Raising Financially Confident Kids

Raising Financially Confident Kids
Mary Hunt
Revell Publishing
Parenting
Publication Date: 8/2012 Purchase Here

About the book:
One of the most important lessons you can teach your kids is how to handle their money. Unfortunately, for most of us, giving our kids a financial education is an afterthought. Where do you start? And what if you don't feel financially confident yourself?

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.

Money can't buy your children happiness. But giving them the skills to manage their money will allow them to take control of their future and work toward successful and satisfying lives.

My thoughts: 

I was immediately hooked into this book during the introduction when Hunt wrote this:

"It seemed to me if we could teach our children not to touch a hot stove, we could train them not to get burned by the lure of credit-car debt. If we could train them to look both ways before crossing the street, we could teach them to carefully the fine print. If we could instill in them the value of delaying gratification, that could become a lifetime behavior."  

To me it just made sense. Of course we can train up kids to be smart financially and we should be. Hunt draws from personal experience throughout the book making this a very credible and easy to read book. I very much appreciated her honesty and openness throughout. While her methods may at times seem a little much you can not argue with the outcome. Her boys didn't learn without bumps along the way but they thrived on trust, information and responsibility.

I highly recommend this read for parents. Very practical information. Here are some quotes I pulled out of the book. 

"Credit-card companies are desperate for new customers, and they have their big guns pointed at your children"

"Giving proves the condition of my heart. It's a thank-you note for all that I am and all that I have."

"Debt-proof kids are guided by a set of values having to do with money, credit, and debt." 

"Financial awareness shapes responsible kids."



I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for my honest and real review.