Raising A $mart Kid by Rosina Simon

I have come to know about this book "Raising A $mart Kid" (read: Raising a Dollar Smart Kid) from an email promotion that I received at work. I thought the subject was very catchy and the synopsis that was given is really interesting, especially when it says "Banker Moms' Practical Tips to Raising Financially and Responsible Children". The email came from my company's employees club that usually offers variety of offers and perks for employees. This one is no different, but the most interesting part is because the writer used to work for the same financial institution I am working for. So, on the day that the book was on sale, I rushed myself to get one and met the author herself.

Right away, I was on my way to finish reading the book. It is mindblowing to know that we sure can teach our kids about the concept of finance and money from they are very young. Raising A $mart Kid, educates parents on how to instill financial awareness in children by constantly and consistently encouraging them to observe, learn, and practice good money habits and values.

The book sends a powerful message. As parents, we sometimes forget that our busy life style often used as an excuse to lose our bearings when it comes to educating our children about what is important in life. Sometimes, we let the school takes charge of that. However, kids need to learn from home first. And us parents are the first thing they look up to. This book reminds us that we need to pause and engage with our children through quality time, and financial sound values is one of them.

Financial habis may take time to build, but once built, a good habit is always hard to break. Getting it right early is crucial. Starting it early makes perfect sense because our children will turn into young adults in the blink of an eye.

Rosina Simon, along with some banker moms-cum-writers, writes this book in a straight forward and easy to understand terms. There are many #jleb moments that you can pick up only from the first few pages of the book. In summary, she brought up two important topics that I find very important for teaching kids to be financial sensible and responsible:

1. It's never too early to teach kids the basic concept of finance and money. Everything you wish your children to learn, you must teach them before they turn seven. Teach kids a good saving habis early on, because spending is always easier than saving. By starting young, they will have sufficient time to rehearse "paying yourself first", putting into practice smart spending, and learning from trial and error about money matters.


2. Children learn by observing and mimicking their parents. Our attitude towards money is generally shaped by our upbringing, and in turn, we extert the most influence over our children.

While some of urban Mama and Papa have already gotten the concept of savings, investing and smart spending, some may still struggle with it. You must start from yourself because your habits will instill in how your kids understand about the concept of finance. It is never too late to learn.

I truly recommend all urban Mama and Papa to read this book as it gives good insights on how we want to shape our children in the concept of money and finance.

The version of the book that I have is in English because I picked it up in Singapore. One thing I admire about this is that Rosina is determined to teach young kids to not only understand the concept of financial management, but she also wants to help by donating the sale proceed to build a library for underprivilege kids in Indonesia.

In August, the Indonesian version is published by Gramedia for the cost of IDR 45K, and has become one of their best sellers. There is an open thread discussion about this book HERE and also some more tips that from when I attended her seminar back in June in this forum thread.