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Vendor
Fletcher Agency
Melissa Chinchillo
Original language
English

THE OPPOSITE OF SPOILED

Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous and Smart about Money

Ron Lieber’s THE OPPOSITE OF SPOILED is a taboo-shattering manifesto about tackling the thorny issues that will help our kids make better decisions, develop better habits, and give them the tools to grow into grounded young adults with financial habits that are mature beyond their years.
For Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist and father, good parenting means talking about money with our kids. Children are hyper-aware of money, and they have scores of questions about its nuances. But when parents shy away from the topic, they lose a tremendous opportunity—not just to model the basic financial behaviors that are increasingly important for young adults but also to imprint lessons about what the family truly values.

Written in a warm, accessible voice, grounded in real-world experience and stories from families with a range of incomes, The Opposite of Spoiled is both a practical guidebook and a values-based philosophy. The foundation of the book is a detailed blueprint for the best ways to handle the basics: the tooth fairy, allowance, chores, charity, saving, birthdays, holidays, cell phones, checking accounts, clothing, cars, part-time jobs, and college tuition. It identifies a set of traits and virtues that embody the opposite of spoiled, and shares how to embrace the topic of money to help parents raise kids who are more generous and less materialistic.

But The Opposite of Spoiled is also a promise to our kids that we will make them better with money than we are. It is for all of the parents who know that honest conversations about money with their curious children can help them become more patient and prudent, but who don’t know how and when to start.

Ron Lieber is the “Your Money” columnist and editor of the Bucks blog for The New York Times. He’s the author or co-author of three books, including The New York Times bestseller Taking Time Off.