New from KidCash · Ages 5–9
Cash's Money Rules
Six Little Adventures in Saving, Spending, and Giving
by Elon Zito
Big wishes. Little dollars. Six everyday adventures. When money choices get tricky, Maya, Leo and their dog Biscuit call on their superhero friend Cash to help them make a plan.
Get it on AmazonA picture book about money that kids ask for again
Maya wants a skateboard. Leo wants a dancing Robo-Llama. Biscuit mostly wants a snack. Every family knows these moments: a wish that costs more than the piggy bank holds, a toy that seemed essential five minutes ago, a sibling who spent everything on day one. Cash's Money Rules turns those moments into six short, funny stories with playful endings, from a kitchen-board “skateboard” to a very dramatic toy llama.
Each story teaches one money habit a five-year-old can actually use, and each one ends with a page for grown-ups and a short activity to try together. Practice with real coins, paper money or drawings; you need nothing else to join in. Read together, laugh together, and pick one small money habit to try this week.
The six money rules
Rule 1
Save half first
Maya wants a skateboard. Cash shows her how putting half of every dollar away first turns a far-off wish into a date on the calendar.
Savings goalsRule 2
Needs before wants
Lunch money or a shiny sticker pack? The kids sort what they need from what they want, and find there is often room for both, in the right order.
Teaching needs vs. wantsRule 3
Wait a day before a big buy
Leo is sure he needs a dancing Robo-Llama right now. Sleeping on it changes his mind in a very dramatic way.
Teaching patience with moneyRule 4
Saved money can grow
A simple, kid-sized picture of interest: money left alone can earn a little more, and that little more can earn too.
Explaining compound interestRule 5
Earn with an agreed extra job
Biscuit the dog mostly wants a snack, but the kids learn that extra money comes from extra work their grown-ups agreed to first.
Chores by ageRule 6
Spend, save and give
The last adventure brings it together: three jars, one for now, one for later and one for someone else.
The Spend, Save, Give split
Keep the rules going after the last page
The book works on its own. If your kid wants to keep playing after the story ends, Cash is waiting in two more places.
KidCash Universe is a free set of 16 money planets, each with a short lesson and a three-question checkpoint, and games on some. It needs no account. Visit KidCash Universe.
The KidCash app turns the book's rules into a routine: allowance split automatically into Spend, Save and Give jars, savings goals with a progress bar, interest on saved money and chores for extra earnings. It is a tracker for the money your family already uses, and it is free for one kid. See how the allowance tracker works.
Questions about the book
What age is Cash's Money Rules for?
It is written for ages 5 to 9. Younger kids enjoy it as a read-aloud, and early readers can take the short stories on themselves.
Do we need the KidCash app to use the book?
No. Every activity works with real coins, paper money or drawings. KidCash is there if you want the habits from the book to keep going at home, and it is free for one kid.
Who is Cash?
Cash is the KidCash superhero, the same caped character kids meet in KidCash Universe and in the app. In the book he helps Maya, Leo and their dog Biscuit make a plan when money choices get tricky.
What is on the grown-up pages?
Each adventure ends with a short page for parents that explains the money idea in plain words, plus one activity to try together that takes a few minutes.
Where can I buy it?
Cash's Money Rules is available on Amazon.