"Annie" + Talking About Money = Kids Off The Couch

The Sun Will Come Out, Tomorrow... Won't It?

Over Thanksgiving break families will have plenty of time together, and inevitably adult conversation will focus on the economy. We think it's a perfect time to sit down with your kids to calm whatever anxiety has been passed along (unwittingly) to them, and to set a solid path for the future. This week, we turn to KOTC Financial Guru Nathan Dungan, a national expert on helping parents teach their kids healthy financial habits. Dungan has created a series of questions for Kids Off The Couch subscribers to get the conversation started, like asking Great Grandma about her most treasured possession or about how values have shifted in a generation. With these memories being shared, why not create a new Thanksgiving tradition and record these conversations? (This Friday is National Day of Listening, and we provide a link to their site to show families how to record these stories for posterity). If all this talk is sounding bleak, fear not -- we kick off this earnest topic with a screening of Annie, the sunniest movie we can think of, to remind us that money isn't the key to happiness.

Click here for Dungan's conversation starters as well as a link to his recent Chicago Tribune article on how to talk to kids about job loss. And for Parents - we highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire, a wonderful treatise on money, values and love (rated R, in theaters now) to inspire you to tackle this tough topic.