When you are a kid, it’s hard to grasp the concept of investing and saving money. It can seem overwhelming! People naturally draw into stories because they can see the emotional connection with them.
By seeing things through characters’ eyes, kids can gain an understanding of how decisions are made and the power behind them. This also allows them to learn from others’ experiences in a risk-free way, enabling them not to make the same mistakes or have the same regrets.
For this reason, it’s important to provide them with a variety of stories that illustrate different aspects of financial literacy and empowerment over money so they can find their own personal connection with investing or saving for later in life.
With these investment books that teach kids about investing, saving and mastering personal finance, they will learn how to live smart and save for their future.
The idea is that when young people read these books as children or teens, they will have better financial literacy skills as adults–which means more savings and better money management in the long run.
What are Investment Books for Kids, Teens and Young Adults?
An investment book is any book that teaches kids, teens, young adults and adults about investing. These books can be nonfiction or fiction novels.
Nonfiction investment books teach children how to understand the concepts of:
- saving money (and why it’s important)
- how to measure risk and reward in different types of investments
- as well as offer guidance on what type of investors they might grow up to be
Fiction novels are an entertaining way for children and teens to learn about investing, as they get caught up in the story line. These books can teach important lessons through the power of story, character development and story morals.
No matter what type of investment book you choose, it will teach your child, teen or young adult how important it is to manage money appropriately, understand risk, and why they should save money. They will all deliver a lesson in living a financially secure life.
Investment Books for Kids
Kid’s Investing Book #1: Investing for Kids: How to Save, Invest and Grow Money
- Author(s): Dylin Redling, Allison Tom
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 142 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
It’s never too early to learn the basics of investing for teens and minors.
Find out everything you need to know―from understanding where money comes from, how it behaves and what happens when you spend it―to safeguarding your savings, buying businesses, starting a business and making your own investment decisions.
With this book as her guide, an eight-year-old boy or girl has all he or she needs to live financially independent into adulthood.
Outgrow your piggy bank―an intro to investing for kids ages 8 to 12
Did you know that the sooner you understand money, the sooner you can make more of it? It’s true! Investing for Kids can help make you money savvy, showing you how to earn it, how to start a savings plan, and the best ways to invest and create a future with money in the bank.
Related: How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy Stocks?
2. Blue Chip Kids: What Every Child (and Parent) Should Know About Money, Investing, and the Stock Market
- Author(s): David Bianchi
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 256 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
Blue Chip Kids: What Every Child (and Parent) Should Know About Money, Investing, and the Stock Market is a fun and easy-to-understand introduction to the world of money and investing for kids, parents, or any beginning investors.
This book is the result of a father’s commitment to teach his 13-year-old son about financial literacy.
Written by David W. Bianchi—an investor and lawyer with an economics degree from Tufts University—This hands-on resource helps children understand and put into practice the principles of saving, investing, and spending wisely.
Filled with many helpful examples and illustrations, this book provides practical information for readers on how to manage money effectively.
For every parent who wants their children to develop the skills they need for investing wisely and becoming responsible money managers, compounding investors, and making money while they sleep.
Blue Chip Kids: What Every Child (and Parent) Should Know About Money, Investing, and the Stock Market is a fun and easy-to-understand introduction to the world of money and investing for kids and parents. Frustrated by the lack of entertaining financial teaching materials for his 13-year-old son, this book is the result of a father’s commitment to pass on one of life’s most important skills.
3. I’m A Shareholder Kit: The Basics About Stocks – For Kids/Teens
- Author(s): Rick Roman, Erin Roman, Kacie Roman, Jordan Roman
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 43 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
Ever wonder which companies are popular among teens?
Curious how companies make money?
Want to know how stocks perform in terms of investment returns?
I’m A Shareholder is the perfect investment book for kids who want to know more about the stock market! Teens will learn about tracking stock prices, how a company makes a profit, and why you should own shares of stock.
I’m A Shareholder Kit is for kids who want to be an active part of being a shareholder and help their favorite companies grow with them.
From understanding how to take care of your new stocks for kids, to how your dividend might get reinvested into other stocks, I’m A Shareholder will let kids experience the world they are going into – and also teach them the basics about investing for kids in general!
Why bother giving a kid a book they won't read? I'm A Shareholder is TOTALLY different!
Awarded NAPPA Honors in the Parent Resource category, it's colorful, it's fun, and it's the ONLY kids book that can be coupled with owning stock.
4. Go! Stock! Go!: A Stock Market Guide for Enterprising Children and their Curious Parents
- Author(s): Bennett Zimmerman
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 73 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
Discover a world of possibilities and learn to invest in stocks.
Go! Stock! Go! was created as the first truly easy-to-read book on stocks, finance, investing and more for kids.
Go! Stock! Go! is a market-savvy storybook that will quickly make you the coolest parent, teacher, or grandparent on the block. This informative explanation of investment principles and strategies is jam-packed with entertainment value.
It employs an entertaining “Dr. Seuss” style so it’s super simple–higher concepts are illustrated in vivid detail with helpful analogies that children will easily understand.
Plus there’s an advanced section “Let’s Talk Stock” for when you want to explore complex ideas. Whoever you’re trying to reach–from early teens to guys who’ve been at this investment game since the Crusades–this is the one ‘go-to’ investment book for all ages.
Go! Stock! Go! employs a cartoon-like "Dr. Seuss" style as it becomes the first truly user friendly book on stock and finance.
A storybook follows the Johnson family as they learn the fundamentals of stocks and bonds, the mechanics of investing, and important lessons on risk and reward.
5. Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for Kids
- Author(s): Gail Karlitz, Debbie Honig
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 144 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
There are many different ways to make money grow. That’s what this book is all about. You’ll learn about savings accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds as well as how to pick stocks right one for you.
The book talks about the different kinds of things you should think about when making money decisions.
Though, the book cautions you not to let anyone think for you and that you should do exactly what you want to do with your money. You and your parents should always use your own judgment.
Never before has there been a time when the economy has been so much a part of our daily lives. Today's young investors want to know the basics of finance, especially how to make money grow.
This complete guide explains in kid-friendly terms all about savings accounts, bonds, stocks, and even mutual funds!
6. Teaching Kids to Buy Stocks: Stories and Lessons for Grown-Ups
- Author(s): J J Wenrich
- Reading Age: 8 – 12
- Print Length: 188 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 4
You’ve probably heard your parents talk about stocks, but do you know how they work?
Where does the money go and what makes it worth more or less than other investments?
Do you think stocks are weird looking pictures that don’t look like anything at all? You’re not exactly wrong.
But stocks represent a piece of ownership in running a company! And they can also make lots of money for you if the stock is right! So why don’t we teach our kids about this very important investment opportunity too?
Some will tell you that stocks and the stock market are only for grown-ups because stock trading risks kids may face could be too much for them to understand.
Maybe so…but maybe by teaching kids to invest in stocks, we in turn provide them with an invaluable lesson: The power and importance of investing, which can be applied to any other investment opportunity they face in life.
It’s worth it for us all to understand these lessons.
This book is for those who know little about stocks. The author will teach you what you need to know. This book simplifies the stock market and stock research in a way that anyone can understand.
The essentials for monetizing a lemonade stand are the same as the business basics you learn from this book.
Regardless of where you are in your investing life, you will find this book both entertaining and educational.
It really does take a village!
If today's youth are tomorrow's future, we the village need to properly equip ourselves in order to equip our youth for success.
Related: Best Debit Cards for Kids
Investment Books for Teens
Teenager Investing Book #7: How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000: Earn! Save! Invest!
- Author(s): James McKenna, Jeannine Glista, Matt Fontaine
- Reading Age: 10 – 14
- Print Length: 144 pages
- Grade Level: 4 – 8
Earn money through your first job, or starting a business.
Save and invest so that you don’t fall into the trap of constantly spending more than you should. The best way to do this is by using the most powerful force in the financial universe: compound interest!
That’s right–all it takes is understanding and putting into practice a few simple strategies for making money now, saving it later, and investing wisely until the next thing you know—you’ve become a bona fide financial whiz on the road to $1 MILLION!
You learned how to turn money into more money!
Don’t spend all your earnings today; save up those pennies because they’ll lead there soon enough. Oh, also? It pays (literally) to be wise with where your hard-earned money goes.
Hey, kids, want to become a millionaire? Or get a business off the ground? Or save up some money to buy a new bike? All it takes is understanding and putting into practice a few simple strategies and concepts about money:
Make it: Learn the ins and outs of scoring a first job, or even better, starting a business.
Save it: That’s right, millionaires are people who have a million dollars, not people who spend a million dollars.
Grow it: Invest and use the most powerful force in the financial universe––compound interest.
8. The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of
- Author(s): David Gardner, Tom Gardner
- Reading Age: 13 – 17
- Print Length: 256 pages
- Grade Level: 10 – 12
Are you tired of hearing about triple and quadruple your money in a few weeks? The Motley Fool has made investing a snap through their investment newsletter, stock advisor website, books, podcast and television show.
They’ve now taken all that knowledge to help young investors with the perfect first steps into the grown-up world: lead from the front without being put off by Bernie Madoff or Enron.
The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens will teach you how to grow up financially healthy by following these easy eight steps:
- Set Goals (and Reach Them)
- Make and Save Money
- Be Smart About Your Money
- Avoid Financial Blunders
- Know What to Expect
- Your Net Friend: The Mutual Fund
- Actually Invest!
- Learn Together
From the personal-finance duo Fortune magazine called “funny, smart, cynical, [and] opinionated” comes savvy financial advice for today’s street-smart young investors.
The Motley Fool has made investing fun and easy for millions of people. Now, it custom designs its wit and wisdom for today’s money-savvy teens. The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens helps teens stand out from the ho-hum mutual-fund crowd, build a portfolio of stocks they can actually care about, and take advantage of the investor’s best friend—time—to watch their profits multiply.
9. The Modern Guide to Stock Market Investing for Teens: How to Ensure a Life of Financial Freedom Through the Power of Investing.
- Author(s): Alan John
- Reading Age: 7 – 15
- Print Length: 130 pages
- Grade Level: 3 – 10
Teenage investing, regardless of the age they are at when it starts, will have great long term rewards due to compounding interest.
This book, written by a fellow teen, covers everything a teen will need to know to understand and succeed in the stock market, but also on topics like teenage money management, earning money and saving it.
As well as discussing concrete, real-life examples, the book also explores the top strategies used by investors. The author wants the reader to achieve financial independence, no matter who you are, no matter your age and no matter the amount of money you have.
You can invest with little money and this book will help you do just that.
Investing is the best thing teenagers can do to build long-term wealth and become financially free because each dollar invested as a teen will become worth exponentially more. This book, written by a fellow teen, covers everything a teen will need to know to understand and have success in the stock market, as well as provides an introduction to related topics including personal budgeting, saving money, and making money.
Investment Books for Young Adults
10. Investing QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Successfully Navigating the Stock Market, Growing Your Wealth & Creating a Secure Financial Future (QuickStart Guides™ – Finance)
- Author(s): Ted D. Snow
- Reading Age: 18+
- Print Length: 203 pages
- Grade Level: 12+
Ted Snow is good at making things clear. He teaches people new things and makes them think about what they know. People who are new to investing or people who have been there before, they will like the quick start guide. It has unique insights.
In the 30+ years of Snow’s finance career, he has tried strategies for success, failure and everything in between. Snow has a practical investment philosophy and this book explains how to do it.
Most people who are millionaires simply put into practice a few simple strategies. One way to do this is by becoming more familiar with the insights of Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and others.
Unlike most investing books on the market, Investing Quick-Start Guide is as comprehensive as it is easy to read.
Investing QuickStart Guide is Perfect For:
- Companion to The Intelligent Investor!
- Stock Market Education for Teen & Kids!
- Beginners with Zero Prior Experience!
- Experienced Investors who Want to Go to the Next Level!
Discover the Secrets of Successfully Investing In:
- Stocks! (Including Dividend Paying Stocks!)
- Mutual Funds!
- ETFs!
- Bonds!
- Index Funds!
- REITs!
- Commodities!
- Do you want to invest in the stock market?
- Do you want to create passive income and retire early?
- Do you want to day trade stocks and avoid costly mistakes that beginners make?
Investment Books for Adults
11. The Most Important Thing Illuminated: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor
- Author(s): Howard Marks
- Reading Age: 18+
- Print Length: 248 pages
- Grade Level: 12+
Legendary investor Howard Marks is chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, which has $100 billion under management.
He invests with a value-based approach, meaning he looks for underpriced securities in the market and buys them with the hopes of returning to a fair market valuation.
This adds uplift to his expected returns because he sees these securities as trading at a discount.
For the world’s leading value investors, he is sought after and his client memos are full of insightful commentary and a time-tested fundamental philosophy.
This book compiles many of those client letters into one place and tells a useful set of stories and observations about the market, our behavior, and the overall investing landscape.
The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career.
Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world.
Mark echoes the sentiment of countless individuals in today’s turbulent financial marketplace.
His volume has much to offer, and his personal insight is invaluable.
Howard Marks's The Most Important Thing distilled the investing insight of his celebrated client memos into a single volume and, for the first time, made his time-tested philosophy available to general readers.
How Can My Child Start Saving Money?
After reading a pick from this investment books list, your kid likely wants to start engaging with money more often.
Many of these books talk about the importance of working to earn money and how it instills a sense of accomplishment when you work for it.
Therefore, you don’t want just to give it to them because you’re trying to teach my kids the value of a dollar.
Teaching our children financial responsibility is important and giving them an allowance isn’t enough. They need real world experience with how banks work so they can learn about saving their own money and budgeting responsibly.
Your child needs a child bank account with a debit card! With banking apps for kids and teens, you’ll be able to:
- monitor everything from online or on your phone
- set spending limits for each week based on age (and adjust as needed)
- pay directly out of your checking or savings account when needed without having to worry about cash or checks!
- help them manage their money with a debit card for teens
Plus many don’t have a minimum balance requirement. So, even if your kid spends every penny he gets in one week, he won’t get charged any fees next month when he has nothing left!
It’s easy to open an account and you can take advantage of the programs that offer incentives like:
- Monthly or weekly allowances
- Goal-setting for saving
- Managing money
How Can My Child Start Investing Money?
If you wonder whether teens under 18 can trade stocks, the answer is yes, you can invest as a minor … with an asterisk or two.
While you can start investing while you’re a teenager, it can only be done via certain types of investment accounts. Teenagers can actually trade stocks and other investments themselves via:
- a joint brokerage account (you co-own the account with your parent or guardian)
- a regular brokerage account that you have permission to use (your parent or guardian will own the account)
Then there are a couple other types of accounts where an adult invests on behalf of a teenager:
- a custodial account (your parent or guardian invests on your behalf)
- a custodial Roth IRA (your parent or guardian invests on your behalf; when you withdraw in retirement, those withdrawals are tax-free)
What Should I Look for in a Teen Investment Account?
There is no universal agreement over the “best” account for you, but there are a few things that can help with making decisions and understanding which will be best for your individual financial situation.
The best investing apps for beginners focus on simplicity, functionality and ability to grow with the investor. Investing apps can be a one-stop-shop for everything finance related.
These mobile applications provide services to help manage your financial life, including investment guidance for children.
Readers find that consolidating tasks by generating a grid or to-do list on paper, or using an app that stores all of your items in one place helps reduce the anxiety of straddling several platforms.
What is the Best Way to Invest $1,000 for a Child?
This article covers investing books for kids, teens and young adults. Many of the books talk about the importance of investing not only in individual stocks, but also index funds.
These investments are one of the best ways to invest $1,000 for a child. These instant diversification investment products offer low-costs and broad diversification.
Index funds avoid uncompensated risk, concentration risk and carry lower volatility than individual stocks.
Consider some of the apps above that offer index fund investing as the primary means for investing because these funds carry significant financial return potential over several years.
Further, look into opening banking apps for minors and choosing between the best debit cards for kids to further them along the learning curve of their personal finances.
