I believe strongly that one of my roles as teacher is to provide students with the tools to find credible, reliable sources to answer financial questions that they may have. The financial landscape is constantly changing which only increases the importance of finding a group of experts that you can tap into when necessary.

One great source of information that I have found over the years is the Bogleheads forum, inspired by the founder of Vanguard, Jack Bogle. What makes it 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 link (or two) 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:

• Any need for high school student to build credit?
• Big Money Jobs: My high school student wants to be rich some day!
• College Advice to high school seniors
• Good book for high school senior
• College-bound teens and finances
• Best wireless providers for managing shared data plans
• Best way to start building wealth as a teenager
• Mutual fund advice for a new investor

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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