Too often, the basics of personal finance are little more than an afterthought in our childrens’ classrooms. But these lessons are as practical and essential as any other subject taught in school. You can kickstart financial literacy at home with books designed for every age to teach your kids the ins and outs of money management. We chatted with NerdWallet financial expert, Shannon Terrell to share her top recommendations:
Money plan
Book Name: Money Plan
Author: Monica Eaton
Recommended Age Range: 3-5years old
Brief Description: This book follows a young girl, Mia, and her mother, as they go on their weekly grocery shopping trip. Readers learn how money is earned and why budgeting for the things we want and need is important. It’s colourful pictures will engage younger readers and best of all — it rhymes.
Book Name: The Missing Money (Money Monsters Book 1)
Author: Okeoma Moronu-Schreiner
Recommended Age Range: 5-7 years old
Brief Description: This charming picture book tells the tale of young Kai’s missing money — an ATM ate it! The book introduces the concept of the banking system, including bank accounts, earned interest and mobile banking, complete with brightly coloured illustrations and a magic ATM card.
Book Name: Finance 101 for Kids: Money Lessons Children Cannot Afford to Miss
Author: Walter Andal
Recommended Age Range: 8-12 years old
Brief Description: Finance 101 for Kids offers a comprehensive introduction to money. It covers how money began, how credit works, the purpose of the stock market — even foreign currencies. And if you make it through this volume and your kid is hankering for more, there’s also Finance 102 for Kids by the same author.
Book Name: How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest!
Author: James McKenna, Jeannine Glista, Matt Fontaine
Recommended Age Range: 10-14 years old
Brief Description: If you can’t seem to your kid interested in financial literacy, this book might do the trick. It offers an actionable path from $100 to $1 million by teaching kids how to make, save and grow their money. This book affirms that becoming a millionaire is tough work, but isn’t out of reach. Between its covers, kids will learn how to get their first job, start a business, save money, and invest like a pro.
Book Name: How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance
Author: Jean Chatzky, Kathryn Tuggle
Recommended Age Range: 12-18 years old
Brief Description: This book is designed to help adolescents and teens grow their financial literacy. It covers a bunch of money topics specific to young adults, like first paycheques, starter credit cards, student loans and investments for market newbies. It’s practical, it’s easy to digest, and it’s an excellent primer for young folks as they prepare to take full control over their financial future.
Financial literacy is an essential skill that helps children develop money management skills, promotes financial independence, and enables them to make informed financial decisions. It is important for children to learn about Financial concepts and principles at an early age to set them up for financial success as adults. The lack of financial education is…
A good lesson for children to learn early on is the power of saving. That $20 bill Grandma gave them can supplement their allowance, allowing for a bigger purchase in the future if they save it now. To help demonstrate the benefit of saving, brainstorm some ideas with your child about what they might want…
If you’re looking for a helpful app to get started check out Mydoh, powered by RBC. It is a helpful tool to educate and show your children the comings and goings of their money while learning how to make smart money choices. It’s a money management app and Smart Cash Card (which includes a digital…