Now that P’s in high school, I’ve been giving more consideration to what life skills he needs to acquire before leaving the nest. Among the different ones I think he should have, you’ll find financial skills. Some things like balancing a checkbook might seem simple to an adult. But if you haven’t been taught how to even write out the check and enter it into the book, it might never get done. Plus, I want the boys to realize that money isn’t everything and that there are ways we should be handling it while living our Catholic faith.
Generation Next: A Catholic Guide to Financial Freedom for Young Adults by Phil Lenahan provides a great mixture of the practical skills alongside the faith based reasons for being prudent with our resources.
For this review, I was only privy to the student text. My curiosity is peeked as to what is included in the teacher materials so I know the full picture. However, what I’ve seen in the student guide thinking this would be a good resource even without the teacher materials. (But, my personality still wants to know what the activity for each chapter is!)
The author starts with the premise that success in life leads to success with money and is all rooted in our principles and values that affect our attitudes which in turn has an effect on our actions. Another premise found in the book is that we are all called to be stewards. Money in and of itself is not evil, but rather our love of it.
Throughout the different sessions, Mr. Lenahan includes Scripture and catechism references to show that handling resources (including financial) is a part of living our faith. Discussion topics in each session encourage the teens or young adults to think about different aspects of financial health and how they plan to manage things in their life. They also have the opportunity to learn about topics like budgets and balancing that checkbook.
Generation Next: A Catholic Guide to Financial Freedom for Young Adults workbook retails for $24.95.
Disclaimer ~ This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Generation Next – Workbook. This is also a great online Catholic store for all your religious shopping needs, such as gifts for Confirmation and gifts for a baby baptism.
