As the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times, Ron Lieber is clearly not afraid of a little financial conversation. Other people can be, though, and he says that’s a problem, especially when those other people are parents. Advice for lessening that money talk anxiety is the basis of his new book, The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money.
“Every conversation about money is also about values,” Lieber says early in the book. Money can and should be “a teaching tool that uses the value of a dollar to instill in our children the values we want them to embrace.”
Emotions loom large in these conversations as well. When we talk finances, we’re not just talking facts and figures, Lieber says. It’s up to parents to help their kids learn to understand those emotions at the same time they learn to understand how the financial world works.
To help us help our own kids, Lieber grounds his book in story after story of real families, the result of visits around the country and also conversations with followers of his Facebook page. Together, these stories create a persuasive testimonial to his point that money and feelings are inextricably connected. The stories also add layers of depth, warmth and even humor to his financial advice.
Lieber writes compellingly about the bevy of new challenges today’s kids must face, including pressures from social media, rapidly increasing college costs and the growing societal debate over income inequality. As today’s young adults enter a world where health coverage and retirement plans are more often than not their own responsibility, the conversations we have with them now could prove critical to their financial stability later.
With topics ranging from the tooth fairy to allowances and even philanthropy, The Opposite of Spoiled is sure to hold the financial answers you — and your kids — need most.
