Kay Hawley Author

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Kay Hawley Author

Retired educator, author, angler, and lifelong learner. Creator of the Start Smart Series, practical financial literacy for young adults.

07/11/2026

Meet the Start Smart Crew

Over the next few weeks, I'd like to introduce you to the Start Smart Crew.

These ten young guides represent different ways of thinking I've learned from students, mentors, and life itself. Each one reminds us to pause, ask a better question, and think a little differently before making life's important decisions.

Today, I'd like you to meet Riley

🟡 Riley — Common Sense

"Does this really make sense? What simple system could make this easier on me?"

Life has a way of becoming more complicated than it needs to be.

Riley reminds us that the smartest solution is often the simplest one.

Before buying something...
Before signing up for another subscription...
Before filling your calendar with one more commitment...
Before making an important financial decision...

Pause and ask:

"Does this really make sense?"

Sometimes that one simple question can save hundreds of dollars...
..and just as importantly, it can save time, energy, and unnecessary stress.

06/16/2026

📘 Welcome! I'm Kay Hawley

After more than 35 years as a public school teacher, I wrote Start Smart Money Basics because it's the book I wish someone had handed me when I was eighteen.

Too many young adults enter the world without a clear understanding of money, not because they aren't capable, but because no one ever taught them. This book helps bridge that gap with real stories, practical ideas, and ten money principles that can serve them for a lifetime.

My goal is simple:
✅ Help young people start smart
✅ Avoid costly mistakes
✅ Build confidence with money
✅ Create a life they feel good about

This page is where I'll share ideas about financial literacy, education, life lessons, and updates on the growing Start Smart series.

Whether you're a young adult, parent, grandparent, teacher, or mentor, I'm glad you're here.

Thanks for following along.
— Kay Hawley

Author of:
Start Smart Money Basics
10 Money Principles Every Young Adult Should Know

06/06/2026

Over the past week, the messages about Start Smart Money Basics have come in faster than I can keep up with. Texts, emails, Facebook comments, photos of the book showing up in people’s hands, even a few handwritten notes. I have read every single one. Some made me laugh. A few brought tears to my eyes. All of them have meant more than you know. Thank you.

To everyone who bought a copy, shared a post, told a friend, or simply encouraged me along the way, I am deeply grateful.

One thing I’m learning quickly is that Amazon reviews really matter. If you’ve read even part of the book and would be willing to leave a few honest sentences, it helps more than most people realize.

Book link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H34QW5SN

Review link:
https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?asin=B0H34QW5SN

And the surprises just keep coming.

Yesterday I received an email from Amy at the Northfield Public Library in my hometown of Northfield, Minnesota. She asked for a digital copy to review and later wrote back to say the library had ordered a copy, and she had ordered two more for her own children.

That one hit me in a way I didn’t expect.

Northfield is where I grew up. It is where I went to high school. It is where so many people and experiences helped shape my life.

Northfield gave me more than a place to grow up. It is a community shaped by two excellent colleges and a deep tradition of music and the arts, and I was lucky to attend a high school that truly valued all of it.

I would not be a music educator today without a few remarkable teachers and mentors at Northfield High School and in the community. Russ Pesola, Yosh Murakami, Sue Krinke, Miles Johnson, and Jeanne Narum each saw something in me. They encouraged me down a path that became one of the great gifts of my life, a career that allowed me to make a difference in the lives of others.

If someone had told me back when I was walking the halls of Northfield High School that one day I would write a book about money for young adults and see it sitting on a shelf in the Northfield library, I would have laughed and said, “No way.” 🤣

Thank you again for all the encouragement, support, and kindness. I may not be able to respond to every message, but please know I am reading them all and appreciating every single one.

06/02/2026

It's here.

For many months, I've been quietly working on a book called Start Smart Money Basics: 10 Money Principles Every Young Adult Should Know. This week, it finally went live on Amazon. Woot! Woot!

Many of you have known me as a music educator, a fishing guide, or a pickleball friend. What some of you may not know is that alongside all of that, I spent decades teaching financial awareness workshops in the Hopkins and Twin Cities area. This book is the natural next chapter of that work.

It's written for young adults, roughly ages 16 to 23. It's the book I wish someone had handed me when I was twenty.

Before it went live, the book was piloted at Hopkins High School with 67 students in Dave Braaten's personal finance class. Their honesty pushed me in ways I didn't expect, and the book is better because of them.

One of the people who encouraged me to write it was Terri Osland, who attended one of my workshops as a 23-year-old first-year teacher back in 1991. That was 1991. She shared this:

"At 23, in my very first year of teaching, I attended a retirement planning workshop led by veteran educator Kay Hawley. While retirement felt a lifetime away, Kay's practical wisdom and no-nonsense approach sparked something in me. Her message wasn't just inspiring; it moved me to take immediate action toward my long-term financial goals.

Fast forward 32 years: I retired at 55, completely debt-free. Today I'm enjoying part-time work as the general manager of a pickleball club, pursuing a true passion of mine.

I am deeply grateful to Kay for her insight, integrity, and generosity in sharing her knowledge. Her guidance didn't just influence my finances; it shaped the course of my life."
— Terri Osland, Retired Hopkins Teacher

That note meant a great deal to me.

If you have grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or young adults in your life who are figuring out money for the first time, this book was written for them.

That's my friend Karin, who let me know her copy had arrived. 😊💕

Zero pressure to buy a copy. Mostly, I just wanted to share something meaningful from this season of my life with people I care about.
amazon.com/dp/B0H34QW5SN
xoxo, Kay

05/03/2026

I spent more than 35 years teaching instrumental music in the Hopkins School District, and I loved every minute of it. Teaching music gave me the chance to work with young people, families, fellow educators, and lifelong friends who shaped my life in ways I never expected.

During those years, I also started teaching Financial Awareness classes for educators and other adults. The conversations that came out of those classes stayed with me. So many intelligent, hardworking people admitted nobody had ever really taught them the basics of money when they were younger. Many were trying to recover from financial mistakes they did not see coming at age 18, 22, or 30.

Over time, people kept encouraging me to write things down. They would say, “Someone should teach this in a way people can actually understand.”

I finally realized I wished there had been a book like that for me when I was young.

That thought eventually became the Start Smart Series.
This page is where I’ll share pieces of that journey, along with ideas, stories, and practical financial lessons that can help young adults get a stronger start in life.

If you are a teacher, parent, grandparent, mentor, or someone who cares about young people, I’m glad you’re here.

Address

6816 Point Drive
Edina, MN
55435

Website

http://Kayhawley.com/

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