This month’s top reads from Karen Richardson focuses on providing parents and teens with the tools to help create money smart kids!

As a mom of a busy family, September is a month full of new beginnings for me each year. Kids are heading back to school (or some form of learning again) and it feels like a type of New Year, one that comes with new grades in school and new schedules. 

You may have kids who are starting post-secondary education this month, or maybe you have teenagers who are transitioning from working all summer back into the high school grind. I was blessed to have all three of my teenagers working this past summer, which comes with the added blessing of helping them learn to manage their newfound wealth. 

Every July and August I receive lots of questions from clients about how they should help their own kids manage their money. I often find myself sharing the same resources with many of them, and hope they will give you a hand as well. 

The following list has resources for teenagers just starting to learn about finances, including Steps to Success Teen Guide by Nancy Phillips, books for those kids who are ready to launch (whether you agree or not), including More Money for Beer and Textbooks by Justin Bouchard and Kyle Prevost, and I’ve even included a book about RESPs for you parents!  

Check out the full list below!

Teens and Money

Steps to Success Teen Guide

From Nancy Philips

A great guide to help your teenagers understand how to match their money to their goals. Using the GISS Method™ (Give, Invest, Save and Spend), categories will help your teens organize their money and provide a great balance between savings and spending.

Read the full article here.

Money Smart Kids

From Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Parents often don’t feel like they have the tools or resources to start teaching their kids about money management. This short read will help parents build confidence, giving them the ability to teach their kids about money using the skills they have.

Purchase the book here.

Million Dollar Teacher: The nine rules of wealth you should have learned at school

From Andrew Hallam

Andrew does a great job encouraging people to live frugally, save money, and invest in index funds. This book provides great inspiration for teens to make managing their finances a priority.

Purchase the book here.

Kids 18+ (launching phase)

More Money for Textbooks and Beer

From Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard

Great topics in this fun read include: 

• How much post-secondary education will cost
• Applying for student loans and how to repay them
• How to party without emptying your bank account
• Getting great part-time and summer jobs
• Preparing student tax returns
• What a student budget should look like
• Saving money on textbooks 
• Responsibly using credit cards 
• Transportation and travel as a student

Purchase the book here.

The Value of Simple: A practical guide to taking the complexity out of investing is a plain-language how-to guide to investing for Canadians

From John A Robertson

Investing is a difficult topic for most adults, nevermind our kids. John provides a great guide to help your adult children dip their toe into the investing world with simple explanations so they can feel good about getting their savings working for them. These are important learning blocks to the next stage of their financial futures. 

Bonus: The author of this book created a companion course, which you can find at Practical Index Investing for Canadians.

Purchase the book here.

The Wealthy Barber Returns

From David Chilton

David Chilton is just so easy to read. He is a great teacher and my teens thought this book was really funny. If you feel like your kids don’t listen to you, David Chilton is like the favourite uncle they will listen to.

Purchase the book here.

Parents

Winning the Education Savings Game

From Tim Cestnick

This great read covers how to create an education plan that suits your family. Tim has created education plans using RESP’s, family trusts, family businesses and more. A great resource for anyone doing education planning.

Purchase the book here.

Want even more great reads? Browse through past lists here.