Digital + Audio Edition
Digital + Audio Edition
30-day money-back guarantee · Free US shipping · Ships in 5 business days
Start lesson one with your kid tonight, before the book even ships. The ebook plus a read-aloud audio edition for your phone. Emailed the second you pay.
For the parent who was never taught
You were never taught money. That can stop with you.
Here’s the thing nobody says out loud: you were never taught money either. Not at school. Not at home. Nobody sat you down and explained it, and now there’s a small person asking you questions you don’t have answers for.
Never being taught money is not a flaw in you. It’s a gap in what got handed down. You can be the one who teaches your kid about money, and you learn it right alongside them. That is the Side-by-Side Method.
Why the piggy bank, the chore chart and the money app didn’t do it.
Most parents have tried at least one. Each one teaches a task, not a choice. A piggy bank teaches dropping coins in a slot. A chore chart teaches doing chores for money. A money app teaches tapping a screen.
None of them teach your kid to stop and think before money leaves their hand. That pause is what protects them at 18, when the first card offer arrives. It’s what protects them at 22, when a tiny payment hides a big cost.
This book teaches the choice. Each lesson names a money trap. Your kid plays a 5-minute game where they spot it. Then they explain it back to you. Keep the piggy bank and the app. The book is the part they were missing.
Try one lesson right here
Level 4: The Saver
The trap: the Sneaky Dip. Small spends that add up and pull you away from your goal.
The game, Jump Back (5 minutes): your kid hops a coin up a line from 0 to 10. The 10 is the savings goal. Cards say Save 1, Save 2, or Sneaky Dip back 1. First to 10 wins.
The rule your kid learns to say: “Goal first!”
Your part, one minute: ask your kid, “Show me what you learned.” Then listen.
Every lesson works the same way: a money idea drawn small, a trap to spot, a 5-minute game with coins, cups and paper from your kitchen, money puzzles with the answers upside down, and the Grown-up Corner, which explains the idea to you in two plain sentences and gives you the exact words to say.
What parents who were never taught money say.
★★★★★ 4.6 from early readers
13 levels, like a game. One money lesson each.
Part One, Money Basics, is for ages 5 to 8. Part Two, Next Level, is for ages 9 to 13. Your kid earns a badge for each level and learns to spot one trap by name.
- How to win with money. Trap: the Slip-Away, walking off without checking your change.
- Where money comes from. Trap: the Bottomless Wallet, thinking card money never runs out.
- Need it or want it? Trap: the Shiny Ad, making wants look like needs.
- Save for your goal. Trap: the Sneaky Dip, small spends that pull you off track.
- Every coin gets a job. Trap: the Checkout Grab, candy put by the checkout to grab you.
- Share and give. Trap: the Copycat Buy, buying something because a friend has it.
- Start something small. Trap: the Cost Ghost, forgetting costs so sales look like profit.
- Cards, phones and apps. Trap: the Tap-and-Forget, tapping feels like nothing.
- Plan it, then buy it. Trap: the Crossed-Out Price, making a normal price look like a deal.
- Banks and interest. Trap: the Fee Nibble, small fees that eat your savings.
- Money that grows. Trap: the Drop Scare, selling in a panic when prices drop.
- Borrowing and debt. Trap: the Tiny Payment, “only $12 a month” hides the total.
- Crypto, hype and scams. Trap: the Hurry-Up Hook, a get-rich-quick offer that rushes you.
Paperback, 72 pages, with room to write and draw. You’ll need coins, cups and paper from your kitchen. Pay once. Yours forever.
30-day money-back guarantee
Read the book together. Play one game. See what happens at the dinner table. If the book is not working for your family, one email within 30 days gets your money back. No forms, no explaining yourself, and you don’t send the book back.
Your questions, answered.
I don’t know enough about money to teach my kid.
You don’t need to be. The book teaches you as you read it to your kid, and gives you the exact words to say.
Is my kid too young, or too old at 9 or 12?
The right age is the age your child is now. Part One starts a 5-year-old with coins and choices. Part Two takes 9 to 13s into cards, banks, investing and debt.
I’m too busy for money lessons.
Your part is one minute: “Show me what you learned.” Your kid can play each 5-minute game alone. A missed day is normal.
We already use a money app or a kids’ debit card.
Keep it. Apps move money. They don’t teach what money is. The book teaches the ideas; the app lets your kid practice.
Is this a subscription? Do I have to buy anything else?
No. One book, one price, yours forever. Everything the games need is already in your kitchen. Optional extras are offered, and you can skip every one.
Money is private. Do I have to share what I earn?
Never. The book teaches earning, saving and choosing, not your pay. If your kid asks, the Grown-up Corner gives you a line: “Good question; the number stays private.”
When does the book ship?
Within 5 business days. Shipping is free in the US, and tracking comes to you by email.
What if my kid doesn’t like it?
One email within 30 days gets your money back.
More questions? Email support@babycents.com. A real person reads every email.
You were never taught money.
That can stop with you.
This book has the money lessons you wish someone had taught you, written down for your kid and for you too.
Get the book: $19.95Free US shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee · Ages 5 to 13