We often think of traits like forgiveness, faith, empathy and trust as the virtues we must instill within our children from a young age, with the thinking that lessons in financial literacy can wait for later years. This traditional way of thinking has recently been challenged as studies now show that children who are not taught good money habits at a young age pay the consequences for a lifetime.
With parents across the country working to teach their kids critical lessons of finance and faith in this unprecedented time, I have a fantastic interview opportunity for you with financial expert Jim DeGaetano, President of Diamond Wealth Advisors and author of the highly anticipated children's book, Larry the Bunny Saves His Money (Available Now) who can offer tips on how parents can teach their children about money and how spiritual savings lessons that create opportunities for lending a helping hand to those in need.
Research shows that more than 90% of our habits are formed before the age of 7. DeGaetano, a father of two (ages 4 & 7), struggled to find any books that taught children under age 6 how to save, so he took it upon himself to write Larry the Bunny Saves His Money to give parents a resource to start talking about money with your kids in a fun, easy way.
“God’s gift of free will is an incredible blessing, but I believe it falls on all of us to educate the next generation on good habits that allow them to avoid financial pitfalls and lead a life full of opportunities that will help them care for others and share the lessons they’ve learned with the next generation,” Jim says.
I had a chance to see a copy of this book. It's a cute book, and the main lesson about money is presented in a way that repeats throughout the book to reinforce it. Plus, it's written in rhyme, which can make it easier to remember. It's a simple lesson and a cute story to help kids grasp it.
How did you come up with the name and story for "Larry The Bunny?" - I chose to use a bunny because my daughter loves them. They are cute and cuddly and kids normally like bunnies, so I thought it would be an easy entry for kids to see bunnies savings carrots and be interested. I do not know many Larry’s and the name fit well with a bunny so I went with it. The story honestly just came to me after church one morning and I just wrote them down. I’m involved with helping kids learn about money, so it wasn’t a stretch for me, but the idea of using Larry the bunny to get paid in carrots, save them first, and then spend those carrots to do normal activities of life to teach our kids literally just came to me in a flash and so I decided to create the book – first for my kids since I was in the process of looking for children’s books that teach them about money – but then realized after getting wonderful feedback from others that I should publish this for other parents to read to their kids.
About Jim DeGaetano
Jim DeGaetano is a best-selling author dedicated to teaching financial literacy to people of all ages. He published two books in 2020; The Fruitful Retirement, an interactive retirement guide and Amazon bestseller Larry The Bunny Saves His Money, a first of its kind children's book created to teach children at a young age the value of saving.
When he’s not writing, DeGaetano is the President and Founder of Diamond Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm that provides emotional and financial clarity for clients during their transition into and during retirement.
Jim is a Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the Financial Services Institute, and the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.
Jim graduated from Shippensburg University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Widener University with a Master of Business Administration degree. He holds Series 7, 63 with LPL Financial and 66 security licenses, plus state life and health insurance licenses.
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