Money can be a very tough subject for you and your kids, but you're probably doing something right if you're talking about it with them at all.

Nathan Dungan can help you start your kids on the right track.

Dungan is an author, award-winning speaker and national expert on family finances and the effects of mass marketing on young people.

A top-performing financial adviser and vice president of marketing for a Fortune 500 financial services company, he founded Share-Save-Spend LLC, an organization that helps people of all ages develop and maintain healthy financial habits.

Dungan offers insight drawn from his highly successful Share-Save-Spend approach to money. "Having a balanced approach to financial matters means aligning what you care about with how you use your money. While this sounds simple enough, it becomes seriously complicated by the compounding pressure on young people to spend, spend, spend, and to reach for an upscale lifestyle," Dungan said.

Dungan offers a Share-Save-Spend tip, a question to prompt money discussions with your children, and a gotta-have-it-now fact that illustrates the incredible influence mass marketing has on our children.

Every person I have talked with recently loves the bestselling children’s book "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg. Kids, parents, grandparents, teachers -- you name it.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are very aware that the movie version just opened in hundreds of theaters across America.

But this week "The Polar Express" has one less fan. Kelly, a mom from Edina, Minn., feels duped. Here is an excerpt from the e-mail she sent us via our Web site.

“On Tuesday, Nov. 9, my son's sixth grade class attended a "writing workshop". This workshop was a live broadcast of an interview with Chris Van Allsburg, author of the classic "The Polar Express." As a parent, I dutifully paid the requested $9 field trip cost thinking my son would be learning about the writing process. But after doing some research, it is clear this event was one big marketing project!”

According to USA Today, the author spoke by satellite to 30,000 students and teachers in 100 movie theaters across the USA in a program called "All Aboard With Chris Van Allsburg."

"The reality is that films cost a lot of money, and it’s reasonable for studios to financially exploit their investment," Van Allsburg said. Warner Bros. has movie tie-ins with food companies, toymakers and Amtrak.

“Basically I paid $9 for my son to watch a 90-minute commercial for a movie,” said Kelly. Apparently the "writing objectives" weren’t exactly front and center.

This happens all the time in America -- kids being manipulated for profit. If you are a parent, like Kelly, who wants to do something about the hyper-commercialization of children check out commercialalert.org.

More specifically, the group's Parents' Bill of Rights. It advocates for families by pushing back against the massive marketing machine that is working overtime to addict kids to spending.

What would you do if your child participated in a similar "learning" experience?

While it might be easiest to dismiss it as no big deal, I encourage you to think about the cumulative impact of all the marketing and advertising messages that are directed at your child.

The Money Talks question is designed to build on the Share-Save-Spend tip for the week and can be used as a springboard for additional conversations with family and friends.

According to the New York Times, more companies are turning to guerilla marketing to catch the attention of consumers who are proving ever more immune to traditional advertisements.

Guerilla tactics recently seen in New York City include six men and women advertising a health club by flashing underwear emblazoned with the club's logo to strangers on the street.

If you have comments or questions for Dungan, click here.