Do Family Dinners Improve Your Finances?

We've heard it a million times: Sitting down for a family meal is good for us. Studies show it keeps us connected, instills healthy eating habits, and even helps our kids get better grades. But here's a new twist: It can make you wealthier.

It's true: A soon-to-be-released study from professors at the University of Georgia looked at 8,000 families over the course of a decade, and found that those who ate together at least four times a week were more likely to be financially secure. (Hat tip to Squared Away, a blog from the Financial Security Project at Boston College.)

As someone who loves encouraging parents to talk to kids about money, I thought for sure the reason would be that during dinner, kids overhear Mom and Dad discussing the family's finances (paying for a vacation, the latest credit card bill, etc.), and that kids have an opportunity to ask questions about money. I still believe that's true -- but the study's findings are a little different.

The families in the study who dined together may or may not have discussed money at all. Instead, the study points to their one common trait: self-regulation. In plain English, that means they excel at establishing good habits and sticking to them. While that may sound like psychobabble to you, it makes perfect sense: If you're able to prioritize family meals (while balancing work, school, and all the other life demands), you're probably able to prioritize making smart financial decisions.

But if you're not the dinner-on-the-table-at-7-every-night kind of parent (and trust me, as a mom of three kids, including two teens, I know it's hard to coordinate everyone's crazy schedules), all hope is not lost. The study notes that self-regulation is like a muscle. And like any other muscle, you can strengthen it with exercise. Your assignment: Try committing to some healthy routines, like aiming for at least two family meals a week to start. I'm sensing a reality show in the making: The Biggest Saver, anyone?

Do you gather regularly for family meals? How has it helped your family -- and your finances?

Beth Kobliner is a personal finance commentator and journalist, the author of the New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, and a member of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. Visit her at bethkobliner.com, follow her on Twitter, and like her on Facebook.

This post was originally published on Mint.com.

 

 

 

Comments

[Dadding Dudes]

11:43 AM on 05/03/2012

There's nothing magical about family dinners. It's not the dinner itself that is so great. Families who do dinners together are probably already more financially secure, parents have only one job, no second night job like many people on minimum wage must have. These are, in most likelihood, people who are more educated, organized, and conscientious about their family relationships. They are also less stressed in general.
Presenting the family dinner as a solution may be misleading. It's just another positive outcome of an already healthy family. Some families may never eat together, and yet do great, other families may sit at the dinner table 7 nights a week, and still be a dysfunctional, miserable, bickering bunch.
Family dinner is a symptom of well being, not the remedy for problems.
www.daddingdudes.com

[Clamdip LobsterClaws]

12:37 PM on 05/02/2012

I think as a television show it could work. I'm fascinated by coupon clippers and what other men and women do to cut corners to run their households. I never stored anything before the coupon clipping show now I see what an advantage it is to store non perishable items so that it limits uneccessary shopping trips. Now that many women have left the workforce. These types of shows could be very popular. My latest interest is mushroom growing. Who knew you could grow your own salad mushrooms? You learn something new everyday.

[Jack Davies]

12:29 PM on 05/02/2012

So here's my experience - as a passionate cook and family man, I work very hard to ensure my family sits down to a dining room table, together, as often as possible, and yes, it is a great thing for family unity and well being, however, it's been kinda weird lately with the new economy - cost of gas drives up price of food and it has literally gotten to the point that eating a nice meal together at a local restaurant (we have a lot of cheap, cozy ethnic restaurants locally) most nights for the big meal has become actually much cheaper.

I can feed my family a full square meal for about 15-20 bucks at my local hallal diner or whatnot, or I can pay about $30 to cook the same meal at home. Add in dishes, cleanup and the work to cook it all, and I am not sure home-cooked sit-down family meals can compete anymore. :(

This depresses me, but on the bright side,