Financial Skills Aren’t On The School Timetable. Here Are 5 Reasons Parents Are Teaching Them At Home Instead
School covers fractions, history and spelling. Financial skills? For most kids, they’re nowhere on the timetable. So a lot of parents are quietly picking up the slack at home, one question at a time.
If that sounds like you, you’re in good company. Here are five reasons parents are using one colourful book to do it.
Over Half Of Parents Say Drugs, Alcohol Or S*x Is Easier To Talk About Than Finances
Think the financial talk with your kids is awkward? You’re far from alone. In a survey of about 2,000 U.S. parents and kids by Acorns, 57% of parents said talking about drugs, alcohol or s*x would be easier than talking about money.
Many parents wait for their kid to bring it up, then freeze when they do. How Money Actually Works gives you a place to start. It’s built around 50 big questions. Pick one, read it together, and let the conversation follow. No speech to prepare, no lecture to give.
“Makes the money talk easier”
I never really knew how to explain money without turning it into a lecture. This gives us somewhere to start, and I don’t feel like I need to know everything first.
66% Of Parents Wish They’d Had More Financial Education In School
Ask most adults what school taught them about interest, debt or investing, and many will say very little. In a T. Rowe Price survey of more than 2,000 parents of 8 to 14-year-olds, 66% of parents said they wished they had received more financial education in school.
Many of us worked it out the hard way, with real bills. Your kid doesn’t have to. How Money Actually Works explores saving and compound interest, banks and borrowing, investing and the stock market, and why prices change, all through 50 big questions.
“Where was this when I was younger?”
Honestly wish someone had explained this stuff to me growing up. Had to learn a lot the hard way. Nice to have something I can go through with my kids now.
38% Of Parents Find It Hard To Make Their Kids Understand The Value Of A Dollar
Telling kids to “save up” only goes so far. In the same T. Rowe Price survey, 38% of parents agreed that they have a hard time making their kids understand the value of a dollar, and 40% said they don’t always know the best way to talk to their kids about financial topics.
The book makes it concrete. Kids explore why prices change, what happens to money in a bank and what borrowing really means. Then you can tie each idea to what’s right in front of them: pocket money, shopping, or something they want to save for.
“More useful than saying ‘save your money’”
I’m always telling my kids to save, but realised I wasn’t explaining much else! This helps us talk about why they’re saving and what they want to spend on.
Kids Learn About Finances Best Through Good Questions, Not Lectures
Most kids switch off the moment a financial lesson sounds like a lecture. A good question is different. It makes them curious, and curious kids keep asking.
How Money Actually Works is built around 50 big questions and colourful illustrations. Open it anywhere, read one question together, then close it when you’re done. No chapters to finish, no homework, no pressure. Let your child’s curiosity decide what you read next.
“Doesn’t feel like extra homework”
The kids already have enough schoolwork. I like that we can just pick a question and talk about it. No pressure to finish a whole chapter.
This Book Can Give Your Kid A Head Start Before School Gets To It
Habits form early. A University of Cambridge study for the UK’s Money Advice Service found that most children’s money habits are formed by age 7. And in the U.S., only 30 states require a standalone personal finance course to graduate high school, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
That’s why starting at home matters. Read a few pages together after dinner, then connect the topic to pocket money or saving up for something they want. A little time now builds a head start that school may not give them. You might pick up a thing or two yourself.
“Turns out it’s for me too 😂”
Bought it for the kids, ended up reading it myself. A few things finally made sense to me too. We’re pretty much learning together at this point.
What Parents Are Saying
Give Your Kid The Financial Head Start School Skips
- 50 big questions about saving, banking, investing and prices
- Colourful pages that turn reading time into conversations
- A screen-free way to learn together
30-day money-back guarantee
Sources: Acorns, “Money Matters for Kids” survey; T. Rowe Price 12th annual Parents, Kids & Money Survey; University of Cambridge study for the UK Money Advice Service; Next Gen Personal Finance, State of Financial Education report (2026). Results vary by child.