of teaching kids about money. A certified financial planner, Henske built a successful wealth management firm in Manhattan after he recognized that no matter how smart and savvy his own children and their friends seemed to be, when it came to banking and money matters, they were seriously “unschooled.” In fact, as Henske relates from his experience as a parent and a high school soccer coach, he reached a point where he observed that most kids he came into contact with displayed a real deficit of knowledge about finances. “Recognizing that, it became my ‘crusade,’ to teach kids about money,” he says. Last year, Henske sold his business and began focusing full-time on how to teach kids about finances. He put together a plan and began speaking
to local groups about helping children learn the art of managing money. Then he wrote a step-by- step guide to teach parents and kids how to do it. The resulting book, “It Makes Total Cents,” focuses on 12 conversations that parents can have to help change their children’s financial future. “Parents avoid this conversation because it’s a little uncomfortable to talk about,” Henske says. “In years past, [family finances] was an off-limits subject in the household. For the most part, discussing money with their kids simply wasn’t done.”
Tom Henske, Certified financial planner, author of “It Makes Total Cents”
JERRI GRAHAM PHOTOGRAPHY
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