Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence [Paperback]

John E. Whitcomb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

"Capitation" is a financial term used in the health-care field to describe a contract in which doctors and hospitals are paid a fixed amount each month to care for a population of patients. Humorous and realistic, this innovative book applies the same concept to families, showing parents how to teach teens money management by giving them control of the money they would normally spend on them for school, fees, travel, clothing, and entertainment. Here is a step-by-step plan for guiding parents painlessly through the process of teaching their children financial responsibility: teens sign a contract detailing their responsibilities, and within the parameters of this contract, parents agree not to interfere with their fiscal choices.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By far the best 'kids and money' book I have come across." -- Bob Potter, MPR's Sound Money

About the Author

Dr. John E. Whitcomb manages the emergency department at St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He lives in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Popcorn Pr (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970251823
• ISBN-13: 978-0970251824
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,397,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT CONCEPT - IF THE CONTRACT HOLDS!, April 6, 2001

By 

Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence (Paperback)

Capitate in this book means a contractual arrangement whereby you pay to your child a specific sum of money each month to cover the cost of living that you would normally pay - clothes, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.

In mutual agreement, I actually tried this idea with one of my daughters many years ago, long before this concept was ever printed in a book. The "contract" was for four weeks. By week four, there were no new chic, trendy clothes coming from her favourite shop. While "all the other kids" spent Saturday night at the movies, she pumped up the volume on her stereo, had a stimulating conversation with her dog and the four walls (words which I shall never repeat) and drowned her sorrow in a pint of ice cream! She washed her hair with bubble bath because she ran out of shampoo. The charge to use the washer and dryer was $2, which she no longer had, so she washed her jeans and t-shirt by hand, also in bubble bath...and chipped a nail! About this time, she discovered fruit loops no longer look cute 'cause they float and cease to be comfort food after the the third meal of the day. I would have traded her for Oscar the Grouch in a heartbeat. One month was all it took to learn the value of money. Today, twenty years later, we can still sit down with coffee in hand and share a laugh over all that bubble bath we went through. Tough love, maybe, but a valuable life lesson was learned. Today, she is a married lady with her own personal finances, zero debt and can manage money like a pro.

While not all parents will agree with the approach in "Capitate Your Kids," it is an excellent book based on much the same principle I have just described. The book is a valuable tool in teaching children, especially teens, the value of a dollar and how to manage money - a realistic life lesson that, unfortunately, is not taught in schools.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally well written, and superbly presented, January 11, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence (Paperback)

Teaching children how to properly deal with money and financial planning is a fundamental parental responsibility. In Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence is an ideal blueprint for successfully caring out this parental fiscal/educational task. It also has the added benefit of helping to alleviate the financial burden of supporting an adolescent in today's consumer oriented society. "Capitation" mans to contract with a child for a fixed amount each month to care for their needs. Included in this written agreement are teen responsibilities for such things as shopping for the best price and keeping receipts. Parents agree not to interfere with teen choices. If the teen has money left over from the month, then he or she can keep it, saving it toward future purchases. If they run out of money before the end of the month, the must do without -- exactly as adults must in a similar situation. Capitate Your Kids is exceptionally well written, superbly presented, and highly recommended for children needing to acquire financial management skills and disciplines so necessary to succeed throughout life as an adult -- and eventually a parent with children of their own.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kids 'n Money, November 2, 2002

By 

Mark D. Wolfinger (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence (Paperback)

Whitcomb's ideas are generally intelligent. He signs contracts with his kids to teach them the value of money and his concept is sound. Learning to be frugal (not wasteful) at an early age makes it much easier to become a successful handler of money in your adult years. My only beef is the author's frequent suggestion that charity comes first. It is much more reasonable to put away part of your earnings as savings first, then live within your means, and finally give to charity, if you are able.