Introduction
Hi, I’m Melissa O’Brien—a busy mom, wife, and businesswoman—who realized it was time to start a conversation about money. With parents juggling endless responsibilities, every minute counts. That’s why I created 30-minute meeting for my teens: just long enough to spark curiosity, yet short enough to keep everyone engaged. At some point, we all face the consequences of missed opportunities. For our family, the wake-up call came when my husband, Pat, battled cancer. We thought we were prepared with an emergency fund and a plan, but even then, the experience took a toll on our finances and our peace of mind. More importantly, it forced us to reflect on the past and as we realized our own mistakes with money, we should backtrack to make sure our sons don’t repeat the mistakes we made along the way. You see, Pat and I grew up young and learned about how money really works on our own. We made excellent choices along the way but we also made our fair share of mistakes long into our adult years. Sound familiar? We did speak to our sons about the fundamentals occasionally, but, in our effort to let them enjoy their childhood, we may have skipped the deeper lessons like how to really set up a good budget, detailed saving strategies and much more.
Once Pat was cancer-free and life settled back into a routine, we knew it was time to reset. We decided to be intentional about teaching our sons the skills they would need for life, not just hoping they would figure it out along the way as we did. While doing so, we made adjustments to our own financial strategies.
One day, I asked my teens, “Did you know that your father and I have lost thousands of dollars simply because we didn’t know how money works?” That was the moment we introduced a new family tradition: every Sunday evening, we would gather to discuss financial literacy, wellness, and essential life skills. Their reaction? A mix of skepticism and amusement, the classic “Okay, Mom” look paired with a quick glance at Dad, as if trying to decode his silent opinion.
Surprisingly, what began as a mandatory meeting soon evolved into engaging discussions that continued throughout the week. My once-reluctant teens now eagerly ask questions, and in the process, I’ve had my own eye-opening moments.
As I planned our weekly meetings I have to admit, I was overwhelmed. There are so many topics to cover and I knew I had to keep them engaged. They wouldn’t want to listen to their mother ramble on for hours on end every week, I had to keep it simple, informative and fun. I searched the web for help and as I did, I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, there is just so much content. As I started talking to other parents, I realized I wasn’t alone in feeling I had failed. We had the same excuse, we just couldn’t find the time to do a deep dive on everything. After all, we figured it out on our own so they should too, right? I knew my sons were hoping I would forget about it, who really wants to spend the afternoon talking to their parents about financial literacy anyway. That’s when I was inspired and realized I had to take action. And so, 30-Minute Meeting was born.
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