Angela Amico Olchaskey thought she could use the economic crisis as a springboard to educate her daughter, Kiley, 9, about money, but her plan hasn’t worked out so well. “I’m finding it very hard,” admits the Manchester, NJ, legal secretary. “Mainly because I have spending issues of my own.” Angela admits that she likes to shop—a lot. So much, in fact, that when she recently took her daughter to see Confessions of a Shopaholic, Kiley turned to her as they left the theater and asked, “Mommy, are you going to have to sell all your Burberry bags?” Angela asked why, and Kiley responded, “Because you’re a shopaholic, too.” Angela was surprised—and stymied. Was it too late for her to teach Kiley better financial habits since she had flunked the role model test?

The good news is that it’s never too late to start a conversation about money with your kids, says Diane Lang, an adjunct professor in psychology at Montclair State University in New Jersey. And if you need to work on your own spending habits, you can suggest you learn how to do this together. “Kids get used to certain habits,” she says. “They might be used to getting whatever they want when it comes to toys and clothes, but you can modify that situation at any time.” She suggests parents be honest with their children about the need to economize and help them get involved in the family’s savings efforts.“Take baby steps with the changes,” Lang says. “For example, tell your kids they can take one afterschool class instead of two, and let them pick the class. Don’t cut out all afterschool programs.”