Raising Financially Confident Kids [Paperback]

Mary Hunt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2012

It's natural to want your kids to have a secure future. But when it comes to teaching the next generation how to handle money, parents are failing. Still there is hope! Financial expert Mary Hunt shows parents how to raise kids who have a healthy relationship with money--even if the parents themselves have made financial mistakes along the way or are struggling financially right now.

Drawing from solid statistics and her own hard-won knowledge and experience, Hunt helps parents protect their children from the financial pitfalls of easy credit, an attitude of entitlement, and our culture's chummy relationship with debt. From preschool through the teen years, every stage of a child's development is covered, including how to talk to them about money, how to help them start saving money and giving it away, and how to manage money wisely.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Kids grow up and leave home to make their own way in the world. That's the way it's supposed to be. But these days, 85 percent of them come back to live with their parents because they're broke and in debt. Don't let this happen to you. Read Raising Financially Confident Kids today, put Mary Hunt's simple, time-tested financial plan for kids into action tomorrow, and you'll be on your way to growing money-smart kids!"--Dr. Kevin Leman, New York Times bestselling author of Have a New Kid by Friday


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.


Mary 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, and 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.

About the Author

Mary Hunt is founder and publisher of Debt-Proof Living® (formerly Cheapskate Monthly™), which has 35,000 print subscribers and an average of 800,000 website hits per month. Her books have sold more than a million copies, she was the financial columnist for Woman's Day magazine, and her daily newspaper column is syndicated through United Features. The author of 7 Money Rules for Life, Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, and Dr. Phil. She and her husband live in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Revell; Reprint edition (August 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800721411
• ISBN-13: 978-0800721411
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Hunt is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 23 books, as well as a sought-after motivational speaker who helps men and women battle debt. She is founder and publisher of Debt-Proof Living, a highly regarded and popular consumer organization consisting of an interactive website, monthly newsletter and personal finance tools. Hunt's books have sold more than one million copies, and her syndicated daily newspaper column is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Everyday Cheapskate readers nationwide. She speaks widely on consumer finance topics and has appeared on shows such as The Today Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Fox and Friends and Focus on the Family. She and her husband live in Southern California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great life tool!! August 7, 2012

By Cindy Loven

Format:Paperback

Have you ever just seen a book, and wondered where was this book twenty years ago? This book is one of those books. After I started reading it, I was really wishing I had this book when my children were babies. Now my son is an adult and I am thinking, is there any way to apply these principles to help him. Still studying on that one.

This is a book every parent of young children should have in their hands. It is a life tool. Truthfully I think this is an ideal baby shower gift. Even as an adult you can learn from this book.

A great book, easy to read, quick read! You will not want to miss this life tool!

The back of this book states that "the most important lessons you can teach your kids is how to handle their money." This statement says it all about this book. This book will show you how to do that very thing!

Put this book on your reading list, especially if you are the parent of younger children. 204 pages US $12.99 5 stars.

Available August 2012 from your favorite seller of Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising Financially Confident Kids August 2, 2012

By Lollipops

Format:Paperback

RAISING FINANCIALLY CONFIDENT KIDS is a book that all parents need to read - from start to finish - whether they are wise money managers or not. Children are growing up bombarded with commercials that credit cards can buy happiness--whatever you want. You can have it now. They don't tell you that you'll be paying hundred or thousands of dollars interest on your credit card debt if you don't pay it in full every month.

One of the most important lessons you can teach your child is basic financial skills. And for those who have credit card debt and student loan debt, they can involve their children in the paying down the debt, showing them how much interest they're paying...

Ms. Hunt shows us how she went from being a mom on the brink of financial ruin to someone who is now a money management expert. Whether your children are preschoolers or teens, this book has guidelines to help you teach them.

I was raised with a financially savvy mom and most of the things mentioned in this book is common sense. I'm trying to encourage my college age sons that they don't need credit cards, save their financial aid for needed items, don't spend it all in one place just in case they have car bills, etc. and I'm trying to teach my younger daughters that if we don't have the cash money for it we don't buy it.

If you are wanting your children to learn to manage money wisely, (and learn along with them) you will want to read RAISING FINANCIALLY CONFIDENT KIDS. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Step by Step Resource August 12, 2012

By Theresa Haskins

Format:Paperback

I wanted to read this book for one main reason - to teach my children how to manage their finances. When I was a child, my parents never taught me; but there were a lot of things parents didn't teach their children that I am grateful we teach our children now!

I remember getting myself into trouble financially because I didn't want to tell my children I didn't have the money to buy something. Nowadays, I include them in the decision making. I teach them that we have a certain amount to spend on "us" over a two week period (my pay days) and when we choose to spend it all in the first week, we don't have anything left to spend in the second. It's truly amazing how they accept the idea and we move on to doing something that's free. We are learning to enjoy what we have together.

I love the way this book breaks down age appropriate teachings, but doesn't forget to mention that every family is different (and every plan can be personalized to fit your individual family!). I also like the step by step processes, lists, and question and answer sections.

I became a grandmother this past Friday evening (August 10th) and plan to pass this book on to my son and his wife. To be honest, they could teach me a thing or two about finances - they are extremely disciplined and have already mentioned their intention of teaching their daughter how to be financially responsible.

Available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

16 of 23 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A very good book, but just a few things I had concerns on. August 11, 2012

By jesusbookgirl

Format:Paperback

Raising Financially Confident Kids by Mary Hunt is a book for the parent who wants to start teaching their child how to handle money. It's the in's and out's of the world of consumerism, and giving you tips on how to avoid debt, and increase ones awareness of finance in general.

Ok... I grew up with this. My Dad was a financial planner and I have been told (by many finance and money planning books) that this is very rare. For a child to learn from their parents how to be able to save. For me it was second nature, because my parents fully immersed me. I had to work for everything I wanted when I was young, and then as I grew older more and more financial responsibility was handed to me. I never accrued credit card debt, or jumped off the deep end with a major spending spree. So this is my back ground and why I have such an opinion on this topic. I do not have a degree by any means in finance. I do have a Bible that talks about it often, and I was raised to pray through anything financial.

Mary Hunt does a great job at giving a very easy to do practice for the family with kids. I especially liked the Uncle Harry chapter and the chapters listing age appropriate finance. The book was all around a really good book for parents looking at wanting to teach their child about finance and not knowing how. I did have some concerns about it, please understand that I'm trying to not bash the author and her book. She put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it, but there were a few things that made me stop and think.

1. I know Ms. Hunt's background and that is why I wish she had put more scripture in the book. She is an awesome woman of God so this fact was a little confusing to me.... Money is the biggest thing talked about in the Bible and I can only remember her using scripture twice in the book (pg. 80 and pg.115). If I am wrong please, please correct me. I'm fine with that :)

2. Another point not really discussed was, being content with what God has given you. I don't think a child will understand finances until he/she learns contentment. If there is no contentment the need to buy will happen. This need to buy was discussed in the beginning, but not contentment. As Paul says he is content in any situation, and so should we. There was a time in our marriage where the only way we had food on our table was because of God. We had to be content that God would provide, and He never let us down.

3. The idea of being poor was portrayed as something to be not discussed with your child. I want to address that. I don't think being poor is a bad thing (I don't think Ms. Hunt thinks that either). God takes care of all of us, and when we look at it from God's perspective I feel it is something you can discuss with an older child. The moments when Todd and I struggled the most were the moments we fully leaned on God's understanding. Other scripture is brought to mind; of the widow in 2 Kings, she had one jar of oil left and God provided Elisha. Or the widow who gave her last two pennies to God. These are stories of poor people that in their greatest need they trusted God and were blessed.

4. Ok, now on to every financial author's biggest fear... Credit cards. This is all I'm going to say about it. Before I got my first one my dad said this to me "Breeze, that credit card is like a gun. It can be helpful or it can kill you". I never forgot that statement. Do I promote a person who is addicted to spending to go out and get a credit card NO! But I don't think they're evil either. The Bible talks about the borrower being a slave, but also in the Old Testament there are checks and balances for people to take out loans, and even says that parents shouldn't charge interest to their children. Credit cards are like that in some ways, with checks and balances it can be helpful. Don't forget what my dad said, "it can help you, but it can also kill you". Again don't forget that statement dear readers, you'll be more apt to not spend if that's in the back of your head. Death is not pretty.

5. Lastly, with all of this heady stuff Mary Hunt truly does a great job, but for me the one big thing that was left out in all of it is God. I was really hoping that God and His plan for us would be talked about. I'm not sure why, maybe because she was hoping to reach a bigger audience, but even then God is too important to ignore, and that is something I feel really needed to be addressed. So I leave you with this verse to remind you how important your finances are, and how important it is to include God in them.

Philippians 4:6 ESV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

*This book was given to me via Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group for my honest opinion and I honestly gave it. It is also available August 2012. Read more ›