Money can be a very tough subject for you and your kids, but you're probably doing something right if you're talking about it with them at all.

Nathan Dungan can help you start your kids on the right track.

Dungan is an author, award-winning speaker and national expert on family finances and the effects of mass marketing on young people.

A top-performing financial adviser and vice president of marketing for a Fortune 500 financial services company, he founded Share-Save-Spend LLC, an organization that helps people of all ages develop and maintain healthy financial habits.

Dungan offers insight drawn from his highly successful Share-Save-Spend approach to money. "Having a balanced approach to financial matters means aligning what you care about with how you use your money. While this sounds simple enough, it becomes seriously complicated by the compounding pressure on young people to spend, spend, spend, and to reach for an upscale lifestyle," Dungan said.

Dungan offers a Share-Save-Spend tip, a question to prompt money discussions with your children, and a gotta-have-it-now fact that illustrates the incredible influence mass marketing has on our children.

As I speak around the country, one of the most popular questions I’m asked is ‘when should I start teaching my child about money?’ My suggestion – ASAP!

Just the other day a man was telling me how he and his wife were practicing basic Share Save Spend concepts with their four-year-old daughter Molly. As a family they talk about how television commercials and other advertisements try to get you to buy things you don’t always need. He is confident they are helping her develop a basic understanding of needs vs. wants.

They are also including Molly in discussions about family purchases. Just the other day he and his wife were talking about saving for a new car. At first they weren’t going to include their daughter in the discussion thinking it would be too abstract. But then it dawned on them that it might be helpful to tell her how and why they were saving for the new car.

After listening to her parent’s brief explanation about the car Molly said, “Daddy, if you save a little money every week some day you and Mommy can buy the new car.” Both parents smiled as they saw how Molly transferred her “kid” knowledge of saving to a “grownup” purchase.

There are teachable moments every day that you can use to help your kids learn about money. A national survey of kids in the U.S. found that 75 percent of children indicate that most of what they learn about money is from their parents. The key is to make sure you leverage the opportunity.

Bottom line -- there is no time like the present for teaching and modeling healthy financial habits.

What are some teachable moments that will help your child learn how to make responsible financial decisions?

It might be an event that’s a part of your regular routine like paying monthly bills or something more significant like buying a new car or planning a vacation. Never underestimate the power of a single financial conversation with your child because it could influence how they use money for a lifetime.

The Money Talks question is designed to build on the Share-Save-Spend tip for the week and can be used as a springboard for additional conversations with family and friends.

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend more than $3 billion this year on Halloween costumes, candy and decorations!

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