The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money

I loved this book. It has helped to start conversations with my children about money and value. Instead of asking for treats, my kids have their own money and try to get good value for it - they realise the value of pooling their resources and buying in bulk. They understand the benefits of saving and consider the relative merits of things they choose to save for. They have engaged with society from different perspective as they consider ways to use their charitable giving pots, such as contributing to charities they see in the news or ordering a grocery delivery to an adult friend who couldn't get to the supermarket in lockdown. I am excited about the things that they have learned from reading this book and have hopes for their financial competence in adulthood.

Really excellent and thought provoking book about raising children who really can think about money. Lots of case studies, lots of good ideas, and suggestions of how to talk to your children about wants vs needs, spending vs saving, charitable giving and so on. Highly recommend.

American as Apple Pie and it shows. Downsize my house and give the surplus to the poor? I don't think so.

Very insightful and interesting! Full of good ideas. Do not buy if you you want entitled spoilt kids!

Great book

I read this book as my oldest child was approaching junior school age. We had not been in the habit of giving him pocket money up until that point but I wanted to think about how to approach this now that he was getting older.Lieber's book was incredibly helpful. I particularly valued thinking about how we encourage children to spend, give and save. Through reading the book, I knew that I needed to give my son the opportunity to spend at least some of the money as he saw fit - without me imposing rules. It also helped me to reflect on ways I could model generosity and give my children the opportunity to give some of their money to charitable causes etc.

Some good, applicable things, some only relevant to the American market. Good on introducing charitable giving.

This book came highly recommended to me as a first time parent. As an individual with strong ideals and morals, it recounts many other parents’ methods of instilling values in their children. It is not a “how to” book, but a book of ideas, take and try what you feel will work within your family situation and structure.

I had high hopes for this book, but was disappointed. The main content of this book are examples of how other people are educating their children about money. Basic ideas like giving them responsibility and talking about money are repeated many times, making the book very repetitive. There is very little actual critical analysis about children and money, even though the author refers to some published material like articles, the book reads much like a superficial newspaper column.

Children will learn about money. What they learn is up to us. They’ll either learn by intention or by default. Default feels unacceptable in our affluent society.Lieber is an accomplished financial writer with a passion for kids and money. The Opposite of Spoiled offers some great insight into America’s last taboo: money. In a culture that routinely exploits religion, race, sex, and violence, money may be the last frontier. Money is the one subject not discussed at our family dinner tables. Too many kids – from all rungs of the economic ladder - learn about values and money by default.Intentionality is the strength of this book. Lieber chronicles a variety of parents and how they’ve deliberately approached allowances, summer jobs, family trade-offs, gift-giving, consumer needs, wants, values, and charities. Not all solutions will fit all families, and that’s not the point anyway. The point is to be intentional about the money lessons in our own families. The point is to be intentional about the money lessons for our children.Lieber doesn’t lecture. Stories make this book powerful. He invites us to meet thoughtful parents with unique expertise and perspective on the child-money challenge. How would a renowned philanthropist revamp middle school gift-giving? How would a successful real estate agent illustrate the opportunities and limitations of a large monthly paycheck? How does a Utah farm family teach the value of hard work to their children?This isn’t a book laden with scholarly studies, although those works are present. Rather, it is a dynamic presentation of ideas and thinking about important life lessons for children. The Opposite of Spoiled is the opposite of default.

Okay book..better get it through a library

Good book. Easy enjoyable read, has some good points. Stressed the give part heavily. That's hard for a child to care about. We keep 2 jars, spend and save and at Christmas discuss giving to a good cause. I liked points of discussing the cause, and what the child feels is important. Is giving to the Art museum really helping people who need it, or giving to a homeless shelter or animal shelter? The depth of these questions was brought to my attention, neat how their daughter's private school has round table discussions about it. Has made me think about this in a different light when talking with my kids about what they think is important