Good finance books for 16 year old?

[disneyofcourse]

What books would you recommend for a 16 year old? They must be very simple and easy to understand. She tends to make money and spend it all the very next day. She's young and should be having fun with what she earns(I did spent a lot of my money at that age...Just not ALL of it). From what her mom said she'll bring in about $130/week and have it all spent on Saturday. I'm hoping that a good book will help her get interested in investing or saving.



I did find one book called "Please send money" that sounded good.

 

[Jeff_G]

I suggest the Total Money Make Over by Dave Ramsey, its a very easy read with lots of simple steps and real world examples.

 

[crisi]

The American Girl series has one for girls. It might read a little young - but its very easy to understand and read. My son has "The Complete Idiots Guide to Money for Teens" - it isn't bad, but harder. If you search up "money and teens" on Amazon you'll get a number of titles.

 

[Disneefun]

Dave Ramsey has Financial Peace Jr. which is an easier way to look at the stuff he teaches in the adult course. It might be a little young for her (some reviewers think it's not great for teens), but if she needs simple, I think this is definitely that.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Suze Orman has a book aimed at 20 & 30 year olds called The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. You can take a look at the Table of Contents through Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.

The book is geared towards people a little older than her, but it might be good to give her a glimpse into what she can do now to avoid some of the common pitfalls as she gets into the college years. Maybe it will get her in a more forward thinking mindset and cause her to save more.

Dave Ramsey is great, but he has zero tolerance for debt and credit card use of any kind. Suze Orman takes a more balanced approach.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

http://gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html

Gail has some great resources on her web site. How to build a budget along with a excel budget worksheet.

May not really fit the bill for a teen but maybe worth checking out.

 

[HamTown]

Try this site:

http://www.msgen.com/assembled/home.html

My kids have the bank and I like the age appropriate information that came with them. They now have info for teens.

 

[dex08]

Suze Orman has a book aimed at 20 & 30 year olds called The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. You can take a look at the Table of Contents through Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.

The book is geared towards people a little older than her, but it might be good to give her a glimpse into what she can do now to avoid some of the common pitfalls as she gets into the college years. Maybe it will get her in a more forward thinking mindset and cause her to save more.

Dave Ramsey is great, but he has zero tolerance for debt and credit card use of any kind. Suze Orman takes a more balanced approach.

This Suze Orman book was the book I was going to recommend. Your daughter may be a bit young for it but it's a great book.

Also, when she gets a bit older (early college years), I'd recommend David Bach's Smart Women Finish Rich.

 

[disneyandme]

I wonder why her parents haven't stepped in and set family expectations for saving and spending. I learned early on from my parents that half of everything you earned went into savings and the other half could be spent however you wanted. Savings could be used for big items such as college, cars, etc and other larger purchases-- such as toys, etc had to saved up for out of your "fun" money. I do the same with my kids no (7 + 11) when they get birthday money and such and they still have plenty of chances to spend. It may be the parents who need the book more that the child.

 

[annsteere]

"Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez (?).

I'm very frugal and I offered each of our teens $100 to read and report on this book when they were 15.

Explains the reality that you trade your time and energy for money.If you value your life, you should make the wisest choices about how to invest your money.

Teaches about gaining financial independence-- a point where you don't have to trade your life's time to earn money.

Wise ideas like the fulfillment curve and peak fulfillment. (An ice cream cone tastes great on a hot afternoon. But, eating a third cone will not offer you the same delight. Spending beyond the peak is foolish. So while a new pair of running shoes is great, 30 pairs of shoes is probably a waste of your energy with small return on your investment.)

Ideas about how to live well on less, monitor impulse spending, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Great for grown ups too.

Helps you think about what YOU want, not just what somebody wants to sell you.

Taught us to determine our real hourly wage: what comes in after all the expenses of earning the money, such as the clothes you need for the job, have been included and divided by all the time needed to earn it has been counted (hours spent commuting, recovering from work, etc). Then think of a purchase in terms of this actual hourly wage and decide if it is worth it to you.

 

[daisyduck123]

What books would you recommend for a 16 year old? They must be very simple and easy to understand. She tends to make money and spend it all the very next day. She's young and should be having fun with what she earns(I did spent a lot of my money at that age...Just not ALL of it). From what her mom said she'll bring in about $130/week and have it all spent on Saturday. I'm hoping that a good book will help her get interested in investing or saving.



I did find one book called "Please send money" that sounded good.

I don't really consider a 16yo "young". My DD16 is already a high-school graduate & is off to college out of state this fall. She will have a weekly allowance & will have to manage that, or dip into her savings.

I think perhaps you or her mom should insist that she "save" some of that money for spending in college. It sounds like she has a job for now, but may not once she gets to college.

 

[DisneyBill]

How about George Clayson's the richest man in babylon.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I wonder why her parents haven't stepped in and set family expectations for saving and spending. I learned early on from my parents that half of everything you earned went into savings and the other half could be spent however you wanted.

This reminds me of the Friends episode where Monica loses her job, and her dad isn't worried because "where does 10% of every check go? - In the bank!"

I wasn't allowed to spend frivilously either - and nor should I have been. A teen may earn their money, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be demands on it. While I can't offer any suggestions other than what's listed here, I can urge you to speak with the parents about the child's money behavior - better to learn young when nothing's on the line than to learn later when things like credit scores might be messed up!

 

[disneyofcourse]

It's just a B-day gift for a 15 year old turning 16 who likes to read. I'm not about to start an argument with her parents on why she spends all her money or talk to them about their own spending habits. It's none of my business. Great suggestions for books though!

 

[angierae]

I wonder why her parents haven't stepped in and set family expectations for saving and spending. I learned early on from my parents that half of everything you earned went into savings and the other half could be spent however you wanted.

I know the OP isn't the mother of the 16 year old, but I do think that a book like that is a good idea, since the 16 year old's parents clearly aren't teaching her these things.

My DD16 will be making $175 a week this summer. 20% automatically goes into her long term savings, another 20% goes into short term savings for the fall in case she isn't working much (between school and marching band she probably won't be) and 10% is going into our Disney Fund so she can contribute to next year's trip.

That still leaves her nearly $90 a week to spend, which, quite honestly, is a lot more money than *I* have for fun stuff when all is said and done.

 

[NinaBella]

How about George Clayson's the richest man in babylon.

One of my customers mentioned this book a few weeks ago. I just bought it about three hours ago and am reading it little my little. I am about half way through it and have put it down and picked it up several times. It is an easy read and although it is mostly common sense information for adults, I think it would be good for a teen or young adult. We were walking about my son when he recommended the book for my son. I will be finished reading by tomorrow and will give it to my son afterwards.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't really consider a 16yo "young". My DD16 is already a high-school graduate & is off to college out of state this fall. She will have a weekly allowance & will have to manage that, or dip into her savings.

I think perhaps you or her mom should insist that she "save" some of that money for spending in college. It sounds like she has a job for now, but may not once she gets to college.

I guess we are mean, we’ve never given our college students an allowance. They need to work before college and save, and maybe work while away at school. After the first year, they take out loans. Both ds19 and dd21 moved off campus junior to save money. Dad has 2 waitressing jobs (and $10,000 in her checking account), ds referees intramural games on campus (and probably has very little in his checking account, because he spends too much).

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

I have read many personal finance books and the one that has left the biggest impression on me was The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. I even gave a copy to my sister when she graduated high school.

 

[crisi]

I guess we are mean, we’ve never given our college students an allowance. They need to work before college and save, and maybe work while away at school. After the first year, they take out loans. Both ds19 and dd21 moved off campus junior to save money. Dad has 2 waitressing jobs (and $10,000 in her checking account), ds referees intramural games on campus (and probably has very little in his checking account, because he spends too much).

I'm pretty much the opposite. I'd rather not have my kids do anything while they go to school full time than go to school - plus their social/extracirrcular/ volunteer life. A full load of credits and the associated studying should be almost 50 hours of work each week - and then the social life on campus which creates networking and resume opportunities that you cannot get if you miss them in college. My son goes part time, and works - that suits his style well, but he is a different kid than a four year university and onto grad school who needs to make connections in college kid. My daughter wants the career where she builds a resume you don't get in college unless you volunteer and make the connections there - unpaid internships and volunteer work already litter her resume - and she is still a high school senior

I don't think its a matter of being mean, its a matter of what you can afford and how you prioritize which experiences in your kids' lives.

 

[Jimsig]

Check out http://www.bethkobliner.com/ she has been writing and appearing for years on TV. There is a kids section on her website.