Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze

This week, I got the wonderful opportunity to read "Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money" by Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel Cruze. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this book! I have been familiar with Dave Ramsey's methods and books for quite a few years and my husband and I try to manage our money according to Dave's methods and principles.

What makes this book different from the rest? While Dave's other books generally focus mainly on adults and debt, "Smart Money Smart Kids" focuses entirely on children of all ages and how to teach them to smartly manage money. It highlights different age ranges and how to handle chores and "commission" (Dave's word for allowance) for each age. They also talk about how to help teens save for cars, college, and any other major expense that they may have.

I finished this book in a matter of only 24 hours because it was just that good! Before I had even finished the book, my husband and I began implementing Dave and Rachel's principles into how we handle money with our children. We quickly started our oldest on the envelope system giving her three envelopes with the titles "Spend", "Save" and "Give" and created a chart showing her how much money she will earn for each chore accomplished. She will receive her "commission" at the end of each week. For our youngest who is just 2 1/2, we created a much looser system since she is still so young and does not understand the value of money. When she helps with little chores like helping mommy carry the laundry and putting her toys away, she earns change for her piggy bank. Dave and Rachel recommend giving the little ones their money immediately since they don't understand the idea of waiting.

I was surprised to see that most of this book was actually written by Rachel and not Dave. I did not know much about her before reading the book, but was excited to see that she works for her dad, speaking mostly to their younger audiences about money. She had some excellent ideas, and I will definitely be going back over her methods as my children grow older.

I rate this book as 5 stars and would highly recommend it to anyone with children! Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”