There is a fine line between smart spending and too much spending. And long Visa bills lead to inevitable conversations with angry parents. While teens often find themselves rolling their eyes as their parents lecture them, only 52 percent talk to their parents about finance.

The Vongs

Senior Carmella Vong is one of the 48 percent who do not have those conversations with their parents about finances. While she and her parents discuss how to spend and save money well, they generally do not talk about her parents’ annual income or household bills.

“We raised [our kids] so they have a sense of what things cost, but we donít talk about how much we earn,” Carmella Vong’s mother Grace Vong said. “I guess they can see how we spend and how we save, or how we use our money. [That’s] more of what we were hoping they would pick up on.”

Rather than explicitly discussing their financial situation with their children, the Vongs hope that they will be able to observe spending habits and implement them in daily life. They do not tell their children exactly how much they earn.

“I think [I] just kind of know,” Carmella Vong said. “I don’t feel like I have to ever bring it up with them.”

Part of the reason why the Vongs do not discuss finance as a family is because of the division of roles for each family member.

“I just stay out of that because I’m pretty busy with my own things,” Carmella Vong said.

“Carmella’s father takes care of the finances, so we don’t talk about that too much. But they’re aware it’s happening,” Grace Vong said

The Heringers

However, some parents choose to disclose their financial situations to their children. Denise Heringer is a single mother and discusses household finances with her daughter when she feels it is necessary. When the hours at her supplemental job were reduced, she sat down with her daughter to discuss how they would adjust to the reduction in income.

“We ended up taking the premium cable channels off of our cable menu,” Denise Heringer said.

While she does not allow her daughter to do the actual decision-making, Heringer keeps her daughter informed about their current situation.

“I don’t want her to be worried about anything,” Heringer said, “I just want her to be aware of things.”