AOA 060: Making Money Conversations Meaningful – Featuring Tom Henske

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“We make it [money] such a serious conversation. It can be fun, we just need to make it fun and kids have a way of letting it be fun.”

— Tom Henske

How can parents ensure the money conversations they have with their kids actually matter?

Guest Tom Henske offers several strategies during his second appearance on The Art of Allowance Podcast. A leader in the financial industry for nearly three decades, Tom began his career in financial planning in 1994 with Cowan Financial Group. He then soon started his own company, Henske Advisors. They were acquired in 2003 by National Financial Partners (merging them into Lenox Advisors), which went public shortly thereafter. Tom remained an equity partner until 2020, when he retired to focus solely on matters of life insurance and building the Total Cents platform.

Links (From the Show)

Show Notes (Find what’s most interesting to you!)

  • How Tom’s experience as a financial advisor, parent and soccer coach influenced his new book [2:25]
  • The pitfalls of “tell me about your day”: why meaningful conversations feature prominently in It Makes Total Sense [4:06]
  • Asking questions without answering them [6:16]
  • Overcoming parental reservations about money conversations [6:48]
  • Advice for when two parents are not on the same page financially [10:21]
  • Tom’s most challenging financial conversation: What if a teen is making a lot of money? [14:19]
  • What do kids need to know about insurance? [17:02]
  • The “Jedi mind tricks” of money conversations: the Rule of 72 and compound interest [22:57]
  • Giving kids financial angels on their shoulders [26:41]
  • Why parents should want to be mimicked by their kids [27:40]
  • Continuing the money conversation with older kids: Asking them for help to teach them the money lessons they still need to learn [30:10]
  • Is “risk profile” a useful term for kids to understand (outside of their own experiences)? [33:22]
  • Talking to kids about taxes [37:14]
  • A soccer analogy [41:00]
  • Tom’s earliest memory of a money conversation with his parents [43:09]
  • The impact of kids’ learning about money at home [44:33]
  • The process and end goal of money empowerment [46:39]
  • Dinner time and car rides [48:08]
  • “Work hard, and make good choices.” [49:10]
  • Pause / stop / think [50:27]
  • Interacting with Tom’s book and podcast (Even via TikTok!) [54:33]
  • Relying on mail as a catalyst for conversation [56:49]

If you liked this episode …

Interested in another perspective on the Rule of 72? During his appearance on The Art of Allowance Podcast, former NFL player and current CFP Jedidiah Collins explains the Rule of 72 and discusses inflation as a teaching tool. Watch this video short, or tune in at 21:42.

Curious about continuing the money conversation with your (almost) adult kids? Mom and money maven Bobbi Rebell offers tips for keeping this important discussion going even after children have landed jobs. Give her Art of Allowance Podcast episode a listen at 7:46 for all the details.

Want to hear more from Tom? He shares lots of wisdom in his original Art of Allowance Podcast appearance, including interesting ways to use matching to teach children money values, a new bedtime ritual to consider and cryptocurrency allowance (seriously).

Please Subscribe

If you like this podcast, then please give us a review and subscribe to the show. The Art of Allowance Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and now Amazon Music. Subscribing is free, and it will help me produce more enriching content for you to enjoy. Thanks!

You might also want to check out The Art of Allowance Project, our reimagined program to get your children excited about money smarts at any age. Until next time, I wish you and your family well as you journey forth.

Thanks for listening!

John