Penny Saved - Hardcover

Richards, Tad; Godfrey, Neale S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684803976 ISBN 13: 9780684803975

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1995

Synopsis

A guide for parents offers advice on how to teach children the value and uses of money with sections on goal setting, budgeting, saving, understanding the difference between self-worth and net-worth, and ethical behavior. 100,000 first printing. National ad/promo.

About this title

About the Author

Neale S. Godfrey is founder of the First Children's Bank.

Reviews

Godfrey, former president of the First Women's Bank, founder of the First Children's Bank and author of Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, stresses that "What children don't know about money can hurt them." Through a variety of money games, as projected here, children can learn coin denominations, the value of common store items, how to make change (with the aid of a simple calculator) and, ultimately, the concept of "deferred gratification" and saving. Godfrey, writing with freelancer Richards, recommends family conferences on money matters, with chores viewed either as "family citizen" responsibilities or work-for-pay. The authors suggest "family banking" to fund family projects, a job-chart schedule for schoolchildren (weeding flower beds, emptying the cat litter) and parental strategies for wielding "management authority." Parents and their kids alike should have fun with this program and develop money sense into the bargain.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Godfrey believes that children can and must be taught to be responsible about using money, a subject she previously visited in Money Doesn't Grow on Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children (S. & S., 1994). Building on that book, she here outlines practical steps parents can take to encourage their children to learn about money. Why? "Understanding what money does is the first step in understanding what it doesn't do-the first step in teaching your children not to confuse self-worth with net worth." The book is divided into three sections-preschool, school-age, and teenager-and offers a wide range of suggestions, games, and exercises for parents and children to follow in each age category. There are particularly useful discussions of such topics as goal-setting, "need vs. want," saving, and sharing, all of which underlie teaching a concept of money that will stay with children their whole lives. Most important, Godfrey believes that learning "financial responsibility" is a cornerstone for learning how to be fair in all dealings with others. With all the complaints about the absence of family values in today's society, any book that teaches positive values is to be commended. An invaluable book for families; highly recommended for all public libraries.
Richard Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0684803976
• ISBN 13: 9780684803975
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240