Raising Money Smart Kids: What They Need to Know about Money and How to Tell Them

A parent's guide to helping kids unravel the mystery of money. The children of the 21st century have more spending power than any generation to date. Along with this increased power comes an unmatched curiosity about our monetary system and a greater expectation of fiscal responsibility. How can parents help their children grasp money and its role in society? Janet Bodnar, mother of three and a nationally recognized expert in the field of children's and family finances, shares her strategies for helping parents help their kids understand the power of a dollar in Raising Money Smart Kids.

Bodnar, executive editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, provides parents with sensible ways to help children-from toddlers to teenagers-understand the role of money and how it works. She teaches parents how to handle the sticky questions like Are we poor? How much money do you make? and the inevitable It's my money, so why can't I spend it the way I want?

Raising Money Smart Kids begins with a Test Your Money Smarts quiz, and each chapter includes real-life questions and answers from Bodnar's popular weekly column. At the end of many chapters are stumpers that kids toss parents' way-along with appropriate responses. Some of the issues addressed include: • Curing a case of the grocery-cart gimmies • A kid's-eye view of money • Family money habits, good and bad • Allowances: how much and how often • Saving and budgeting • Credit cards • Teaching kids about investing With Raising Money Smart Kids, parents can convince kids that money doesn't just jump out of bank ATM machines in an educational and kid-friendly way.

Yes, parents, you can convince kids that money doesn't jump out of bank machines--and Janet Bodnar tells you how.

Janet Bodnar, a mother of three and deputy editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, has experienced firsthand the increased spending power and financial temptations facing today's children.

Using real-life examples from her ""Money Smart Kids"" column she has written for more than a decade, Bodnar offers creative cures for the grocery-cart ""gimmies,"" plus guidance on how to set up a simple allowance system that works, help kids learn the virtues of working for pay, and how to turn kids onto saving and investing.

From their first job to their retirement years, women face unique challenges when it comes to managing their money.  Because women play so many different roles– and sometimes leave the workforce to raise children and care for family members– they need specific financial advice tailored to each stage of life. In her new book, Kiplinger's Money Smart Women – Everything You Need to Know to Achieve a Lifetime of Financial Security, Janet Bodnar, wife, mother and deputy editor of Kiplinger’ s Personal Finance magazine, outlines what every woman needs to know to be financially independent, from breaking out of the paycheck-to-paycheck rut to living comfortably in retirement.

 

Whether you are single, married, divorced, widowed or retired, Kiplinger's Money Smart Women covers it all with real-world advice and practical strategies, and includes how-to action steps for everything from investing in mutual funds to boosting retirement income. This is every woman’ s essential guide to financial security.

Janet Bodnar is a wife, mother, household manager, author and editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.  As a nationally recognized expert on family finances, she is a popular speaker, is frequently quoted in the media and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, The Early Show, and Good Morning America.  Janet also pens a column for AOL's Coach program.