Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!🤑

Parents spend a lot of time trying to protect kids from mistakes. We step in when they forget something, make a bad choice, or seem like they're barreling toward a consequence that we can absolutely see coming.

That instinct can kick into even higher gear when money is involved.

Nobody wants their child to waste money, rack up debt, or make a financial decision that they'll regret. But some mistakes can be useful when the consequences are manageable.

Young people need chances to think about what they could have done differently and how they can adjust their behavior. Parents can help by making it so youth feel safe discussing money mess ups. Sharing an age-appropriate story about your own financial mishaps can help.

The next time your kid, teen, or college student makes a manageable money mistake — blowing their allowance on a cheap toy, lending money to a friend who didn't pay it back, or buying textbooks new when a cheaper option was available — try asking, "What would you do differently next time?"

After all, learning how to handle money mistakes is part of learning how to handle money.

Money Stat

11%

Eleven percent of adults who used BNPL in 2025 had a payment trigger an overdraft or non-sufficient funds fee, according to the most recent Federal Reserve Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.

Splitting a purchase into several payments may feel simple. But the report reveals that if those payments don't come out of your account at the right time, there could be hefty consequences.

Get in the Zone

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Money skill: How to do a financial postmortem

Why it matters: After a financial decision goes sideways, a financial postmortem helps young people pause and examine what happened and what they can learn from it.

Instead of viewing a financial mistake as something to hide, they can treat it as useful information that strengthens their decision-making skills.

Try this: At the core of a financial postmortem are three questions that you can teach your child to ask themselves.

1️⃣ What happened?

2️⃣ How did it affect my money or my goals?

3️⃣ What will I do differently next time?

If your child buys something they later regret, try to resist saying, "I told you so." Ask the three questions and see if they can identify the lesson.

After everyday money decisions, occasionally ask your child if they would make that decision again. The question encourages young people to think about consequences without turning every mistake into a lecture.

Over time, financial reflection should start to feel like a normal part of managing money for young people, rather than something that only happens when something goes wrong.

Smart Money Quiz

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Your child made a manageable money mistake. Which response is likely to turn it into a useful learning experience?

A. Fix the problem right away so they don't have to deal with the consequences

B. Explain what they did wrong and tell them what to do next time

C. Ask them to explain what happened, what the consequence was, and what they would change

D. Avoid discussing it so they don't become anxious about money

(The answer is at the end of this newsletter.)

Money Talks

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Instead of asking young people what they're doing right with money, ask about something they've done with their money that taught them a lesson they'll probably remember for a long time.

If your child can't think of anything, share a money lesson of your own first.

My kids know all about how I skipped contributing to my 401K for a few years when I was in my early 20s and how I wildly overpaid for some of the furniture in my first apartment because of a payment plan with exorbitant interest rates and…well, you get the picture.

To jumpstart the conversation, ​download a free sample set of my Money Talks cards. They let young people turn the tables and ask adults about their real-life money experiences.

Don't think owning up to your mistakes is celebrating poor decisions. You're just showing them that a money faux pas doesn't have to be the end of the story.

Sometimes, the most useful thing that comes out of the financial mistakes your kids may make is a lesson they can carry into their next financial decision.

Loose Change

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🏢 A former investment banker says her biggest financial mistakes came form earning more than she ever had before.

💵 Financial mistakes cost Americans almost $1,000, on average, in 2025. A national survey said a lack of financial knowledge was to blame.

💰What's an expensive money mistake that lots of people make without even realizing it? Read this to find out. (It's an easy one to avoid).

Thanks for reading! If you want to read some of my past newsletters, click here. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, please subscribe ​here​.

'Til next time,

Audrey
​Founder &
Certified Financial Education Instructor​
The FinLit Zone

ANSWER​
​C. Ask them to explain what happened, what the consequence was, and what they would change. Doing this encourages reflection and will help understand the connection between their choices and outcomes. This approach turns a mishap into a practical financial lesson.

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