TEEN GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY

The teen years are a good time to learn the basics of personal finance.

Experienced journalist Ferry offers clear advice to teens about handling their money as they approach adulthood. Addressing them directly, he explains why they need to be financially literate (and to read this book), the need for setting financial goals, and the importance of adopting a habit of following a budget that includes savings. In subsequent chapters he helps them look ahead: managing credit cards and other forms of debt, paying for college, living on their own, and investing in their future. He’s a proponent of setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) financial targets and offers relevant examples. The accessible text is frequently broken up with subheadings, definitions of unusual words, stock photographs featuring racially diverse teens, and text boxes with practical suggestions for understanding paychecks, protecting your identity, repaying credit card debt, getting a head start on saving for college in high school, using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, filing tax returns, and creating an emergency fund. He even includes advice for young investors, reminding them of the importance of starting early. Throughout, he quotes other sources to support his advice. There’s nothing particularly new in this title, but the information is solid, comprehensive, and well organized, making it useful as a foundation text.

A valuable primer for developing teens’ financial literacy.