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Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT CONCEPT - IF THE CONTRACT HOLDS!
Review: Capitate in this book means a contractual arrangement whereby you pay to your child a specific sum of money each month to cover the cost of living that you would normally pay - clothes, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.In mutual agreement, I actually tried this idea with one of my daughters many years ago, long before this concept was ever printed in a book. The "contract" was for four weeks. By week four, there were no new chic, trendy clothes coming from her favourite shop. While "all the other kids" spent Saturday night at the movies, she pumped up the volume on her stereo, had a stimulating conversation with her dog and the four walls (words which I shall never repeat) and drowned her sorrow in a pint of ice cream! She washed her hair with bubble bath because she ran out of shampoo. The charge to use the washer and dryer was $2, which she no longer had, so she washed her jeans and t-shirt by hand, also in bubble bath...and chipped a nail! About this time, she discovered fruit loops no longer look cute 'cause they float and cease to be comfort food after the the third meal of the day. I would have traded her for Oscar the Grouch in a heartbeat. One month was all it took to learn the value of money. Today, twenty years later, we can still sit down with coffee in hand and share a laugh over all that bubble bath we went through. Tough love, maybe, but a valuable life lesson was learned. Today, she is a married lady with her own personal finances, zero debt and can manage money like a pro. While not all parents will agree with the approach in "Capitate Your Kids," it is an excellent book based on much the same principle I have just described. The book is a valuable tool in teaching children, especially teens, the value of a dollar and how to manage money - a realistic life lesson that, unfortunately, is not taught in schools.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like a lot of his ideas
Review: Chapter 1: What Ideas Are We Working With Here?
Chapter 2: What Is the Right Age to Start and How Much?
Chapter 3: How Do You Calculate the First Budget?
Chapter 4: The First Clothing Contract: Getting "The Card"
Chapter 5: My ATM Card is Broken
Chapter 6: Stepping Up to the Next Level: A Global Budget
Chapter 7: Going to the Prom for a Buck
Chapter 8: Lunch Money
Chapter 9: Will You Cut My Hair. Dad?
Chapter 10: The Real Cost of a Trip to Walgreens
Chapter 11: What Do I Need a Checkbook For?
Chapter 12: Is There Any Extra Work Around Here?
Chapter 13: Be Kind
Chapter 14: Charity, Savings, IRAs, and College
Chapter 15: Insurance: Medical, Auto, Home, Life
Chapter 16: You Gotta Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk
Chapter 17: What's the Least I Can Do to Get the Most Effect? One of the few things about the book I liked was the 4 sample contracts he has presented. The 4 contracts were basic clothing, budget, safe driving and car use. Some of his ideas I didn't agree with were
He mentioned giving a 9th grader an ATM card
He doesn't say much on how you can teach young children/schoolage kids on how to save money
He mentioned giving a 6yr. old a $6.00 a wk. allowance
He mentioned giving a 11th grader a credit card
Rating: 
Summary: Kids 'n Money
Review: Whitcomb's ideas are generally intelligent. He signs contracts with his kids to teach them the value of money and his concept is sound. Learning to be frugal (not wasteful) at an early age makes it much easier to become a successful handler of money in your adult years. My only beef is the author's frequent suggestion that charity comes first. It is much more reasonable to put away part of your earnings as savings first, then live within your means, and finally give to charity, if you are able.
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