What's the best way to teach teens about investing? Any good investment books to recommend to young people? Why do you need a rainy day fund? Get answers to these questions and more by visiting a popular personal finance forum. 

One great source of information that I have found over the years is the Bogleheads forum, inspired by the founder of Vanguard, Jack Bogle. Side note: I enjoyed a new book, The Bogle Effect,  about his life and impact on the investing world. What makes this forum good? Lots of informed investors and financial savvy folks willing to share their opinions. Here’s a nice mini-activity for a rainy day:

• Have students click a few links below that interests them.
• As they read through the various responses provided on the Bogleheads forum, pick the ideas/concepts that resonate the most with them.
• Highlight the responses that they agree the least with or that they feel represent bad advice.

Here are the links they can choose from (or they might just interest you too!):

• Approach with Teen Helping with Cost of Gas
• Teaching Investing to Teenagers
• Teen credit dropped, what to do?
• Teen Driver Addition to Insurance
• Investment Books for a Very Young Teen
• Buying a home vs. renting
• Why you need a rainy day fund

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Hear from one of the leaders of the Bogleheads gang, Rick Ferri, in this NGPF Podcast. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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