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Make your Kid a Money Genius (Even if You’re Not)

By: Beth Kobliner

Reflection by: Jessica Rogers

Why I read it?

A team member suggested this topic to me as a piece that would be beneficial since my husband and I are eventually going to have these financial conversations with our child. Make your Kid a Money Genius (Even if You’re Not) was not a quick read, but the ideas presented in it are ones that I’ll be implementing as our son gets older and is able to understand monetary value.

What is it all about?

This book is about the many developmental stages a child goes through when it comes to how money works in our society. It begins at age three and goes up to age twenty-three. Each chapter focuses on a different age range and how to talk about various financial concepts with your children based on age. The author presents several lists of what you should do and what you should not do, and some useful topics to discuss with your kids include:

• Understanding your paycheck – This is a topic that your child will need to understand when it comes to their first “real” job.
• The True Cost of paying the minimum on your credit cards – The author guides you on how to approach this subject with your college student and give tips to help them understand the value of paying their balances off each month. (Something us adults could also find helpful!)
• Who’s paying for college – The author’s view on this is that your child should contribute financially to their college education or at least save for some of the expenses that come along with it.
• Don’t give your child an allowance – They should have a set of chores that they contribute to the family unit that is their contribution and not a way to earn money. They can have set of more daunting chores that they could choose to do to earn a little cash.
• Where should you put your money – The author guides you through the many options of how and where to establish your child’s checking and savings accounts.

What caused me to pause?

The author explains things in ways that are very straightforward. She calls out parents on the things that we are already doing incorrectly in our own financial routine in a way that allows us to correct these habits before passing them down to our children. The direct tone is the first thing that made me pause and think. If parents have these certain traits or habits that are on the “what not to do” list, then those things need to be corrected before we end up giving hypocritical advice to our children about their own finances. Each topic is backed by well-known research and studies to support the reasoning for why we should do things a certain way and that makes a strong point. In addition, the conclusions drawn from these studies was fascinating.

How will this book change my habits/influence me?
The topics covered in this book are great tools for getting the conversation started with your children. I have taken notes and when the situation arises, I will be armed with what to do. I will probably revisit this read again when our child is a little older and starts to take notice that money is how we pay for things.

Add this to your reading list if …

You are someone who has children between the ages of three and twenty-three, especially if you are looking for ways to connect with your children on a financial level. You need clever examples to help them navigate the monetary world and let it seem like it is their own idea. This book becomes even more important when you have a child in high school getting ready for college.

Pickle Rating: 3.5/5

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