I just finished reading Raising Financially Confident Kids by Mary Hunt.
As parents, we make sure our kids are ready for kindergarten, teach them to brush their teeth, how to ride a bike and how to read. But sometimes we forget to prepare them for a financially secure future. We try very hard to model a financial lifestyle that is teaching our kids that money ‘doesn’t grow on trees’ and that sometimes you have to wait to get what you want until you can afford it.
Here is a family that woke up to the realization one day that they were raising sons who had no concept of how much stuff costs. They were digging farther and farther into a financial pit and knew that unless they made some drastic changes, their sons would become financially strapped, debt-ridden adults with absolutely no resources for living a fulfilling life.
With the realization that their lifestyle was almost a sure guarantee that their sons would never be financially confident adults, they decided to change everything about their financial outlook and training.
I loved the way they began to turn over chunks of money to their kids with responsibilities clearly outlined and consequences that were defined. The boys learned some hard lessons and the parents came to realize that children thrive on trust, information and responsibility when given the chance and education.
With three kids of our own (ages 5,7 and 10) we already give them some financial choices they have to make on a regular basis. They are learning the concepts of saving, spending and sometimes the hard feeling of regret when you spend on something that isn’t really worth it. It is so rewarding to hear my daughter sometimes tell me that she would rather have her weekly allowance go straight to savings since she really doesn’t need it for anything this week. They’re learning!
About the book
In Raising Financially Confident Kids, financial expert Mary Hunt draws from solid statistics and her own hard-won knowledge and experience as a mom who made it back from the brink of financial ruin to help you teach your children how to handle money responsibly. From preschool through the teen years, every stage of your child’s development is covered, including how to talk to them about money at each age, how to help them start saving money and giving it away, and how to avoid the pitfalls of easy credit and a culture built on debt.
I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review.
Trisha says
Thanks for sharing your review.