LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Did you know that 46% of Kentuckians don’t have money saved for emergencies? The same four national studies from 2008 to 2018, conducted by FINRA Investor Education Foundation, also found 16% of Kentuckians reported their household spent more than their income over the past year. 

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville author S.K. Patrick aims to teach kids about money with his first published book

  • Patrick combined his background in banking and journalism to write about a subject, financial literacy, he said is crucial for creating generational wealth

  • 46% of Kentuckians don’t have money saved for emergencies, according to four national studies from 2008 to 2018, conducted by FINRA Investor Education Foundation

  • Patrick aims to flip the script on financial literacy with the upcoming generation, in hopes their kids will be better off than them and so on

Experts recommend having three months’ worth of savings on hand, called a “rainy day fund,” in case of emergencies, such as illness or job loss. A Louisville author is looking to flip the script on those statistics for the upcoming generation of Kentuckians and beyond.

Louisville author S.K. Patrick used to be a banker, and that industry experience yielded a children’s book called “Chris’s Candy Store Adventure.”

“It’s about the basics of spending and counting money, just to help kids learn as they grow up about financial literacy and more so about money,” he explained. 

The book’s story is like how Patrick first learned about money.

“Chris came into the bank every week with this father. One day, Chris came into the bank and told his father that he wanted to buy candy,” Patrick read to dozens of elementary school students during an event for youth in Louisville’s West End last week.

The plot thickens when Chris’s father sees his son wanting to buy candy as a teachable moment.

“So then they go to the candy store, and he must figure out all of this candy that he picks up. What does it actually cost to buy it? Not his father buying it, but Chris actually has to buy it, and [that] starts getting your mind and concept on banking, money, financial literacy, spending, and counting money,” Patrick told Spectrum News 1.

Patrick said his parents always brought him to the bank with them when he was growing up.

Even though the 31-year-old was introduced to how money works as a kid, Patrick says he was in his early 20s when he learned about financial literacy because he previously worked at Stock Yards and Fifth Third Banks in Louisville, starting off as a teller and working his way up to personal banker.

“And in my mind I’m wondering why this knowledge that I know from the industry working in it is not actually passed out to the youth because I could’ve used a lot of it as I was growing up to learn about money.”

No longer in banking, Patrick now works in marketing and sports journalism but uses his practical education in financial literacy every day.

The book was written for children 4 to 8 years old.

“I think it was good because I really don’t know about cents,” 8-year-old Makari Howard told Spectrum News 1 after Patrick finished reading the book at the youth event. 

Patrick said learning financial literacy as a kid is critical to building generational wealth. 

“Everything that you want to do when you get older will be financial literacy, [such as] making sure that you are not in debt, and making sure you understand it, and how to get out of it to better position yourself,” Patrick explained.

The hope, Patrick added, is to better position this generation so their kids will be better off. Something, financially, that makes perfect sense.

To accompany the book, there is an activity book, play money, and stickers. Patrick said he is creating a puzzle and board game, too. 

If you’re interested in purchasing “Chris’s Candy Store Adventure” or have Patrick read his book at your event in Kentucky, which he does voluntarily, you can message him on Instagram or call him at (502) 216-8508. The book costs $12, and he ships worldwide.