Not Buying It: Stop Overspending and Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids

Description

Parents will do just about anything to give their kids happy lives and successful futures. Unfortunately, the drive to give kids the best of everything leads to a financial strategy based in fear and competition, and results in millions of dollars worth of unnecessary purchases. Enough is enough.In Not Buying It, Brett Graff, the Home Economist," separates the truth about what parents need for their kids to succeed from the fiction perpetuated by ads, peer pressure, and internal fear. Graff shows how parents can save up to a million dollars by investing the money they would otherwise spend on overpriced and unnecessary purchases for their kids. Graff exposes the many ways that overspending can actually harm kids by encouraging narcissism and unhealthy habits. Her tips range from the everyday (understand when supposedly "organic" products aren't worth the extra dollars) to the long-term (consider investing in a smaller home for your family, which encourages intimacy and connection), making this a valuable manual for all stages of a parent's life.An essential book for new parents as well as parenting veterans, Not Buying It is the definitive guide for families who want to separate the truth about raising kids from the hype.

Brett Graff, the Home Economist," is a former U.S. government economist and correspondent for Reuters who writes on the psychology of consumer spending. Her writing is published in the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, Detroit News, and has been featured in Glamour, Good Housekeeping, American Baby, Redbook, Maxim, Ladies' Home Journal, First for Women, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Forbes.com, Learnvest.com, the Nest, the Knot, and the Bump.Her television segment, The Home Economist," ran for four seasons on Nightly Business Report, and Brett has made appearances on CNN, CNBC, Headline News, France 2, and each of the Miami ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliates. Brett is a wife, a mother of two young girls and a recovering PTO officer, where she learned in the trenches that traditional economists are wrong in assuming people are rational shoppers,particularly if those people happen to be parents.

"Drawing on cutting edge research, Brett Graff offers sensible and timely advice for parents wanting to raise financially savvy kids." --Michael Norton, co-author, Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending "In Not Buying It, Brett Graff has uncovered the proof that drowns out the noise, relieves the pressure and alleviates the fear driving parents to overspend at every turn. Finally, someone who shows us that home finance is easy." --Carol Brooks, Editor-in-Chief, First for Women "With a combination of her natural wit and the wisdom of having been there, done that, Brett Graff explains why parents should just say no to consumerism. In short, it will help you raise happier, healthier, more independent and responsible young adults, who won't be forced to support you when you're old." --Kathi Kristof, author of Investing 101 and CBS MoneyWatch Contributor "There is no ,em>Cliffs Notes to parenting, but Not Buying It: Stop Overspending and Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids is a must-read for anyone with young spawn for whom money is the other white meat." --Lesley Abravanel, Miami Herald gossip columnist and mother of twin toddlers. "For parents trying to achieve the American Dream by buying a home for your family, Not Buying It shows you how to protect your life-savings while making you laugh the whole time." --Judy Dutton, editor Realtor.com, formerly of Glamour and Redbook "Author Brett Graff shows 21st Century parents who want the best for our children why we need to rethink what that means. In Not Buying It, she prods parents to examine the overindulgence we have come to consider ordinary, and look at ways we can spend smarter to raise successful, happy children. In today's high pressure parenting climate, this book serves as a reality check to help us recognize when we are doing our children more harm than good, and remind us that being a great parent can be accomplished on any budget." --Cindy Krischer Goodman, columnist for The Miami Herald, co-author of RaisingTeensBlog.com. "If your goal is to raise happier, healthier, more successful children, read Not Buying It. The examples in this book will lead you to question modern day parenting as we know it and Brett Graff's wry sense of humor will make doing so an absolute delight. I only wish she'd written this book years ago!" --Tony Hernandez, CEO of The Man Guide