As I watched my 18 month old son pick up a book called A is for Artichoke, and start going through the letters by memory (yes we read it A LOT), I wondered if a similar book existed for personal finance. As a high school personal finance teacher and a member of the ChooseFI Foundation team, I know the importance of learning how to manage money and needing to start at an early age.

A quick Google search did not yield any results like what I was looking for, and a search of Amazon only brought up books that were not age appropriate, or were out of print. I felt this was an area I could contribute to and really help the world.

Learning about personal finance is not about the vocabulary or being able to conduct financial calculations without fault. It’s about learning how the system works of course, but also about how to develop your relationship with money. This starts by bringing money into our day-to-day conversations. To do that we need to be introduced to some of the most basic words related to money and then how those words are represented in our lives.

M is for Money will introduce a new money related word for each letter of the alphabet, define it in an age appropriate way, and then place the words in a relevant context through a mini story and illustration. The reader will be able to grow with the book as they begin with letter recognition and a new word, all the way through to using the word in context correctly.

There is a guiding character, Stash the Squirrel, who encourages the reader to think and engage in conversation with the adult reading alongside them. The questions asked will stimulate thoughts about what the purpose of money is, how is can be used, how it can be earned and saved, and what kind of relationship we want to have with money as we grow.

The journey to bring this book to life has been incredibly fun and a wonderful learning experience as I stretch my own limits of comfort to learn something new. This is exactly what I want my son and all kids to be able to do. Extend themselves into new learning opportunities with an open mind and willingness to try, regardless of the discomfort. The best way to do that is to model it yourself first! I have been extremely fortunate to have found the services of MK Williams who has acted as my self-publishing guide through this process.

I have also decided that at least 10% of the profits will go towards supporting non-profit organizations with the mission of improving financial literacy in our world’s youth population. The first organization I am choosing to support is ChooseFI International Foundation and their mission to provide high quality, free, personal finance content to under-served communities across the world. I am a member of this organization and I believe 100% in it’s mission. The salaries of all workers are provided by ChooseFI Media Inc. and any support recieved in the form of donations will go towards community outreach and education initiatives.