“Talk about money. Have open conversations. But use them as a way to teach your kids about what you’re doing and as a way to guide them through their own hands-on experiences.”
— Ashley LeBaron-Black
Guest Ashley LeBaron-Black returns to The Art of Allowance Podcast to talk with host John Lanza about her research focus of family finance. Ashley first defines the terms “financial well-being” and “financial socialization.” She then highlights the importance of family modeling and open discussion on the money-smart journey. Ashley also emphasizes the essential nature of experiential learning and the shortcomings of classroom financial literacy. Both she and John then address the concept of money scripts, the ability of some kids (dubbed “financial phoenixes”) to overcome poor modeling and the need to go beyond rational-based instruction.
Ashley LeBaron-Black is an Assistant Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University who received her PhD in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona. Her research focus is family finance, including couple finance and financial socialization. Ashley has published 33 peer-reviewed articles and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. She is also Chair of the Family Financial Well-Being Focus Group for the National Council on Family Relations.
Links (From the Show)
- Connecting with Ashley
- Money-Smart Mentions
- John’s short essay on financial socialization systems
- The New York Times article on practical word problems
- Joe Saul-Sehy’s podcast episode
- David Owen’s podcast episode
- John’s short essay on the Breakthrough Allowance
- Morgan Housel’s book, The Psychology of Money
- Megan McCoy’s podcast episode
- The University of Cambridge paper on money habits’ supposed early establishment
- Chuck Kalish’s podcast episode
Show Notes (Find what’s most interesting to you!)
- What Ashley has been up to since her last podcast appearance [3:44]
- Ashley defines the terms “financial well-being” and “financial socialization.” [5:12]
- How family modeling, open discussion and experiential learning impact financial outcomes [9:38]
- Ashley’s take on financial literacy in the classroom [15:35]
- Ashley’s interest in “financial phoenixes” [21:52]
- Bridging the gap between allowance and income [27:27]
- A deep dive on discussions [30:28]
- How parents can do a better job tackling “scary” financial topics [32:47]
- Money scripts and pedagogical creativity [38:30]
- Ashley’s research roadmap: financial socialization in real time, money scripts and couple finance [42:27]
- Building basic money habits [45:16]
- Ashley’s money memories: finite funds and future thinking [46:23]
- An updated definition of the term “money-empowered” [50:40]
- A money-smart pick-me-up [51:51]
- Ashley’s research roundup [53:52]
If you liked this episode …
Looking for more information on the status of financial literacy in the classroom? The CEO of the National Financial Educators Council, Vince Shorb, discusses the importance of financial education, the need for financial literacy programs in schools and the challenges of scaling these programs during his podcast appearance. Start streaming at 20:59, and then check out the Council for Economic Education’s “Survey of the States” to discover the specific financial education standards in your area.
Still curious about alternate approaches to allowance? Credit union enthusiast and lifelong entrepreneur Kirk Drake suggests kick-starting your kids’ entrepreneurial journeys. He offers advice on encouraging entrepreneurship in your children and bringing your entrepreneurial eye to their endeavors. Kirk even highlights how to handle the pitfalls of early entrepreneurial success. Tune in to his episode at 14:46 for this insight.
Want to know more about the concept of “money scripts”? Let the researcher who coined the term, financial psychologist Brad Klontz, fill you in. Listen to his episode of The Art of Allowance Podcast at 23:24 as he discusses how these scripts impact financial behaviors and explains how they can be passed through many generations.
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