The Money Playbook: Master Real-World Money Skills Before You Graduate

Robin Jones is a financial literacy educator and author who has spent over a decade working with high school students, college undergraduates, and young professionals to build practical money management skills. Robin holds a degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a master's in education from Michigan State University, and has taught personal finance courses in public high schools across the Midwest.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Robin worked as a financial counselor at a community nonprofit in Detroit, where they helped first-generation college students navigate financial aid, manage student loans, and develop spending habits that would serve them beyond graduation. That experience shaped the approach taken in *The Money Playbook* — a focus on real-world scenarios, honest conversations about the challenges young people face, and actionable steps rather than abstract theory.

Robin has contributed financial education content to several youth-focused publications and has been a guest speaker at educator conferences on the topic of integrating personal finance into standard high school curricula. They live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they continue to volunteer with local programs that teach money skills to teenagers entering adulthood.

*The Money Playbook* grew out of years of listening to students ask the same questions — How do budgets actually work? When should I start investing? What if I already made a money mistake? — and wanting to provide a single, comprehensive resource that answered those questions with clarity and respect for the reader's intelligence. Robin believes that financial literacy is not a luxury but a fundamental skill, and that every young person deserves access to the knowledge that makes financial confidence possible.