What is your biggest fear? Ask a child and they may respond that it's spiders or snakes or some other creepy-crawly. However, as we grow older, we begin to realize that there are other kinds of things to fear. For example, fear of losing a job or fear of not being able to pay the mortgage.

The consequences of the things we fear can seem unbearable. Money fears are no different. So, what do most people do? Lie and hide. That's right. I said they lie and they hide. They lie to themselves about how serious things are, and they hide their fears or their consequences from others.  

Some of these may be the very people who could help, but fear and shame keep them from admitting they are in trouble.

Honesty feels risky

Getting honest about money when you are in trouble feels risky. In some cases, it can cause harm, and in others, it can create worse case scenarios. From missing a payment and having an adverse credit score to causing financial damage to a business or institution, money pro...

One of the most common money questions I hear from parents has nothing to do with their own finances.

It is this: should I give my kids an allowance?

And the honest answer is: it depends. Not because the question is complicated, but because the right approach for your family depends on your values, your kids' ages, and what you actually want them to learn.

Here is what I know after nearly two decades as a financial planner and as a parent of three: the allowance itself is not the point. The point is the money habits and beliefs you are building in your kids right now. Those habits will follow them into adulthood, into their careers, into their marriages, and into how they handle their own financial lives someday.

That is why I think about allowance through the lens of the first pillar of the Intentional Money Method: Clarity. Before you decide what system to use, get clear on what you actually want your kids to learn. Earning? Saving? Delayed gratification? Contribution to the fami...

Your kids are watching you with money. They always have been.

Not in the formal, sit-down-and-teach-a-lesson kind of way. In the ambient, everyday kind of way. They watch how you react when an unexpected bill arrives. They notice the tension in your voice when money comes up. They absorb your beliefs about what is possible, what is safe, what people like us do with money.

Long before they ever open a bank account, your kids are building their money beliefs from what they see in you.

That is both a responsibility and an opportunity. And it does not expire when they turn 18.

If you are in midlife, you are likely parenting across a wide range of ages right now. Maybe you have teenagers at home and a college student simultaneously. Maybe your kids are already launched and you are wondering what money messages stuck and which ones you wish you had done differently. Maybe you are rebuilding your own financial foundation and you want to do it in a way that models something better than wha...