Financial Peace Junior Paperback – November 22, 2011

Although there are a lot of components to this program, it's very easy to establish and get set up. My daughter had just turned 4 when we began using it, because we are devoted Financial Peace followers ourselves. It's easy to adjust some of the components to the age of the child, as well.CHART:For instance, my daughter lost interest in using the chart to mark off her jobs as she completed them. It seemed to be more of a hassle for her, so she'd avoid doing jobs if she had to take the time to mark it off on the chart! And adding up the money she earned each day, week, etc. was above her interest-level/understanding, but would be great for older children. So, we nixed using the chart until she gets older and becomes more task-oriented.ENVELOPES:We use the envelopes for "Save" "Give" and "Spend" every day and she gets a quarter for completing each job. She's learned that 4 quarters equals $1 and it keeps things affordable for Mom and Dad! It works out to about $3-5 per week depending on how motivated she is. The point we reinforce is, work=pay; no work=no pay and it will take longer to save for things she wants. She understands this and it's the choice she makes if she doesn't want to do a job when it comes up.JOB EXAMPLES:Her jobs at 4 and 5 years old include: Bringing her dishes to the kitchen after she's done eating, letting the pets in and out to go potty in the backyard, putting her clothes in her laundry basket (as opposed to tossing them all over the floor), helping mom clean up toys at the end of the day.SAVING:The first time she saved up money for her "SAVE" envelope, we made sure the goal was small so she could experience a more timely gratification. Once she was able to go to the store and make the purchase, it totally clicked and she was eager to save for more things, even if they are more expensive. I was a bit worried when she needed to save $20 for a scooter that it'd be too big of a goal, but sure enough, we printed out the picture of the desired scooter and hung it on the chart (we do use the clip on the chart for hanging pictures of what she's saving for because it's a constant reminder for her). After a month of saving, she got to go to Target and get her scooter. That experience has also given her a better appreciation for how much things cost. Now Mommy can say, "That dress you want costs the same amount as your scooter you saved for." Or "That Barbie dreamhouse you want costs the same amount as FIVE of your scooters." It truly does resonate with her.SPENDING:She doesn't put too much into her "Spending" envelope, but we also don't have many opportunities for her to buy stuff at stores anyway. But sometimes, I'll make sure she brings this envelope if we are going to the Dollar Tree or Target (with their $1 section) so she can get herself a treat when we are out.GIVING:Trying to explain charity and "Giving" to a 4 year old is definately challenging, as they are in an egocentric stage and typically, want everything for themselves. We introduced the "Giving" concept by having her save up $1 in that envelope and we took it to PetSmart to buy the kitties in the Adoption Center treats (they sell 99 packs of treats). We gave them to the Store Manager and he let us bring them to the Adoption Center and give some to the kitties. She became really gung-ho on contributing to the "Giving" envelope after that. She was able to actually purchase and give the gift to the kitties in need of homes, so that's what we continue to give to now. As she gets older, we can start branching out from PetSmart.ONLY COMPLAINT:My only "complaint" is I wish there was a girl's version of the "Junior" story. My daughter wasn't interested in Junior's story very much because he's just another stinkly 'ol boy! She's very girly girl, so this kit was a bit boyish for her tastes.

My husband and I have gone through the workshop, Financial Peace University, through our church. We also read the book that Dave Ramesey wrote. I also read, “Smart Money Smart Kids,” written by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze. We have 3 children (age 11, 4, 2). I taught the concept to my 11 year and 4 year old. We bought this in April 2015.The kit includes:• A quick start guide• Parent guide• Junior’s activity book (My four year old enjoyed coloring and filling out the work book together)• Give, Save and Spend envelopes (My oldest son is using this)• A calculator• Wet-erase chore chart (We used this for the first month and I created our own )• Wet erase marker• Four crayons• Stickers• Preprinted chore labels• Battle of the Chores audio book (All of my kids enjoyed listening to this)• Link to exclusive website with bonus materials• Five refrigerator magnets and a magnet frameOne of my parents always told me to save money but didn’t really teach me how. This product helps you teach your child how to save, give, and tithe. It teaches your child that you need to work in order to make money. Sacrifices need to be made for things that you want rather than things that you need. My children know what it truly means when we are in the store and they ask me for something and I say, “It’s not in the budget.” I will admit that my younger son enjoyed this kit more than my older son, but it really helped my husband and I teach it to our children.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! Anything that teaches kids about budgets and earning commission is a win win situation! This kit is a little too young for my 9 year old, but she will gain understanding and enjoy the concepts of the book and coloring the pages. I wish I had something like this when I was a child. I am excited that I have an opportunity through the Financial Peace Junior kit to instill how important it is to budget money and how hard work pays off. This kit comes with a parent guide, envelopes, cd, coloring books, chore chart. and more! It is a great price for what your child will learn. Yes, you still need to implement it and guide your children through the saving, spending, and giving process, but honestly, my kids have never been more excited to do chores. They are responsible for their chores listed. If they do them, they get paid. If they don't, they don't get paid. It is a hard lesson to learn, but a reality that needs to be taught at a young age. The chores can be given for very young children (3) to children as old as 12. If you need a motivator to get your children helping around the house, then buy Financial Peace Junior. You will need one kit for each child. The way I see teaching budgeting to my kids now is, I will not be carrying them financially after they turn 18 and they can live financially stable lives at almost any income.

I started reading Dave Ramsey's book to help me understand finances better and to get our bills paid off. I found this program for my kids and decided to order one for my son. I told him about it and he really wanted it. My hope is that my kids will have a better understand now (ages 10 & 12)of money so that when they do get older and have jobs they will handle it better than I did.I absolutely love his program! My son has done the entire workbook - in 2 days and gets excited to help around the house now instead of fighting me to do it. The idea that he gets a "commission" instead of an allowance is genius. I want my kids to understand that in order to earn money they must work for it. I also think it is great that he understands how to save and give to charity. His first pay day he put 10% into charity and saved 20%. Now he know he can't touch that money but he is ok with that because he has the rest of the money he can spend.I just order my daughter her own program. I highly recomend this to anyone that wants their kids to start understanding money.

I liked it, but it's definitely set up for only one child to use, and I was hoping for more whole-family usage. We went through the colouring/activity book together, which was fine. We gave our eldest the three plastic envelopes, made a three-jar system for our youngest by gluing the Give-Save-Spend magnets onto jars, and made a plastic wallet/glass jar/plastic wallet system for our middle with the Give-Save-Spend stickers. That actually worked out great, and they were all really excited about their new systems, but there was really no way to make the chore chart do for more than one child.

This is a must need to teach the kids about money

Came as expected.