👩👧 Moms are the primary financial mentors, shaping how kids think about saving and spending.
👀 Kids learn by observing, parents’ habits and behaviors matter as much as advice.
🗣️ Money conversations happen everywhere: family, friends, and even independently.
By the Modak Team
The quotes below come directly from kids and teens who responded to a reflection challenge inside the Modak app. Grammar has been lightly corrected for readability. No answers were fabricated or altered in meaning.
Money can be a surprisingly personal topic. Even for kids.
Inside the Modak app, we asked kids and teens one simple question: "Who do you usually talk to about money?"
974 kids responded. What they shared, honestly, openly, sometimes hilariously, says a lot about how young people think about money, who they trust, and why those conversations matter more than most adults realize.
Here is what they told us.
If there is one clear takeaway from all 974 responses, it is this: mom is number one.
Kids mentioned their mom more than any other person, and by a significant margin. What made these responses stand out was that kids did not just say "my mom." Many explained exactly why they go to her, what she helps them with, and what those conversations actually look like.
"I usually talk to my mom about money, she's got more experience with that than I do. If I'm ever unsure of how to spend, she's there to help."
"I really like talking to my mom about money because she always gives me good advice and helps me understand how to be responsible, whether it's saving, budgeting, or making smart choices."
"I talk more about money with my mom. She helps me save and make the right decisions about how to spend my money and how to grow my money, so later in life I don't struggle."
"I like talking to my mom about money because she always knows how to spend and save it. It helps our relationship grow."
"She told me I get to save money too."
"My mom, she does finance, so she's my go-to."
That last response came from a kid whose mom works in finance. But the ones before it came from kids with no financial background in the family at all, just a parent who made time to talk. For a lot of kids, mom is not just the person who hands out allowance. She is the first financial mentor they have ever had.
Dad came in as a strong second, and what stood out in these responses was how specifically kids described their fathers' relationship with money. It was not vague admiration, kids noticed habits, strategies, and even quirks.
"I talk to my dad because he helps me and gives me good advice. I appreciate it, even if I'm disappointed with his answer."
"I will talk to my dad about money because he is really good at making money. He is always on his phone trading on the stock market and watching helpful videos to learn how to make money."
"I love talking about budgeting with my dad."
"My dad a lifetime had made him responsible with the green."
"My dad because he's a business teacher."
"My dad and my best friend / fellow businessman."
"A lifetime had made him responsible with the green." That one is hard to top. Kids notice more than we think, they are watching how their parents handle money, learning from the habits they see every day, long before anyone sits them down for a formal money talk.
Here is something that might surprise parents: a real and consistent group of kids said their friends are who they talk to about money. And it was not just about splitting the bill for lunch. Some of these conversations were genuinely thoughtful — about saving, spending goals, and even planning ahead together.
"I normally talk to my friends about money because it's interesting seeing all the different ways one can make money."
"My friend Jorgie, and we always talk about what and how much we should save, that's how it fits in our friendship."
"I feel comfortable talking about money with my friends because other people don't understand what I want to use my money for."
"My best friend, since we both are saving to move."
"Usually one of my friends, we talk about it so we can possibly help each other in the future."
"I talk to my friends because we all like to hang out and spend money on various things."
Best friends saving together to move out. Friends strategizing about how to help each other financially in the future. These are not trivial conversations, they are early versions of the financial planning adults do. The fact that kids are having them voluntarily, among friends, is actually a pretty good sign.
Not every kid's go-to is mom or dad. Some turned to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, or even teachers. What stood out in these responses was how intentional kids were about finding someone who actually knows what they are doing.
"My grandma set up a savings account for me."
"My aunt Katy, because she's really organized with her money and makes sure her bills are all paid."
"My cousin, because he's into stocks and stuff!"
"My business teacher."
"My dad — he's a financial planner."
"My brother Russell — he is a valuable resource as he is a spendthrift."
Kids are actively scanning the adults around them for financial credibility. When they find that person, whether it is a grandparent with wisdom, a cousin who follows the stock market, or a teacher who happens to be a PTA treasurer, they hold on to them. One kid even mentioned their financial literacy teacher by title. The appetite for this kind of guidance is clearly there.
💬 Modak creates a low-pressure space for kids to explore money, even without guidance at home.
📊 The app turns everyday decisions into learning moments through earning, saving, and spending.
🤝 It complements family conversations by keeping parents involved and encouraging more dialogue.
Some of the most honest and quietly moving responses in the dataset came from kids navigating less conventional family situations. Divorced parents, a parent deployed overseas, parents who are always working. These kids found their own way.
"My mom is usually the one closest, since my dad has a 6-hour time difference because of deployment — so she's the one I usually go to."
"I usually keep to myself because my parents are always busy."
"I speak to my father and my boyfriend the most about money. I speak with my dad about car bills and with my boyfriend about gifts and personal items."
"I usually talk to my mom or twin about money."
"I talk about money with my mother and grandfather."
"I normally talk to my grandpa. My grandma set up a savings account for me."
These responses are a reminder that financial conversations do not always happen around a kitchen table with two parents present. For many kids, the financial mentor in their life is whoever showed up, a grandparent, a sibling, a partner. What matters is that someone did.
A small but real group of kids said they do not talk to anyone about money. Some kept it brief. Others were unexpectedly candid about why. And a few gave answers that made us pay attention for a different reason.
"No one. I just live and learn."
"Nobody. My money is my money, lol."
"Myself, in my head."
"I usually keep to myself because my parents are always busy and I won't ask my brother."
"I talk to Modak."
"I talk to my father about money for financial tips, but Modak helps me with that one."
"My mom and Modak."
There is no judgment in the first group, some kids are genuinely independent by nature, and that is fine. Others might simply not have found the right person yet. What the Modak mentions in this group tell us is something we think about a lot: for kids who do not have easy access to financial guidance at home, having a tool that creates low-pressure learning opportunities matters. Not as a replacement for those conversations, but as a bridge until they happen.
When you look at all 974 responses together, a clear picture emerges: kids want to talk about money. They are already doing it, with parents, grandparents, best friends, cousins, teachers, and sometimes just with themselves. The conversations are happening. They just need someone willing to show up for them.
The kids who are talking about saving, budgeting, and spending with someone they trust are already building habits that will follow them into adulthood. The ones who are not, the ones keeping it to themselves because no one has made space for it, are the ones who need that first conversation the most.
That is part of what Modak is built around. For kids who want to understand their money but do not always have a guide, the app creates space to learn through real decisions, earning, saving, spending, with parents informed every step of the way. It is not a replacement for the kitchen-table money talks. If anything, it is a reason to have more of them.
Because the best financial lessons do not come from textbooks. They come from the people kids trust most.
And apparently? That is usually mom.
About this challenge
These responses were collected through a reflection challenge inside the Modak app, where kids and teens earn MBX rewards for engaging with financial and personal growth prompts. Modak is a kids debit card and financial learning platform for children up to 17 years old. Learn more at Modak!
All quotes in this article were submitted by real kids and teens through the Modak in-app challenge 'Who do you usually talk to about money?' 974 responses were collected in total. Grammar and spelling were lightly corrected for readability. No responses were fabricated or altered in meaning. The themes and sections reflect the most common topics that emerged organically across the full dataset.
