Tough Times Call For Tough Financial Talk With Loved Ones

[Dover]

It may be, as the song says, the "most wonderful time of the year," but it's the most horrific stock market and economy most adults have ever lived through.

So when the family gets together for the holidays this year, there needs to be some serious discussion, the kind where families talk about a subject most consider taboo and off-limits.

"There is no question that when we see the loss of wealth like we have seen the last few weeks, it will radically change a lot of family situations," says Barry Corkern, a wealth manager based in Little Rock, Ark.

"And there's no doubt that in some cases, Mom and Dad are now really worried about their finances, or the adult children are scared that they may not be able to pay for college, or that the entire situation has changed.

"People may not want to talk about it, but if they would turn to their family during times of trouble, well they need to talk about it now," Corkern says, "because trouble is here and it might get worse from here."...>

http://www.wealth-bulletin.com/home/content/3352745934/

[Bigmack]

1. I've tried to have this discussion...

with both my kids.... they don't want to hear it. Scared, maybe... and not tuned in.

Their friends - and they - have been laid off numerous times, regardless of job or education, and they seem to take it as part of the game today.

They don't seem to realize that this is different from before.

They've told me they don't want to have "downer conversations" with us.

I'm not gonna let them live under bridges, but.... damn, I wish they'd start preparing for hard times.

They laugh when I say "Don't buy anything you can't eat!"