The Young Investor: Projects and Activities for Making Your Money Grow

A young person who saves $2,000 each year between the ages of 9 and 14, at an interest rate of 9 percent, will have one million dollars at age 65. And that is just by saving! This guide explains the language of business and the skill of investing, so that children can grow up business-literate and get an early start at making their money grow. The concepts of money and simple and compound interest show how saving works; then children learn where Wall Street is, what stocks and bonds do, and, with the help of an adult, the right way to buy or sell a stock, mutual fund, or savings bond. Dozens of activities teach how to balance a checkbook, read stock tables, and know what people are talking about when they mention inflation, recession, and the Federal Reserve Board.

Katherine R. Bateman was vice president and senior research analyst at John Nuveen & Co., a major investment firm in Chicago. She lives in Chicago.