Grandma’s Guide to Money
A Beginner’s Guide to Budgeting, Saving, and Investing, Essential Life Skills for Tweens, Teens, and Young Adults to Learn Personal Finance and Build Wealth in the Real World
by Rosalie Gottfried (Author), Aysia Santos (Illustrator), Leif Rueck-Mueller (Illustrator), Douglas Kalagian (Editor)
At 91 years old, Rosalie Gottfried has survived the Great Depression, WWII rationing, and the invention of the credit card. Now, she is on a mission to prepare the next generation for an increasingly digital, invisible money world.
Grandma’s Guide to Money bridges nearly a century of lived history with practical, modern financial wisdom. Rosalie connects her personal historical memoirs—like buying blocks of ice for a wooden icebox or earning her very first paycheck—directly to the modern financial concepts young people must master to survive and thrive in the real world.
Beautifully illustrated by two talented student artists, this essential guide breaks down complex topics into clear, plain-English chapters that tweens, teens, and young adults can easily digest.
Inside this book, young readers will discover:
The History of Currency: How the world transitioned from the barter system to global paper money and digital transactions.
How Banking Actually Works: Demystifying deposits, loans, savings accounts, and financial institutions.
The Traps of Modern Technology: How to safely navigate credit cards, debit cards, identity security, and automatic payments without falling into debt.
Timeless Rules for Wealth: Simple, accessible introductions to budgeting, investing, and understanding real estate early in life.
Whether you are a parent looking to equip your teenager with vital life skills, or a young adult ready to take control of your own financial future, Grandma’s Guide to Money is the perfect, heartwarming roadmap to financial independence.
Meet Rosalie (And the Book That Almost Never Was)
At 91 years old, Rosalie Gottfried has watched the financial landscape shift for decades. But the core principles of building wealth, protecting your independence, and making smart choices haven't changed.
When she set out to write this guide, she didn’t want to create another dry, boring textbook. She wanted to talk to teens and young adults like a trusted mentor—sharing real, unvarnished wisdom in plain English.
But Grandma’s Guide to Money almost never made it to the world.
While recording her cinematic legacy interview with Family Legacy Films, Rosalie shared a heartbreaking secret: she had spent countless hours writing a personal finance book to teach youth about money, but a family member had discouraged her, telling her she was "wasting her time." Deeply discouraged, Rosalie stopped writing.
When Douglas heard this during her filming session, he immediately asked to see the manuscript. But it was nowhere to be found. Believing her work was worthless, the file had been deleted, sitting forgotten in her computer's trash bin.
Our team went to work. We refused to let nearly a century of wisdom be lost. We successfully recovered the file, bringing it back from extinction.
Now, with the help of local student artists who brought her chapters to life with custom illustrations, Rosalie's dream has finally become a reality.
Help Rosalie fulfill her dream to become a successful author. Pick up your copy today.
A Generational Bridge: The Community Collaboration
Grandma’s Guide to Money is more than just a book. It’s a dynamic collaboration between generations. Once Rosalie’s manuscript was rescued and restored, we wanted to ensure her timeless financial principles felt vibrant, modern, and deeply engaging for young readers.
To bring her words to life, we partnered with talented local student artists.
We handed Rosalie's chapters directly to these young creators and gave them creative freedom to visually interpret her economic wisdom. Through their unique perspectives and hand-drawn illustrations, complex financial concepts—like compounding interest, budgeting, and avoiding debt traps—were transformed into beautiful, relatable visual roadmaps, making this guide as inspiring to look at as it is to read.
By supporting this book, you aren't just investing in the youth who read it. You are celebrating the incredible young artists who helped build it.
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