Why Dinner Time Is the Best Money Class

FinStrike helps teens build real-world money skills through a four-year financial literacy curriculum, a Smart Tutor that helps students around the clock, and extensive free resources for parents and students.

You do not need a lecture, a slideshow, or a perfect plan. You need a table, ten minutes, and a habit. Dinner is the one time everyone is in the same place, phones down, minds open. Use it as a money class. Money talk at dinner normalizes the topic. It turns “finance” from a scary subject into part of everyday life, just like school, sports, and weekend plans.

The 10-Minute Playbook

Keep it short, specific, and repeatable.

• Start with a tiny win. “What is one smart money move we made this week?” Maybe your teen packed lunch, sold an old game, or skipped a subscription. Be sure to praise the behavior, not the outcome.

• Share one transparent number. “Our electric bill was $142.” Real numbers make money concrete.

• Teach one idea. Rotate through basics: needs vs. wants, paying yourself first, compound interest, credit scores, income vs. expenses, emergency funds. Two sentences, then stop.

• End with a micro challenge. “Find five dollars we can save before next dinner,” or “List one thing you could sell this weekend.” Report back next time.

Questions That Actually Work

Skip speeches. Ask questions that force thinking.

• “If you had to cut one expense this week, what would you cut, and why?”

• “What is something you want, and how would you earn it without asking us for money?”

• “What was a money mistake you saw online today, and how would you avoid it?”

• “If you had 100 dollars to invest for ten years, where would you put it, and what would make you change your mind?”

• Pro tip: do not correct immediately. Let them reason it out. Ask why twice. Curiosity beats criticism.

Keep It Positive, Keep It Real

Your job is to model calm and clarity. Admit your past mistakes, then show the fix. “We carried a credit card balance in our twenties. It cost us more than we realized. Now we pay in full, every month.” That one sentence teaches consequences, and it teaches a process. Celebrate small progress. Compounding is not just for money, it is for habits. Ten good minutes, once a week, becomes fifty solid lessons in a year.

Make it fun. Rotate who leads, let your teen pick the topic, bring a receipt to decode, or do a five-minute “budget autopsy” on a pretend purchase. Keep phones off the table, set a timer, and end on a win. The goal is not to raise a hedge fund manager. The goal is a teen who is comfortable with money, confident with decisions, and capable of earning, saving, and investing on purpose.

Set the first dinner for this week. Put it on the calendar, pick one question, and start. Consistency builds confidence, and confidence builds independence.