How to Teach Kids About Money
Inside My New Book, Follow the Money
As a parent, you work hard to teach your kids the things that matter. Kindness, patience, respect. How to ride a bike and sound out a tricky word. That takes some intentional work on your part–and you’ve figured out how to prioritize those lessons.
So, here’s a question: what are you doing to teach your kids about money?
If you’re not sure, you’re in good company. A lot of us were never taught financial skills in any sort of formal way and it’s hard to know where to start. I wrote a book to make that part a little easier.
A Book That Teaches Kids About Money Through Play
Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids is built for kids ages 8 to 12 and it teaches real money skills through an interactive game they’ll actually want to play.
As your child reads, they will learn about earning, saving and spending money. They’ll plan a party with a budget, choose which school supplies are worth the price, and save for a special event. Further into the book, they’ll dive into more complex topics, too; they’ll take out and repay a loan, learn to spot a scan and even buy and sell stocks.
Every choice they make adds to or subtracts from their Treasure Chest of pretend money. The question that will keep them turning pages: how much money will they have at the end?
Most importantly, you–the parent–do not need to feel confident about your money skills in order to help your child use this book. That’s great if you have solid financial literacy skills, but if not–you can read along with your child and learn too.
Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids
What’s Inside the Book
Follow the Money starts with the basics–earning, saving, and spending–and builds toward bigger ideas like budgeting, borrowing, and investing. Kids will read about these concepts AND practice them.
Your child will start their own business and calculate what they earn.
About the Author (That’s Me!)
I’m a teacher, financial educator, and mom of two. I’ve spent more than a decade in the classroom helping middle school students build essential learning and life skills.
I care about financial literacy because I know that strong money skills can open doors throughout life. Money was tight when I was growing up, and conversations about budgeting, saving, and investing were still a regular part of my childhood.
My own interest deepened about ten years ago, when my husband and I started making a plan to tackle over $330,000 in student loans. We paid off every dollar of it. Now, I’m committed to raising my boys with a strong understanding of money. And, I want to help other parents do the same for their kids.
Kids will calculate income from their own business in Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids, a book for kids ages 8-12 by Alaina Trivax
They'll open a pretend bank account and learn how it works.
Kids will open a bank account and learn how to use it in Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids, a book for kids ages 8-12 by Alaina Trivax
And they'll take on the topics most adults find intimidating, like borrowing, inflation, and investing, explained in a way they can actually follow.
Kids will learn about credit card fees and inflation in Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids, a book for kids ages 8-12 by Alaina Trivax
Kids will learn about different investments, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and certificates of deposit in Follow the Money: A Fun Financial Literacy Game for Kids, a book for kids ages 8-12 by Alaina Trivax
Preorder Follow the Money Today!
The book comes out on August 4th, and preordering now means it lands in your mailbox the week it releases.
If you’re looking for a simple, low-pressure way to start money conversations at home, this is it.
(And, a personal appeal: preorders also give a new book a real boost at launch, so if you’re planning to grab it anyway, ordering now really helps!)
Get the Free Conversation Guide
Preorder the book and you’ll be eligible for a supplemental Conversation Guide that I’m putting together. This resource will help you and your child get even more out of each chapter.
Add your email below and I’ll let you know the moment it’s ready!
One Less Hard Thing
Raising kids and teaching them everything they need to know is hard. This book was designed to take one piece of that–the money skills–and make it a little easier on you. I hope it does exactly that!
