Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money by Dave Ramsey

Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money Reviews

• 
  Sarah

  Ages 5-13: Pay child on commission; money for some jobs. Pay weekly. At payday, teach to save 20%, Give 10%, spend rest. Write down savings goal so they can see it daily. Teach them to give money and time to others.
  
  "Raking leaves, cleaning the house, or being responsible for feeding the pet creates a sense of accomplishment, the sense that they actually did something that they can feel good about. It makes them feel confident that they can go out and win."
  
  Ages 14-18: Open up a checking account in your child's name. Put all the money you spend on them(clothes, sports, clubs, lunch) in there, plus the weekly commissions that they earn. Plan a budget based on your child's income and a what they need/want to spend it on. Give, Save(emergency fund of 500 minimum (car repairs, etc.), college, car and repairs, computer, trip, gifts), Food (eating out, school lunch), Clothes (sport, regular), transportation (gas, insurance, oil change, license and taxes, bus), Personal (cosmetics, hair, music, gifts, pocket money, cell phone), recreation (movie, concerts). Balance checkbooks once a month as a chore. In addition to teaching budgeting, teach your child about investing and avoiding debt at all costs.
  
  "Saving money requires emotional maturity. Delaying pleasure is one definition of maturity. Adults devise a plan and follow it; children do what feels good."
  
  "A budget creates boundaries. That's the great thing about being purposeful in how you plan your money - it sets limitations for you."
  
  "Children who can learn to plan and be forward-thinking are more poised and confident because life is not always happening to them - they are happening to life."
  
  "Give them some freedom to make their own mistakes. Be careful to make this a positive experience for them so they can grow to love the process and benefits."
  
  Wedding: 55% reception (facilities, food, drinks, decorations, cake, band, parking, transportation), 12% ceremony (flowers, location, officiant), 10% photography+videographer, 10% wedding planner, 8% dress and tux, 5% miscellaneous (bridesmaid and groomsman gifts, wedding bands, invitations, thank you notes, marriage license).
  
  "When you teach your child to lean on a plastic crutch, you are teaching them that they don't have to delay pleasure, or sacrifice, or save up and pay cash for things. You are teaching them that they don't need to save for a rainy day, because the plastic umbrella is always there. You are teaching them really bad values that will lead them into debt, which may take them a decade to clean up."
  
  "Getting a credit card doesn't make your student an adult; it makes her a slave to debt and sets her on a potentially lifelong course of spending money she doesn't have. When you train your child from a young age how to spot those marketing tactics, and if you teach her that the borrower truly is a slave to the lender, you'll empower her to walk right past the debt salesman."
  
  "If he learned early on to save up and pay cash for cars, and if he learned about budgeting, debt, contentment, and the other things we're talking about in this book, he wouldn't have that payment. That means he'd have $492 extra in his monthly budget to save and invest. If he were to invest that $492 into a good growth stock mutual fund his entire working lifetime - age 25 to 65 - he would retire with $5,846,153. He'd be a millionaire by age 51 and have almost 6 million at retirement simply because he paid himself a car payment all those years."
  
  Ready to buy a house/save for college: "completely out of debt, have a full emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses in the bank, contributing 15% of income to retirement, and have a down payment of at least 10 percent (20 is better)."
  
  Saving for college: 1st $2,000 per year in an ESA (growth stock mutual fund). Next, contribute to a 529 plan: "Stay away from plans that fix or control your investment options. You also need to stay away from the prepaid state tuition plans. Only do the kind you can put into a growth stock mutual fund and that allows you to control and move the investment."
  
  On college: "You must lovingly guide your "grown" teen in his college choice and field of study. Keep the lines of communication open, and be ready to pull the money away if necessary to save him from himself."
  
  "As your child hits her senior year of high school, I want to suggest a new part-time job for her: filling out scholarship applications. I recently talked to a new college graduate, and she told me that all through the spring semester of her senior year of high school, her mother made her fill out two scholarship applications every day. That took maybe an hour a day, and at the time, this girl was not happy about it. But her mom wouldn't let her off the hook, no matter how much she complained. Then the award letters started rolling in. By the time she started college, she had enough scholarships to give her a completely free ride for three years! That meant all she had to do was work enough during those three years to save up for her fourth year's tuition."
  
  FAFSA during senior year for scholarships, grants, and assistance child is eligible for.
  
  Take ACT/SAT at least three times.
  
  "A part-time job will actually not hurt your child's grades; it will improve them. Studies show that students who work 10-19 hours a week actually have higher GPA's on average than students who don't hold jobs while in school. There are even studies that show how much a student's GPA goes up the more he is responsible for paying for his education. This might seem counterintuitive, but think about it: You value what you pay for, remember? We saw that when we talked about buying a car. If your child is financially invested in his own education, he's more likely to place a higher value on it and work harder to make the most of it. And if he's managing a job while in college, he also gets the added bonus of learning things like priorities, goal setting, and time management."
  
  "Contentment is a spiritual experience that allows peace in the middle of a storm, but that peace isn't necessarily passive. It may very well be active. A content person still wants to do better and be better; he's just not pinning all his hopes and dreams on that one thing. He may say, "If this is all I ever have, I'll thank God and call myself blessed. But if I can grow and change and make a bigger impact on the world, then I'm going to do that." A content person doesn't avoid making decisions; he just doesn't feel the pressing need to make rash or stupid decisions. It is not necessary to be stagnant or unmoving to be content. So content people may not have the best of everything, but they make the best of everything."
  
  On Jealousy/envy: teach your child to be happy for others blessings. Hope for themselves one day.
  Limit remove friends/advertisements that encourage stuff/comparisons/wanting tons of stuff. Remind that stuff will not fulfill.
  
  "Celebrating the accomplishments and character qualities that enabled them to make the purchase reminds your children that they are not defined by the abundance of their possessions. Purchases are always the result of a goal, not the end goal. Never let a child utter the words, "I will be happy when..." Contentment isn't a destination; it's not somewhere you're leaving from, and it isn't somewhere you're heading to. Contentment is a manner of traveling. It's an attitude of peace and joy where you are, even while you are working to be somewhere else."
  
  "A heart filled with gratitude leaves no room for discontentment."
  
  "Why is it that a two-year-old is often happier playing in the box a toy came in rather than playing with the actual toy? Why is it that children living in poverty in third-world countries seem happier and more content than kids in wealthy nations? Because neither is caught in the trap of comparisons. They don't know what they are missing out on. They are simply grateful."
  
  "Make sure your heart is full of gratitude for the blessings in your own life. Let your children witness this in you, and they will want to respond with gratitude for the blessings in their own lives."
  
  "When your child is focused on meeting the real needs of others through giving, it becomes harder and harder for him to focus on his wants."
  
  "Winning with money also means getting comfortable doing some good, old-fashioned hard work. It means learning patience, delayed gratification, and contentment. It means developing the heart of a giver. Personal finance is only 20% head knowledge; the other 80% is behavior."
  
  "To avoid this insanity, we as parents simply must say no sometimes - and stick to it. We need to assert our control and command over our households. Don't think for a second that your children aren't smart enough to manipulate you. They are. And they will as long as you let them."
  
  "As a parent, let your yes be yes and your no be no. No is a complete sentence. It doesn't need an explanation. Have integrity. Stick to your answer. And enforce consequences for fits or negative outbursts that result from the healthy, loving boundary you set. Saying no and sticking to it take tremendous energy in the moment. However, over the scope of your life, it takes less energy because nothing is more draining than an eight-year-old brat or a self-centered teen. Few things in life are more disheartening than watching your adult child fail in his relationships, finances, career, and every other area of life because you never set boundaries for him as a child. Saying no takes energy at the time, but it saves your life and your child's life in the long run."
  
  Grown child moving home: only for crisis. 1st, make a time limit. 2nd, they must be doing things promote healing (looking for a job for 3 hours a day, do a budget and show it to you, save a certain amount per month, exercise, good sleep, counseling). 3rd, act according to your rules (no drugs, coming home at reasonable hour, doing chores around the house).
  
  "Is this helping my child become the self-supporting, healthy, mature adult I want him to be?"
  
  "You will never win with money by accident, it takes planning."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Julie Carpenter

  I liked the information given throughout this book and also the way it was presented. Both a parent and child (ok grown child now) sharing their thoughts and experiences with finances. It may need some modifications depending on each person's experience but great for foundational information.
  
  I really appreciated the comments made about not creating the expectation for children that they get or should have each new thing. That we should show and teach contentment and gratitude in our homes. When we're happy with what we have (obviously there's a wide range of people with nothing to people with abundance) that helps place them in a better beginning financially and doesn't find them constantly trying to "upgrade" items. Now the goal of this gratitude and contentment is heading towards less spending, greater saving and the ability to create a better life for you, your family and your children to create a better life for them and their future.
  
  I liked reading the sections of Rachel (his daughter) as a teenager and the lessons she learned through hard work and sacrifice. Also how Dave would have a comment after Rachel's thoughts where he would add side notes of his experiences, or what brought him and his wife to teach a certain concept to their family.
  
  Overall great advice, and not all strictly financial. Again I think that not all will apply perfectly to everyone but there are lots of great ideas and suggestions on which to have a foundation to build upon for your individual family's needs and focus.
  
  I'd definitely recommend this to anyone with young children or teenagers. My mom bought copies for all my siblings and I after listening to one of Dave's programs where he talked about this book. I'd say find it at your library or request it so multiple people can use the info. There are ideas for younger children, ideas for teenagers and up that I will be referencing back to this book off and on because I liked what was presented for different stages of life! I'm getting to the point in life where college for my children isn't too far away.
  
  Happy Reading!!!
• 
  Candice

  I watched the accompanying video series with my kids, but I read the book on my own. I was grateful that their approach to teaching kids about money was simple and focused on the fundamentals of giving, spending, and saving. There were some ideas that I am not sure I will implement such as requiring teens to save and purchase their own car with a dollar for dollar match from the parents. I did appreciate the chapter on strategies to pay for college without going into debt. Completing college with just a bit of debt (mainly from travel during a semester abroad) made a significant difference in my life, and I hope that will continue with my children. It was a slightly simplistic, but though-provoking read.
• 
  C

  Useful advice on teaching money principles to your kids, including how to wisely give, save, and spend. I appreciated the emphasis on promoting personal responsibility and hard work, instead of fostering a sense of entitlement. I was also glad for the advice on teaching gratitude and contentment. Unfortunately, like other Dave Ramsey books, this one teaches a strict no-debt stance, which reduces the value of the book.
  
  The book says, "Debt is owing anything to anyone for any reason. That includes car loans, credit cards, and yes, even student loans. Your child needs to know as early as possible that debt in any form will wreck his future financial success." It goes on to decry credit scores, saying they don't matter. There's no mention of how credit scores can affect auto insurance rates, home insurance rates, employment options, and utilities rates. I understand that there's a danger to using credit cards, but it is possible to use them responsibly (paying them off monthly to avoid paying interest) to build credit.
  
  Notes
  I Was That Little Girl…
  Have kids work on commission; don't give allowance. Allowance implies kid is entitled to money simply by living, but paying for chores teaches strong work habits.
  
  For kids 5 and under, pay upon completion of a chore.
  
  Don't paid for all chores; there are things kids should do just for being member of family (set up table, clear table, dry dishes, etc.).
  
  For kids 6+, have them keep it chore chart and pay them weekly. Have them put 10-20% in "Give" envelope/container, 40-45% each in "Save" and "Spend" containers.
  
  Save: Wait for It
  Consider matching your kid's savings when they have a big goal.
  
  Give: It's Not Yours Anyway
  Have child give/donate/tithe their own money, not yours; otherwise it's not truly giving, and there's no emotional connection between earning and giving.
  
  Budgeting: Tell It What to Do
  Starting at age 14, give teen lump sum at beginning of month for amount you would typically spend on them, and let them budget. Help train when beginning this process.
  
  College: Don't Graduate from I.O.U.
  Students who work 10-19 hours/week have higher GPAs on average than those who don't have jobs in college.
  
  The more a student is responsible for paying for college, the higher the GPA.
  
  Contentment: The War for Your Child's Heart
  Help kids fight discontent; (and related envy, anxiety, etc.) by encouraging a giving heart, which leads to humility, gratitude, contentment.
  

  When your child is focused on meeting the real needs of others through giving, it becomes harder and harder for him to focus on his wants. … it's hard for discontentment to take root in a heart full of filled with humility. In the same way, it's almost impossible for selfishness to flourish in the heart of a giver.
• 
  Donna

  This was basic info on helping children learn to manage money from an early age and beyond. My kids are mostly grown but none have yet flown the nest, so to speak. So I purchased 5 copies of this book for them. Even though this is more for parents, I'm hoping my kids will realize how lucky and easy they have had it.
• 
  Jennifer Frink

  I expected much more from this book. While it was a quick and easy read with some cute anecdotes of Rachel's childhood "growing up Ramsay", learning how to "spend, save, and give", the book was light on technical content...ie, barely a mention of time value of money, and aside from a brief mention of ESAs and 529s, no other content on investing. Some of the advice I downright disagree with...keeping your money in envelopes - really??? And credit cards, as an interest-free loan, are not the devil as the authors dictate. Most of the other advice given is incredibly obvious, ie., for parents of blended families: "All the children are to be loved by all the adults". If someone needs to read this book to get this advice, they have larger problems.
• 
  Nicoleta

  Religios, considera ca nu esti proprietarul banilor, ci doar administratorul lor. Donatii si zeciuiala.
  Bugetul pentru fiecare familie si membru al familiei mai mare de o anumita varsta.
  
• 
  Alexander Krastev

  Чудесен наръчник, съветитв от който ще започна да ползвам веднага. Синът ми е почти на 5 и вече можем да водим спокойно разговори за пари и съответно да изграждаме полезни навици в тази посока.
• 
  Amanda

  I listened with my kids and it surprisingly kept their attention. I need to read this every year.
• 
  Keren Threlfall

  For many parents of Millenials, there were two topics which were simply verboten subject material for discussion with their progeny: money and sex.
  
  This was certainly the case for both my husband and myself and the families in which we grew up. On the latter, none of our four parents spoke much at all, all the way up through our wedding day. We knew our parents expected abstinence until marriage; but that was about it (though we both heard and made decisions based being taught within a "purity culture" that existed within our churches, camps, and schools). Similarly, we were left in the dark on our parents' finances; other than knowing that 1) you work hard to earn money and 2) usually, debt is bad. The specifics, though, were private matters, not open for parent-child discussion.
  
  While we can hardly blame our parents for being a product of their time, lack of knowledge in both areas left us making  poor choices, and it has taken us years to understand aspects and principles that could have allowed us to make much healthier choices as we entered adulthood and began our family.
  
  During his years giving advice as a personal finance radio host, coach, and author, Dave Ramsey recounts that one of the most frequent comments he heard was, "I wish we'd heard this advice years ago!" Together with his daughter, Rachel Cruze, Ramsey had a vision to ensure that the next generation doesn't have to say the same thing.
  
  Dave Ramsey will leave it to others to tell parents how to talk to their kids about sex, but 
  Smart Money, Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money is all about helping parents raise their children with knowledge and wisdom to handle money well. But it's not just financial advice for children; many adults will find this to be a helpful survey of personal finance that will contribute to their own motivation and change, as well.
  
  Like many others, I have definite concerns over Dave Ramsey's often caustic tone, as well as his push that certain of his opinions are universal principles. Still, I am also aware that he has helped many people (generally those outside of genuine poverty) who need and information advice in the area of personal finance.
  
  While I worked my way through the book and as Cruze and Ramsey presented examples and scenarios, I frequently found myself making mental note that certain solutions would not work for a number of different complex situations. I was glad to find that at the end of the book, Ramsey goes through multiple examples of applying his advice within alternative family dynamics (e.g., grandparents raising grandchildren, single parents, etc...) and complex situations where the authors also emphasize extending grace and avoiding legalism. (Their definitions of grace and legalism are certainly not theological definitions, though!)
  
  Regardless of how you choose to teach or apply the advice the Ramsey and Cruze give here, I think this book is a strong motivator toward at least being more proactive in intentionally teaching children about managing their money. It's important to note that he frequently sets an adversarially tone toward a parent-child relationship; but once those are noted, the advice can still be helpful.
  Table of Contents
  
  
• 
  Emily

  Great practical information!
• 
  Erica

  I love me some Dave Ramsey! No matter how you feel about him personally (as I've heard many people say they think he's "mean") you cannot deny that his methods work. By the way, I don't think it's mean to call stupid behavior stupid. I think it could quite possibly be one of the kindest things to say to someone. "What you are doing is stupid and not working and something needs to change."
  
  Anywho, this book which he co-wrote with his daughter about raising kids to be debt free throughout their life is GREAT!! I underlined half the book, it seems.
  
  Parts of it were repetitive, but I think with good reason. Most people don't hear what they need to do one time then go do it. It was repetitive because we as humans need MANY reminders on how to do the hard thing. And delaying gratification, saving up, and saying "no" are certainly hard things. Especially in this society.
  
  This book made me excited to teach my kids to "win with money" and not be controlled by debt. I want more than anything to teach them how to be good stewards of what we've been blessed with. And I want them to be excited about GIVING!! I don't want spoiled, entitled children and this book helped give me specific ways to avoid that mindset.
  
  If you have kids, no matter the age, you should read this book.
• 
  Naomi

  The authors rhetoric of "winning" with money is very off-putting to me. What I did like about this book is the practical tips about training and raising your kids to be wise with the money they have. Many of the ideas in this book are what we plan to do with our boys such as separating money/allowances into save-spend-give categories, starting when they are small to save up for desired purchases, instructing them on the realities of credit card debt and interest with student loans as they near that stage of life. I don't endorse the same hard line they do about never taking out loans and credit cards, but I do appreciate their push back for people to keep their spending within the limits of their actual income. Sadly, many young people and families are crippled by debt and bad financial choices and I hope to help our boys navigate these issues with wisdom and self-control.
• 
  Patrick Funston

  Much of this book was repeated material from other Dave Ramsey books and classes. The packaging here favors information about teaching and modeling money habits to your kids. I like a lot of Ramsey’s principles and have benefited from them.
  
  However, his work continues to peddle heteronormative family structures. He makes broad generalizations about gender and is misogynistic in the way he speaks about the kinds of things women do and do not do with money. He’s one-note in this regard and it’s always cringe-inducing. I wish the principles on the financial side could be packaged apart from the bullshit.
• 
  Elsa K

  I think this book is great for anyone with kids. If you are familiar with Dave Ramsey, it is his general ideas brought down to kid level. You can start doing it with kids who are 3 years old! I look forward to teaching my kids to stay out of debt, win with money and not fall into the mistakes of their parents. I love how purposeful and practical it is, yet easy to do. I also appreciated the chapters on teaching kids contentment, how to have fun as a family etc. I think this read is an essential for parents. I wish I had learned this stuff at a younger age.
• 
  Nate Cook

  DNF
  
  Only got 20% in. Seemed like they wrote and narrated (poorly) a book about how awesome they think they are. They’re giving parenting lessons that come off very obnoxiously and almost condescending. No thanks.
• 
  Christina

  I was raised on Dave Ramsey's money managing principles, and have read a handful of his books (and those who work at his company). A lot of them start to sound the same, because they always take the time to go through the 7 Baby Steps. That's not a bad thing for those who have never heard/seen/read his stuff, but it gets old after awhile.
  
  This book was refreshing, because it was a different take, and they didn't belabor the 7 Baby steps, though they do mention them as a reminder - often - that parents must be modeling the behaviors they want to their kids to adopt.
  
  I propose that this book is necessary for parents who feel unsure how to instill wise money management principles in their kids. Or maybe for parents who have a good idea about how to do it but want some fresh ideas, or the assurance that they're on the right track and they're not crazy for saying no and making their kids save up money for things like toys and even cars.
  
  I especially loved hearing Dave's perspective on a couple of the stories that Rachel wrote about. It almost sounded at times like we were just listening to the transcript of a conversation between the two of them as they reflected on how the Ramseys raised their kids.
  
  However, at other times, they are very direct and give clear-cut directions and suggestions to their readers about how to apply the same ideas in their own families. This makes the book applicable, practical, and also easy to read. It's not stuffy or somber, though it can be solemn at times. Handling money is serious business after all!
  
  Ramsey and his company offer their recommendations based on biblical principles, so you might not agree with the support for their reasoning; however, you probably can agree that these principles worked for them and many other families.
  
  I'm not a parent, so I can't immediately apply these principles to my own children, but I do have plenty of kids in my life. I like that I can be a model for them outside of their nuclear family and encourage wise handling of money as the subject comes up, like my brother does with his high school math students.
  
  Long story short: I recommend this book to people with kids in their lives!
• 
  Amy

  “Smart Money Smart Kids” is the perfect title! What an impactful financial resource for parents of children of all ages (toddler through young adult) but I think the wealth of information enclosed is useful for all adults, too. It’s no surprise Dave Ramsey is “the king of finance” and trusted agent when it comes to budgeting, investing, saving, and getting out of debt. These easy financial skills you can instill in your children early will pay dividends down the road for them well into their adult life. Even substituting words like commission instead of allowance makes sense to young ears and helps them develop good money habits. I enjoyed pulling useful tips from here. It’s a book that deserves a place in a home library as it’s worth revisiting from time to time. Yes, puns intended on this review. Haha.
• 
  Katrina Marie

  FINISHED this book last night. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 #fivestars of course! Lots of practical, knowledgeable advice for all ages! With hilarious truths and heartwarming humility, this is definitely a #mustread to ensure you can thrive in a world run on money. 💰💸💵 This amazing #ebook was included, for free, in my kiddos’ financial peace jr kit by #daveramsey @daveramsey #financialpeacejunior #financialpeacejr #financialpeace #money #rachelcruze @rachelcruze #smartmoneysmartkids #smartmoney #winwithmoney It is an Amazingly important read and I definitely recommend it no matter how old you or your children are! 📕📗📘📙💜😻🧜🏼‍♀️📚📖 #booknerd #booklover #thatbooklife #bookworm #bookdragon #bibliophile #bibliophiles #bibliophilelife #bookish #bookstagram #book #books #read #reading #readingISmylife #bookish #bibliophilemarie @bibliophilemarie
• 
  Jennifer

  I would like to think I’m not one to push my personal opinions concerning anything on anyone, but this book is such a slap in the face to the debt ridden lie of the ever elusive “American Dream”. That being said, not that I completely agree with absolutely every little detail, hook, line, and sinker, per se, I completely agree with the concepts of wealth building and teaching tools to our children so they don’t repeat the stupid money messes that we as parents (speaking for myself, here) have gotten into and (thankfully) subsequently out of. I appreciate this perspective and am inspired to be even more vigilant in mapping out a legacy for my own children.