Money Matters for Teens

Currents in Theology and Mission, Oct, 2009 by Connie M. Kleingartner

Money Matters for Teens. By Larry Burkett with Marnie Wooding. Chicago: Moody Press, 2000. 158 pages. $9.99.

Larry Burkett is a Christian business and personal finance consultant. He is also the founder and president of Christian Financial Concepts, which later merged to become Crown Financial Ministries. He has authored over seventy books and was host of several radio programs, approaching matters of personal finance from a biblical point of view.

Burkett and his co-contributor Marnie Wooding base this stewardship work on the biblical premise that it is God who owns everything and asks us to be stewards (managers) whose actions reflect God. They remind readers that in stewardship, relationships are fundamental and must come first--relationship with God, others, ourselves, time, talents, and possessions. Fundamental to these relationships are honesty, integrity, and character (54).

From this foundation, Burkett covers a myriad of topics from savings to taxes, from debit cards to electronic banking, from mutual funds to the gold standards, from credit cards to loans. He also covers each topic with breadth. For example, in the section on loans, Burkett covers personal loans, mortgage loans, educational loans, collateral, co-signing loans, and payback schedules. The main categories of the book are Stewardship, Money, Attitude, Planning, Banking, Spending, and Career.

This is an excellent first resource on stewardship. It presents material clearly and concisely. It contains a number of great stewardship cartoons. The author also uses examples from movies and other aspects of current youth culture. As the back cover contends and the book explicates, "If you don't have plans for how to spend your money, plenty of others are willing to spend it for you. Advertisers. Friends. Credit card companies. Relatives. Fast food restaurants. Clothing stores. If you don't want others to keep spending all of your money for you, it's time to read this book." This book would be a great source of basic information for a high-school-age discussion and may be useful as well as a foundational resource for adults who may be too embarrassed to admit their lack of knowledge on the topics covered or parents seeking to aid their teenagers to reflect on money matters and respond to money questions.