In 2022, the Museum of Saving conducted a survey involving 311 Italian families, totaling 824 people, including parents and children aged between 14 and 20. The aim was to understand how the new generations learn to manage money and what role the family plays in this process. The data collected offers a clear picture: educating about money within the family remains today one of the main tools for building economic awareness, but the dialogue is not always effective nor free of distortions.
Talking about it at home: how much and how?
According to the survey, 44% of youngsters say they don’t talk about money with anyone outside the family, while nearly half have never addressed these topics at school. This highlights a strong educational responsibility placed on parents, not sufficiently supported by structured school programs. However, despite the centrality of the family context, financial education at home is often superficial or implicit. Parents and children share daily life and expenses, but rarely speak openly about budgets, savings, or investments. Moreover, many adults experience financial management with anxiety or stress: under these conditions, the subject of money can become a taboo or be approached with worry, passing on a negative view of the economic dimension to their children.
Risk aversion and short-term thinking
The survey highlighted an interesting fact: both parents and children prefer to receive a smaller sum of money immediately rather than wait to obtain a larger amount in the future.
This behavior reflects a limited ability to plan in the long term and a low propensity for risk—two fundamental aspects when it comes to conscious money management.
This tendency is less pronounced among children of parents with a higher level of education or higher income, confirming that the socioeconomic environment deeply influences attitudes toward money and financial choices.
The educational role of the mother
A significant finding concerns the role of mothers in economic dialogue with children. Although many women feel less competent than their partners in financial management, they are the main interlocutors for children on money matters. This paradox highlights an important dynamic: the mother is often the educational reference point, despite a culture that continues to see economics as “a man’s thing.”
The importance of financial education, particularly for girls and women, must also be part of the broader conversation on the financial gender gap, as economic violence—a subtle and not immediately identifiable form of abuse—mainly affects women due to a lack of financial independence and insufficient financial literacy. Promoting financial awareness among mothers therefore means strengthening the entire family educational network, improving the transmission of skills to the new generations.
Pocket money: an educational tool not to be underestimated
The topic of pocket money has always been dear to the Museum of Saving, which often addresses it in its educational programs and workshops for children and families. Talking about pocket money means talking about autonomy, trust, and early responsibilities: a delicate but fundamental step in the financial education of young people. According to the survey, 60% of the parents interviewed say they give their children regular pocket money. If well-structured, pocket money is a highly effective educational tool: it helps children understand the value of money, manage priorities, and develop decision-making autonomy. The amount itself is not as important as the regularity of the payment, the clarity of the rules, and the opportunity to manage the money independently, under adult supervision. It is also a chance to introduce the concept of saving and planning: saving part of the pocket money to reach a goal – such as a game, a book, or a night out with friends – helps youngsters build a healthy and active relationship with money.
To support parents in discussing money with their children, the Museum of Saving provides a dedicated guide online free of charge (see the Pocket Money Guide).
Children learn by their parents’ example
The survey confirms it: children tend to imitate their parents’ educational models, even when they are not explicit. A parent who transparently explains how they manage their salary, how they plan monthly expenses, how they handle the unexpected, conveys concrete and profound financial education. On the contrary, silence, anxiety, or complete delegation can create a vacuum that will be filled by external sources, often unreliable ones.
Good habits to introduce from an early age
Educating about money in the family does not require great technical skills, but rather attention, consistency, and a willingness to share. Here are some good practices to adopt:
- Talk about money in a simple, open, and non-judgmental way.
- Set a good example: even small everyday gestures matter.
- Use the allowance as an educational tool.
- Involve children (gradually) in family financial decisions.
- Show that patience and consistency pay off, even when it comes to saving.
Financial education begins in the family, but concerns everyone’s future. The Museum of Saving will continue to promote initiatives, programs, and tools to strengthen the economic awareness of parents, children, and schools. Because a healthy relationship with money is built day by day, together.