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The money book you read together · Ages 5 to 13

You don’t have to be good with moneyto teach your kid about it.

★★★★★ 4.6 from 142 parents

The money book you read with your kid, side by side. Ages 5 to 13 in one book. Nobody ever taught you. This teaches you both, on the same page.

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30-day money-back guaranteeFree shippingAges 5 to 13 in one book

One-time costNothing else required

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  • Every lesson comes with one minute for you: “Show me what you learned.”
  • 5-minute games with coins, cups and paper from your kitchen
  • No kit, no app, no subscription

What your kid learns: saving, earning, cards and phone money, banks and interest, investing, debt, and spotting crypto scams. See all 13 levels

“Can you teach me how to teach my kids?!”

A parent’s public comment, TikTok, 2025. Real words from a parent, not a review of this book.

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.

That’s not a flaw in you. It’s a gap in what got handed down.

Your family’s money recipe was never written down. Nobody was lazy about it and nobody was cruel. It just never made it onto a card. And a gap can stop with you.

Get the book — $44.95

30-day money-back guaranteeFree shippingAges 5 to 13 in one book

How it works

The Side-by-Side Method: you and your kid learn each idea at the same time.

Most money advice assumes a straight line: first you get good with money, then you teach it. Waiting until you’re “good with money” is why the conversation still hasn’t happened.

So we turned the line sideways. Parent and child go through the same idea at the same time. The book explains it to both of you at once: no money background needed, no preparing, no getting caught out.

And your only job takes one minute. At dinner, in the car, or at bedtime, you ask:

“Show me what you learned.”

Your kid explains it back to you. That minute is the whole lesson landing, and it’s how you know it’s working, without you ever having to be the expert.

  1. Read one lesson together

    The book supplies the words. You read; you learn it too.

  2. Your kid plays the 5-minute game

    Coins, cups and paper from your kitchen. Alone or with you.

  3. You ask one question

    “Show me what you learned.” Then listen for a minute.

What’s inside every lesson

Every lesson follows the same six steps. None of them need money, a store-bought kit, or an app.

  1. See it small

    A short story with Cheddar the parrot and a picture of one money idea before the word ever shows up. A nearly empty kite jar before the word “save.”

  2. Spot it

    One real-world money trap named per lesson, so your kid starts seeing the game before it’s played on them.

  3. PLAY IT

    A 5-minute game using coins, cups and paper from your kitchen. Nothing to buy and no allowance needed: you make a simple Money kit and paper “Family bucks” once, and every game uses them. A solo way to play and a play-together way.

  4. Money Puzzles

    Real puzzles with the answers printed upside down, so your kid checks themselves before you have to.

  5. Teach it back

    The step where your child explains the lesson to you. This is where it sticks, and where you hear it landed.

  6. Grown-up Corner

    Two plain sentences that explain the idea to you first, no background needed. Then the exact words to say, and one real question kids actually ask, with an answer you can use word for word. The Grown-up guide at the back even covers keeping your numbers private: “That number is grown-up business for now; here’s what it has to cover.”

The book open at a PLAY IT game: coins moved between two cups, with its Solo, Together and Win versions labelled. The book open at a Grown-up Corner page with all six parts labelled, beside the lesson's Teach it back page.

What $44.95 gets you

Format
Paperback. Illustrated, read together, with room inside to write and draw
Pages
72
Lessons
13 levels, every one with all six steps
PLAY IT games
14 five-minute games
Ages
5 to 13 in one book: Part One (5 to 8) and Part Two (9 to 13)
You’ll need
Coins, cups and paper from your kitchen. No kit to buy, no app, no subscription.

What your kid will learn

13 levels. One badge at a time.

Start with the one lesson you wish someone had taught you. Your kid earns a badge at the end of every level, and learns to spot one money trap by name.

Ages 5 to 8

Money Basics

  1. 1How to win with money: coins, counting and checking your changeCoin Spotter badge · Trap: the Slip-Away
  2. 2Where money comes from: earning their first coins, and why money runs outEarner badge · Trap: the Bottomless Wallet
  3. 3Need it or want it? choosing, and seeing through adsChooser badge · Trap: the Shiny Ad
  4. 4Save for your goal: saving for one thing they really wantSaver badge · Trap: the Sneaky Dip
  5. 5Every coin gets a job: a plan before they spend: spend, save and give jarsPlanner badge · Trap: the Checkout Grab
  6. 6Share and give: giving, and feeling what “enough” meansSharer badge · Trap: the Copycat Buy
Ages 9 to 13

Next Level

  1. 7Start something small: earning their own money, and what profit really isMaker badge · Trap: the Cost Ghost
  2. 8Cards, phones and apps: so they know a card isn’t free moneyCard Checker badge · Trap: the Tap-and-Forget
  3. 9Plan it, then buy it: a simple budget, and how sales play tricksSmart Shopper badge · Trap: the Crossed-Out Price
  4. 10Banks and interest: how interest pays you, and how fees nibble it backBanker badge · Trap: the Fee Nibble
  5. 11Money that grows: what a share is, how an index fund spreads money across many companies, and how compounding worksGrower badge · Trap: the Drop Scare
  6. 12Borrowing and debt: what borrowing really costsDebt Detective badge · Trap: the Tiny Payment
  7. 13Crypto, hype and scams: so the first “get rich fast” pitch they see, they can smell a mile awayTrap Spotter badge · Trap: the Hurry-Up Hook

One level at a time, in two short goes. Nobody does all 13 in a week.

Part One builds the basics: coins, choices and saving. Part Two goes further, into cards, investing and debt, when your kid is ready. Any level is a good place to start.

No jargon, no lectures, and you don’t need to be good with money to read it with them. The book teaches how money works. It never tells you what to buy, bank with or invest in.

What it’s worth

Here’s what this one book replaces.

We’re not going to pretend this book is magic. We’re going to show you what families pay for these pieces separately, and then what we charge for all of it in one place.

  • A money book for ages 5 to 8at any bookstore. Covers the shallow end, and stops there.$15 to $25
  • A money book for ages 9 to 13Different book, different author, hoping they connect.another $15 to $25
  • A kids’ money app or debit cardfor years. It moves your kid’s money. It doesn’t explain what money is.$5 to $10 every month
  • A financial literacy activity kit or gameplayed with twice, then the closet.$20 to $30
  • Someone to explain the ideas to YOU firstThis is the piece almost nothing offers, and it’s the piece you actually need.a course, a coach, or a lot of midnight YouTube

Total if bought separately$200 and up

and the subscription never stops.

This book$44.95. Once.Free shipping. Nothing else required.

The part nobody sells separately, the words to say, written for a parent who was never taught, is the part this book leads with. Every lesson. In two plain sentences.

Get the book — $44.95, free shipping

30-day money-back guaranteeOne-time costNothing else required

From parents like you

Parents who were never taught money are saying the same thing.

★★★★★ 4.6 from 142 parents

★★★★★

Our numbers stay private

I’d been dreading the “how much is on your card?” question ever since my son asked it at the grocery store and I just froze. The book gives you a line for it: “I’d rather not share that, and here’s why.” That alone was worth it.

Tasha B. Verified buyer
Parent of a 7-year-old

★★★★★

I finally had the words

I don’t know enough about money to teach my kids. I’ve said that out loud more than once. The Grown-up Corner gives me two sentences and the exact words to say, so I’m not making it up as I go.

Jessica M. Verified buyer
Parent of a 6-year-old

★★★★★

Five minutes, two cups, done

We did the first PLAY IT game at the kitchen table with coins and two cups. No printing, no shopping. Then I asked “Show me what you learned” and my son explained saving to me like he invented it.

Marcus T. Verified buyer
Parent of a 7-year-old

★★★★★

Not too late at 10

I was honestly worried we’d missed the window. We hadn’t. We read the Next Level part together and now she quizzes me at dinner. First money talk in our house that didn’t feel awkward.

Danielle R. Verified buyer
Parent of a 10-year-old

Two age bands, one book

A 5-year-old and a 12-year-old can use the same book. That’s the point.

Illustration: a parent beside a younger child who slides coins between two cups, while an older child across the table writes in the open book with a pencil.

Your younger kid starts in Part One with coins, choices and saving. Your older kid goes on to Part Two: cards, banks, investing and debt. See all 13 levels

Most money products split by age and sell you two of them. A family with two kids buys once.

And if you’re wondering whether you’ve missed the window with an older kid: you haven’t. Some of this is easier at 6. Some of it only clicks at 12. The right age to start is the age your child is right now.

Before you decide

The questions you’re already asking, answered before you have to.

I don’t know enough about money to teach it.

You don’t need to be an expert. The book teaches you as you read it aloud.

You’re the person who opens the book, not the source of all the answers. The book puts every idea into kid-sized words for you.

What if I teach it wrong?

Start small. There’s very little you can get wrong.

A mistake with a few dollars is part of the lesson, for your kid and for you. This isn’t a silly question; lots of parents ask it. The goal isn’t a perfect lesson. It’s one that sticks, in small, safe doses.

My kid is too young. / It’s too late, they’re already 9.

The right age is the age your child is right now.

A 5-year-old starts with the simplest ideas: money is earned, things cost money, waiting can get you something better. Older kids can try a lesson out in real life the same week.

Shouldn’t school be teaching this?

Agreed. It mostly doesn’t.

And when it does, it usually arrives in the teen years, long after habits start. A story at home fills the gap in a few minutes at bedtime.

We already use an app / a kids’ debit card.

Keep it. An app moves money; it doesn’t explain what money is.

The book gives the ideas, the app or the jars give the practice. No monthly fee, no family data shared.

What if money’s tight right now?

Then this is built for you.

Everything the lessons need is in this one book, plus coins, cups and paper from your kitchen. No kit required, no app to subscribe to, no allowance required. One-time cost, free shipping, and it’s yours forever.

I don’t have time to run a whole system.

You don’t have to. Your part is one minute.

No binders, no charts, no rules to keep up with. Your kid can play the five-minute game alone, and your part is one question: “Show me what you learned.” A missed day is normal. You just pick it back up.

Kids learn money by doing, not from a book.

You’re right that doing matters. The book gives the doing a reason.

Kids who only watch see the spending, not the plan behind it. Every lesson has a doing part too: PLAY IT, a 5-minute game with coins, cups and paper from your kitchen.

I don’t want to stress my kid out about money.

A calm story is the opposite of stress.

Kids notice money whether anyone explains it or not. When nobody does, they fill the gap on their own. The book gives you both calm, simple words, so money becomes a normal thing to talk about.

Money is private. It’s not my kid’s business.

You never have to share your numbers.

The book teaches ideas like earning, saving and choosing, not your salary. The Grown-up guide at the back even gives you the words: “That number is grown-up business for now; here’s what it has to cover.” Money can stay private and still be something you talk about.

Get the book — $44.95

30-day money-back guaranteeFree shippingAges 5 to 13 in one book

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE • MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE • 30 DAY

The guarantee

Try it with your kid. If it’s not working for your family, 30-day money back.

No hoops, no forms, no explaining yourself. Read it together, play one game, and see what happens at the dinner table. If it’s not working for your family, one email within 30 days gets your money back. That’s the whole process.

It covers how the book works for your family, never your kid’s results. There’s no test your child has to pass.

We can make this promise because the book asks nothing of you except one minute and five minutes. That’s the whole commitment.

Full terms: refund policy.

Price and shipping

$44.95. Free shipping. Ships in 5 business days.

  • Free US shipping
  • Tracking emailed to you
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • One-time cost

What happens after you order

  1. Right away: a confirmation email

    Your order and receipt, from a real inbox you can reply to.

  2. If you add the Digital + Audio Edition

    It lands in your inbox the second you check out.

  3. Within 5 business days: your book ships

    Tracking comes by email.

  4. That week: one five-minute game

    Then ask: “Show me what you learned.”

Get the book — $44.95, free shipping

30-day money-back guaranteeFree shippingAges 5 to 13 in one book

Secure checkout

VisaMastercardAmerican ExpressDiscoverApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

4.6

★★★★★

Based on 142 parent reviews

5★86%
4★4%
3★3%
2★2%
1★5%

Real dinner tables. Real “Show me what you learned” moments.

★★★★★

I had to learn it on my own

Nobody sat me down. I had to learn about it on my own, mostly by messing up. My son gets to learn it with me instead of alone, which is the whole reason I bought it.

Andre W. Verified buyer
Parent of an 8-year-old

★★★★★

We never talked about money growing up

Money was a taboo subject in my house. You just didn’t talk about it. This is the first thing that made it feel normal to bring up. We talk about it at dinner now, like it’s no big deal.

Megan C. Verified buyer
Parent of a 5- and a 9-year-old

★★★★★

I fixed it the hard way. He doesn’t have to.

Took me until my 30s to reverse the damage and figure it out on my own. Credit cards, the whole thing. My kid gets the easy version at 9, one game at a time. Wish this existed when I was little.

Carlos R. Verified buyer
Parent of a 9-year-old

★★★★★

Can you teach me how to teach my kids? Yes.

I literally commented “can you teach me how to teach my kids” on a money video last year. This is that. It teaches me first, then I read it with her. No homework for me.

Brittany H. Verified buyer
Parent of a 6-year-old

★★★★★

Page one is the first step

I never knew where to start or how to explain any of it. You don’t have to. You open to the first lesson and the words are already written. We started the night it came.

Sam O. Verified buyer
Parent of a 7-year-old

★★★★★

Not over her head at all

I worried it would go over my 5-year-old’s head. It doesn’t. The pictures come before the words, and she gets it before I finish reading the page. Part One is perfect for little kids.

Hannah L. Verified buyer
Parent of a 5-year-old

FAQ

No money background. No allowance. No subscription. One book.

What ages is this for?
Ages 5 to 13, in two parts. Part One for 5 to 8, Part Two for 9 to 13, in the same book.
Do I need to know about money to use it?
No. The Grown-up Corner explains every idea to you first, in two plain sentences, then gives you the words to say.
Do we need an allowance to do the lessons?
No. Every game uses free household items: coins, cups, paper. Pretend money works just as well as real money.
How long does a lesson take?
About five minutes for the game, one minute for you. Designed to survive a busy week.
Is this a subscription?
No. One book, one price, yours forever. An optional monthly Money Kit is offered after purchase for families who want new games every month. It is never required.
Is there anything else I have to buy?
No. The book is complete on its own. At checkout you’ll see two optional add-ons, a PLAY IT Companion Journal and a Digital + Audio Edition. Skip them and you still have everything the lessons need.
Will my kid have to hear about our family’s money?
Never. The book teaches ideas like earning, saving and choosing, not your numbers. The Grown-up guide at the back even gives you words for keeping things private: “That number is grown-up business for now; here’s what it has to cover.”
What if my kid doesn’t like it?
30-day money-back guarantee. Try it, and if it’s not working for your family, email us and we refund you.
When does it ship?
Within 5 business days, free shipping in the US, with tracking emailed to you.

More questions? See the full FAQ or email support@babycents.com. A real person reads every email.

One book. One price. Nothing else required.

$44.95. Free shipping. Ships in 5 business days.

The money lessons you wish someone had given you, written down for the first time: for your kid, and quietly for you too.

Get the book — $44.95, free shipping

30-day money-back guaranteeFree shippingAges 5 to 13 in one book

Secure checkout

VisaMastercardAmerican ExpressDiscoverApple PayGoogle PayPayPal