% of 15- to 18-year-olds failed a National Financial Literacy Test in 2023. This is according to the National Financial Educators Council. And without a formalized personal finance curriculum, kids can really only rely and pick up on that education at home.

So for how to transform the way that you and your family think about money, we've got David Delisle, who's the money mindfulness expert and author, here with us. Great to see you, David. What is the first way that, perhaps, people can come together, families come together around the kitchen table, and just set up the first steps towards financial literacy within the household.

DAVID DELISLE: I love that you mentioned around the table, because that's the thing. It's usually we make this something that's much bigger than it needs to be. It's just having conversations about money. We don't tend to do that. We don't do that within families. We don't do that with friends. We don't do that outside.

And the more we start talking about money and just having these conversations, the more we start to understand these basic concepts.

BRAD SMITH: And sometimes it starts with collectively goal setting as a family too. You have something that you call the vacation tactic. Walk us into that.

DAVID DELISLE: Vacations are such a great opportunity. We just came out of spring break for many of us. And it's such a good opportunity to teach some of these things to our kids. Because if we're trying to teach them these things like, lifelong goals, or budgeting, or doing without, it's hard with the time frames.