The Student's Guide to Financial Literacy

Gr 9 Up—This title covers everything young adults just starting out in the world should be thinking about with respect to their future financial decisions. It begins with the fact that getting a college degree will mean more lifetime earnings, and from there springs into what exactly one should be doing with those earnings. Beginning with savings, then investments, Lawless breaks the material down into small, digestible sections. Some of the types of investments, such as financial derivatives and private equity funds, along with the section on "Principals [sic] of Investing," are sophisticated and more "College Finance 101" than high school level stuff. Lawless is balanced in his presentation, acknowledging that though he calls credit-card debt "Bad Debt," it also has its uses, and though not everyone will have the $250,000 minimum investment for a hedge fund, it's worth understanding how they work. The chapters on "Tax Considerations" and "Insurance" are must-reads. Excellent charts and graphs support the text, and "Guess What?" and "Beware!" boxes offer fascinating related facts and cautions against such things as risky mortgage loans. Though this volume is entitled "The Student's Guide," it is most helpful today just for understanding news headlines.—Meredith Toumayan, The Governor's Academy, Byfield, MA