little sister has no idea about money, book suggestion?

Question

the other day i was talking with my 17 year old little sister and she told me the first thing she is going to do is buy a new car when she gets out of high school and it occured to me that she has no idea how to manage money, i tried talking with her about buying a new car wasn't the best chose in her situation but of course she didn't listen. Its doesn't help that the people around me believe I'm very odd for "actually thinking" that i will not need to work by the time I'm 35. but to give you a little back story on her situation. Our parents are awesome but I found out later on that they are bad with money and we never talked about money growing up. i learned the hard way on how to manage money until finding the FI path on my own and I have been on the FI path for about 2 years now. I'm still amaze by how much about finances i did not know. Everytime i share these methods or ideas i get shut down. but still I've help encourage my sister to take college credit course in high school, as well of take advantage scholarships and oportunies through high school. so finishing her senior year she has many oportunies ahead of her. I've tried talking with her about the "taboo topic" of money but i don't seem to get anywhere. Part of me thinks i should back off, but i would hate for her to make the same mistake as many many people around us have done. anyways i know that she does like to read and i think it'd be a great way for her to get her thinking about finances. there are lots of great books about finances but i can't seem to find one that would appeal to her. the closest i found are books geared towards educated 20 years olds with jobs, careers already.

do you have any suggestion for a book i could get for her? or any others ideas on how i should approach the situation?

Anthony Rosa · Answer

At 17 I and a lot of others wanted a new car too. 17 is still young so its okay to live, be young and have fun.  Maybe you can show her that if she buys a new car she will have no money to insure it or put gas in it. Maybe a pre-owned car is better for her?  Sometimes the best way to learn is the hard way.

Jared Whitinger · Answer

@Ricky Vasquez

Robert Kiyosaki’s books Rich dad poor dad, cashflow quadrant, and Fake are all great. Youtube is awesome for free content as well.

Would recommend not forcing it or she might never look for help from you if needed. Like the saying goes “when the student is ready the teacher will appear.”

Good luck

Ivy Flowers · Answer

The iconic "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" that everyone refers, I read a book called "Millionaire by 30" by Alan Cory and it was an extremely easy book to read. I am not much of a reader and I really enjoyed it and it also made me a laugh a few times. I think the money podcast that bigger pockets do are pretty great. Also maybe just mention some tips on how she can think about money.. for example when I really want an item I think "I have to work this many hours at my job in order to pay for this item, is it still worth it?"

Nick Rutkowski · Answer

@Ricky Vasquez

Try a different approach. It sounds like you’re her second dad. No offense. How can managing money help her with that car? That’s what she wants... Next is probably a house.

Unfortunately we can’t help those who don’t want help. Sometimes we just have to let them struggle.

Don’t feel bad, I’ve spent my life uplifting family members with no luck either. I tried helping my older brother get off his behind and start a company... FLOP!

I tried getting my younger brother started to invest money in his dream of “owning hotels”...FLOP!

My parents barely wanted to loan me money for my dreams without a 2 hour lecture why my path was BS.

One thing that could help is this: actions speak louder than words. You go become a millionaire and your family will be coming to you.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Gail Vaz-Oxlade has a few good books about managing your money.  Some are aimed at a younger age group.

Sally Fairchild · Answer

@Ricky Vasquez. For myself, I need 3 things to manage money.

I need a dream

I need a plan

I need a routine.   So with your sister, I’d ask her, what is her dream?  Then I’d give her the book “A Simple Path to Wealth” by JL Collins, because he will show her a plan and a routine on how to fund her dream.   Also I’d give her the chart by David Bach that shows what compound interest can do.

Then all you can do is hope she reads the book and believes and takes action

Kyle J. Cooper · Answer

@Ricky Vasquez

I was in her same position just 5 years ago before taking responsibility for my own situation. I also come from a household similar to the one you mentioned. We always had food on the table, but the topic of money was a big 'no-no', later come to find out that we were just like so many other families out there just trying to 'Keep Up With The Joneses'.

As for your sister, she's young, and I would think could be more of a visual learner. I would try getting her to listen to some audiobooks to start out(Audible is a fantastic app), or even find some videos on YouTube for her to watch that teach her the basics of money, budgeting, paying down debt, saving money, and just getting on a plan! (Especially the difference between an Asset and a Liability)

I wasn't much of a reader for most of my younger years, come to think of it, I absolutely hated school and the required reading we had to do. But as Ive matured, I realize the power of being a life long learner. I think it was one of Dave Ramsey's books that helped me starting out(The Total Money Makeover), especially when it came to paying down debt. Though I disagree with some of his opinions on investing, I still think his criteria is a fantastic starting point for just about anyone! Get on a written budget, follow the baby steps, and have a plan! All of this isn't rocket science, it should be simple, so try and express that to her. I sometimes forget to take my own advice!

Best of luck!

Sairam Iyer · Answer

"I will teach you to be rich" by Ramit Sethi. Has the philosophy to focus on the 20% that gives 80% reward. Great first book for:

-money management i.e. automation to cash flow from checking, savings account. How much to save and invest.

-retirement investing

-overview of stock market investing

-planning for big ticket item purchases

Ricky Vasquez · Answer

thank you everyone for the advise, all great options for books! i have read most of these books myself. I realize there isn't much i can do for her, but at least i can gift her a book and hope she reads it.

Kyle Shankin · Answer

I love The Richest Man in Babylon for money-handling principles. It's a quick and easy read, of course that doesn't mean the message will be accepted by the reader. You can lead a horse to water and all that...

little sister has no idea about money, book suggestion?

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