ABSTRACT
The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. Job loss, personal and public health concerns/fears, isolation, and financial stressors have placed everyone on edge. In this chapter, the authors take up the issue of culture as it relates to thinking about money and managing it. As Caucasian writers, we acknowledge our middle class, educated, and White values and lift them up to the reader. We know that we are very specific in our cultural scope. Whatever the class and cultural histories that a person experiences, commonalities exist that all families face in talking about and planning for their financial security. The introduction of the financial planning concepts and the family communication approaches to begin and maintain the conversations can be varied and adapted to the diverse cultural needs. Given this, the authors complete a review of literature to describe a snapshot of the general financial planning traditions and practices of US African-American, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, and Caucasian cultures. Commonalities and differences among the various cultures can illuminate the varying taboos as well as the cultural thinking to discuss money and its use. We conclude with a list of questions for future research and/or suggested strategies for how family communication can be used to discuss finances, take action, and minimize the financial and economic insecurities during a global health and economic crisis.
