I did not like this book very much for a few reasons. Chief among them was the assertion that mismanagement of personal finances is the primary reason that many families were struggling during the Great Recession. The book fails to address the wider social, financial, and political forces that drive economic inequality, even though it is written for an adolescent audience. Adolescents are beginning to have the capacity for abstract thinking and often are motivated by a sense of fairness or conscience to learn about the world around them. The book did talk about important topics such as interest, debt, the Federal Reserve, and investing, which are essential to understand for successful personal financial literacy. Unfortunately, the book addressed these topics in a manner that was frequently patronizing. ( )

I have never been great with money. In fact, I tend to spend it as soon as I get it. Looking back, Jean Chatzky’s book would have been immensely helpful during my adolescent years. Her explanations of even the most common financial terms and concepts are informative and enlightening.

Throughout the book, Chatzky successfully makes the information more engaging with bits of trivia and fun facts. Like many people, I dread even thinking about money, the economy, or any financial topics; so I really appreciated this fun potpourri sprinkled over her explanations. Her efforts in doing this were probably to relate the topics to adolescents or simply to uninformed readers—such as myself.

Needless to say, the book is an easy read for readers who wish to become more knowledgeable in economics and finance. If read early enough, adolescents will be enable to curb bad spending habits before they have a chance to develop.

Since it is geared for younger readers, I can easily see this book being used in an early high school Math course. There are indeed some complex ideas introduced, but this does not by any means make the book worthless to high school teachers. ( )

This book is a collection of fairly obvious topics concerning the subject of money that any parent should be able relay to their children without outside help. My favorite nugget of wisdom in the book is "when you spend less than you make, it allows you to save money". Yes, it can seem a bit patronizing at times, but I wouldn't be so sure that the book wouldn't be useful to adolescents. Some of the topics, like the federal reserve, may require you to do a little research. The federal reserve fiddles with the value of our money by fiddles with the amount of it available. Ever heard of Quantitative Easing? The are slowly easing the dollar down in value. Don't worry, sometimes they ease it up in value too. There are a number of topics in this book that you need to know. Sure, the book will sometimes insult your intelligence, but sometimes it's best to be obvious and clear.

The book structure is arranged around questions received from children about most people's favorite topic. Common topics like interest, how does someone save money, how does the economy work, etc. are covered in a fairly entertaining way. I think it covers topics that everyone simply assumes that you pick as you move through life. The problem is that most people are too busy working for money and paying taxes on the money they earn, that they have little time to address this situation themselves. This results in little discourse about the subject that make the world go round.

Unfortunately, the most important thing about money wasn't really addressed in this book. Money is debt. This leads to a lifestyle that is not sustainable. This leads to families living beyond their means. Maybe this kind of book is more important than I initially thought. However, I wouldn't simply buy your youngsters the book and not follow up. They need to learn the big picture from from their folks. In the worst scenario, maybe both parents and kids can learn this stuff together.

While I enjoyed the the approach to introducing the subject of finance to young children, I think the book fails to put the topic in easy to understand language for most students. Chatzky is well qualified to write about this subject and her insights on the various saving vehicles in today's economy are extensive. I do feel that the book could have done a better job of connecting with the reader and showing more emotion while talking about these financial topics. Overall I believe the book is a decent introduction for students who have little background in economics. ( )

When reading this book, I was surprised to discover my own personal lack of knowledge of money and money management. I found the book to be highly informative, and full of quite a few tips that I could use in regards to saving money. The only point of contention that i need to address is the fact that some of the book, specifically that which addresses GDP and other money factoids, may be a little too complex for some of the younger readers. I did enjoy the "fun facts" section, and the sections that answered student questions, but having them placed in the middle of chapters almost made the work seem disjointed and unorganized. In the end, there were informative facts, but the work could have been organized a little more efficiently. ( )