Recommendations for Teaching Young Adults

[fields]

For Xmas I'd like to give my two kids, who are in their mid twenties, a book, audio, course, or similar that would teach them how to manage money.  What are your top suggestions?

[Sunflower]

http://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/08/how-i-failed-my-daughter-and-a-simple-path-to-wealth/

And

http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/

Rumor has it, he's working on combining these posts into a book as well.

[zataks]

Clearly the answer here is send them links to MMM, ERE, MadFIentist, /r/personalfinance, /r/financialindependence, /r/frugal, Bogleheads forums, etc.

Because buying them things to teach them about fiscal responsibility is telling them to act one way when you could be leading by example.

[Zikoris]

I think it depends how intelligent they are. I guess it would probably be hard to assess that as the parent though.

If they seem pretty clueless and make a lot of bad decisions in general, I think Dave Ramsey can be a good place to start. He seems to target people who are average to well-below-average intelligence, and does a really good job explaining concepts in ways they understand. That sort of thing can be a lifesaver for people who get scared/confused/scammed easily as well. He has audio books and courses too, which a lot of other gurus don't.

Academic types would probably get the most out of Early Retirement Extreme. That's a book I would have liked to read when I was younger. Everything you need to work the least amount of time possible.

[Goldielocks]

Clearly the answer here is send them links to MMM, ERE, MadFIentist, /r/personalfinance, /r/financialindependence, /r/frugal, Bogleheads forums, etc.

Because buying them things to teach them about fiscal responsibility is telling them to act one way when you could be leading by example.

Here is irony- I bought a finance book " rich by 30" for my DD at the thrift store. Two weeks ago.
It was bought new then gifted to someone with a nice 'good luck' inscription.  And never opened!  Donated in uncreased condition.

So the thrift advice was to buy something new, that is never used, clutters your house and is eventually donated.

Of course DD refused to read it, and so I did, and the advice is good but writing poorly done. Written by a 23 yr old.

Better would have been to take her to thrift store or grocery, give $20 and instruction to buy and make dinner with that.

And then, Get a small " real gift". Don't throw your money away.

[fields]

My kids are pretty intelligent (parental biases aside!)  Is Dave Ramsey's material very religious?  I'm not sure my kids could get through that. 

[MDM]

YNAB and/or Mint and/or Quicken accounts/software.

[Radagast]

Investor's Manifesto by Bill Bernstein.

[MoneyCat]

For my siblings' high school graduations, I gave them copies of "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke" by Suze Orman.  That was the book that started me on my journey.  Another good option would be the graphic novel "Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well for Less" by C. Spike Trotman and Diana Nock.

[Zikoris]

When I was in my late teens living alone, I also found some of Suze Orman's books to be really helpful at explaining concepts and laying things out step by step. Steps were things like "Switch to a free chequing account, here's a list of several options", very do-able and simple. The books I particularly liked were "Woman and Money" and "Young, Fabulous, and broke".

[APowers]

I think "Your Money or Your Life" is probably one of (if not THE) best book on personal money management I've read to date. "Millionaire Teacher" was good, too. I'm not sure what there is in Dave Ramsey's books that's more than what he says continually on his radio program.

I think sending a mere link to a bunch of sites might be too easily ignored; they might read a book, even if only out of guilt. I'd definitely jot all the suggested links on the inside cover or something, if you give them a book.

I don't know how well-to-do they are, but I have found most mainstream books/programs (including Dave Ramsey's) to be geared to people who already make boatloads of money and just don't know what to do with it (i.e., $40-50k/year or more), as opposed to someone whose current income is from an entry-level job (like me....).

[fields]

Thank you, great ideas!  Poorcraft sounds perfect for my son, and Suze Orman may be a good choice for my daughter, also Teacher Millionaire (she's a teacher!).  I like the idea of jotting down the links at the front of the book, too. 

[Greg]

Books might not be the ideal gift for mid-20's kids. Web links, etc. might be better received, only you (or better they) know.

[vhalros]

I'd suggest "If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly", by William Bernstein. It is more of a pamphlet than a book (its about 20 pages), but each chapter has a reading of one or two books to read. The electronic version is freely available here: http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm , or you can buy a hard copy on amazon if you want something that is nice to look at.

[GemJedi]

Set each up with a $5,000 investment account and let them direct it, but you do the trades. That way you can discuss the pros and cons of large cap, small cap, risk, return, brokerage fees, etc. Make a rule that they cannot take the money out.

[Nudelkopf]

Books might not be the ideal gift for mid-20's kids. Web links, etc. might be better received, only you (or better they) know.

I'm 23 y/o, and I love reading... But I'd rather read internet stuff about money than a [possibly outdated] book.

I like the idea that someone mentioned of actual hints - e.g. switch to an online savings account, for example these ones...