"Raising Financially Confident Kids" Book Review {Giveaway}

If you have been around a while, you will notice that I mostly review fiction. Why? Because it is easier to use a book to escape for a few hours than to read a book that will help you grow and make changes. Change can be hard and even painful. I signed up for Raising Financially Confident Kids because I knew it was something needed to read. Thankfully, Mary Hunt makes it fairly easy and pain free to follow the advice she gives. 

About the book: 

Our children are being groomed to become world-class consumers, and they are well on their way to becoming future debtors. The next generation is being manipulated by the advertising and consumer-credit industries who tell them they are entitled to whatever they want, when they want it, but with little thought on how to pay for it. Unless parents intervene, statistics indicate that the majority of kids will lead a life severely impacted by consumer debt.

It’s easy for parents to get hung up on the mundane side of parenting – cooking, cleaning, carpooling – and forget to teach money management skills. At best, parents have 18 years to teach their kids how to manage money skillfully. Failing to do that sets kids up for a lifetime of miserable debt. But there is hope and help for parents.  

Personal finance expert Mary Hunt prepares readers to debt-proof their kids in Raising Financially Confident Kids. Readers learn how to develop a unique debt-proofing plan designed specifically for their children that will tear down attitudes of entitlement, build financial intelligence and neutralize the glamour of easy spending. Debt-proofed kids are guided by a set of values having to do with money, credit and debt.

Hunt shares her own experiences raising two sons, who are now financially responsible adults, and gives hope to parents in every financial situation. Her family was $100,000 in debt before they saw their sons’ entitlement issues and realized the importance of teaching their 8 and 7-year-old the basics of money management. There is good news for parents in financial crisis; they will learn alongside their kids and grow together as a family as they begin to educate themselves and change their outlook on money.

In Raising Financially Confident Kids Hunt takes on the nuts and bolts of debt-proofing your kids and gives practical advice for parents. Hunt systematically lays out her proven method, which is tailored for preschoolers through high school and designed to help parents:

-   Transform their children into effective money managers.

-   Educate their children and steer them away from consumer debt to protect their future.

-   Gradually turn over the money required for their care and support to their children.

-   Trust their children to be good stewards of a portion of the family’s resources.

-   Engrain money management skills in their children so the lessons will last a lifetime.

According to Hunt, “It takes relatively little effort to teach kids about money, and the payoff is enormous. If you are diligent to work this teaching into the normal course of family life, it will come as naturally as teaching kids good manners or how to do laundry. It will be as ordinary as teaching them how to mow the lawn or wash the car.” 

My thoughts:

This really was a great book on how to teach your kids financial responsibility. Mary Hunt not only tells you what you should do and why, but she gives great practical examples of the how. Something I greatly appreciate. From ideas and tips on how to prepare your kids to be consumers, to games and lessons to teach - even divided by age groups, this book will be something I pick up again and again. 

I really appreciate how open and honest the author is about her story and what they did with their children. It is a great plan, and while it might not work for everyone, it is definitely something to think about. I think her 'salary' plan will be implemented in our household very soon! 

As a parent, you are so busy with all you are trying to impart to your children and money isn't something you think about teaching them until they are older. This book was an eye opener to why our kids need to learn sooner rather than later.  

About the author:   

Mary Hunt was not always a personal finance expert, but lived through financial crisis and her family emerged with a healthier view on the value of money and the danger of debt. It took them 13 years to pay off over $100,000 in unsecured debt, and Hunt is on a mission to help other families learn from her mistakes.

Hunt is an award-winning and bestselling author, syndicated columnist and sought-after motivational speaker, who created a global platform that is making strides to help men and women battle the epidemic impact of consumer debt. She is founder and publisher of the interactive website Debt-Proof Living, which features financial tools, resources and information for her online members. Her books have sold more than a million copies and her daily newspaper column is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate, where it is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Everyday Cheapskate readers. Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, Dr. Phil and Focus on the Family. She and her husband live in California.

For more information, visit www.debtproofliving.com and follow Hunt on Twitter @debtproofliving.

The prize and the fine print:

The winner will be mailed one copy of Raising Financially Confident Kids via media mail.

This mailing is limited to USA (including APO/FPO) and CAN address. (Sorry, the costs to ship overseas were killing my blog budget!)

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review. 

Raising Financially Confident Kids is available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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