<p>Most financial planning decisions faced by families are the result of family life stages--entering into a committed relationship; having and caring for children; working; taking care of parents; securing retirement funds; and distributing wealth at the end of life. All of these family life stages require planning, budgeting and, more importantly, communicating in order to reach these financial goals.<br /> <br /> Exploring the vital relationship between communication and financial planning, <em>Communicating Finances in the Family: Talking and Taking Action</em> helps students move from seeing money as a "problem" to viewing money as the "path" to achieving their financial goals.<br /> <br /> Readers learn about the role of money within a family, the emotional controversy it can create, the importance of honest communication in financial planning, and how to develop a family financial mission statement, set financial goals, and develop a budget. Included are case studies that demonstrate communication strategies in action and self-check questions to help students consider their own experiences and plans.<br /> <br /> <em>Communicating Finances in the Family</em> is an ideal supplementary text for courses in interpersonal communication, family communication, group communication, community, finance, economics, and family studies.</p><p><strong>Roberta A. Davilla Robbins</strong> (Ph.D., Ohio University) is the past president of the Central States Communication Association,