Power-Up Your Money: Beat the Beginner Level of Investing for Teens

By Petra Lexley

Take control of your money—and your future—before anyone else does it for you.

If you're a teen who wants more than just minimum wage and a savings jar that never seems to grow, this book shows you exactly how to start building wealth now. Written in a clear, relatable voice, it breaks down the confusing world of investing into simple, actionable steps you can take today—even if you only have a few dollars to start.

You'll learn how to set real goals that actually mean something to you, how to create a budget that doesn't feel like punishment, and how to pick your first investments without falling for hype or scams. It also walks you through what accounts you'll need, how to handle risk without panicking, and why the habits you build as a teenager will put you years ahead of everyone else.

Whether you dream of affording college without crushing debt, owning your own place, traveling the world, or just having options nobody can take away from you, this book gives you the mindset and tools to get there.

Why wait until you're "older" when you can start making your money grow today? Your future starts now—and it starts with you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SD
• Release date: Jul 5, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231697427

Book preview

INTRODUCTION: WHY START NOW?

It surprises a lot of adults to learn that teenagers actually have the upper hand when it comes to investing. Most people think investing is a grown-up thing you do once you have a full-time job, bills to pay, and a serious reason to care about your money. That’s not true. In fact, waiting until you’re older can actually put you at a disadvantage, because time is the one thing you can never get back—and time just happens to be the most powerful part of investing. That’s where you come in. You have time on your side, and that makes you a lot more powerful than you might feel.

The thing about investing is, the earlier you start, the less you actually have to do to see big results. Not because you’re better or smarter than someone older, but because money grows exponentially over time when it’s invested properly. Even small amounts now can turn into serious money later, without you having to hustle harder or gamble on risky moves. You’re playing a long game, and you’re starting early. That’s an advantage most adults would kill to have.

You also don’t have decades of bad money habits to unlearn. That’s a huge deal. Adults often carry around all kinds of financial baggage—credit card debt, fear of the stock market, bad experiences with scams or bad investments. They have stories they tell themselves, like I’m just not good with money, or investing is too risky for me. You haven’t had time to develop those kinds of fears, and that makes you more open to learning. You can build good habits right now, habits that will feel completely normal to you by the time you’re in your twenties. By then, you’ll already be ahead of most people your age.

Another advantage you have is flexibility. You’re not locked into a mortgage, a car payment, kids to feed, or student loan payments yet. That means more of the money you earn can actually go toward investing, even if you don’t make a lot right now. A part-time job, some birthday money, or earnings from a summer gig might not feel like much, but you don’t have to spend it on things like rent or electricity. That’s money you can actually put to work for your future. Adults often feel like they have no extra cash for investing because so much of their paycheck is already spoken for. You’re in a completely different position, and that’s something you can take advantage of.

There’s also the fact that you’re growing up in a time where investing is easier than it has ever been. You don’t have to call a stockbroker or have thousands of dollars to open an account anymore. You can literally open an investing app on your phone, start with a few bucks, and watch your investments grow. Even just fifteen years ago, that wasn’t an option. Adults who didn’t grow up with this kind of access often feel intimidated or confused by it. You, on the other hand, are already comfortable with technology, and you can pick this stuff up way faster.

It’s not just about starting early—it’s about building confidence early. The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll feel comfortable talking about money, making decisions about where to put it, and asking the right questions when you don’t understand something. That kind of confidence is priceless, because it helps you avoid getting scammed, making panic decisions when markets drop, or putting your money into things you don’t really understand. If you can start learning and practicing now, you’ll be the kind of investor who doesn’t just survive tough times, but actually takes advantage of opportunities when other people are scared.

Here’s another way you’re ahead of the game: you don’t need to impress anyone yet. A lot of adults make bad money choices because they’re trying to look successful, even if they’re broke. They buy expensive cars or clothes they can’t afford, take on debt just to seem like they have it all together, and then find themselves stuck, unable to invest or save anything. You’re not under that kind of pressure yet, which means you can focus on what actually matters—building a solid financial foundation that gives you options later. You get to decide what success looks like for you, instead of letting someone else’s definition trap you.

It’s also worth pointing out that you have more time to recover from mistakes. Everybody messes up with money sometimes, even the pros. But when you’re young, a bad choice here or there isn’t going to wreck your future. You have decades to bounce back, learn from it, and keep going. Adults who are closer to retirement don’t have that luxury. A bad decision for them can mean working ten more years or having to completely change their plans. For you, it’s just another lesson you can use to get better.

Starting early also gives you space to take smart risks. Risk is part of investing—there’s no getting around that. But when you have decades ahead of you, you can afford to invest in things with higher potential returns, even if they’re a little more volatile. The stock market, for example, can go up and down in the short term, but it has always gone up over the long term. If you’re young, you can ride out those bumps and still come out way ahead. Older investors often have to play it safer, because they don’t have time to recover from a big downturn.

Finally, starting early changes the way you think about money for the rest of your life. Instead of seeing it as something that slips through your fingers every month, you’ll see it as a tool you can use to create freedom, opportunities, and choices. That’s a completely different mindset than most people have. And when you look at money that way, you’re a lot less likely to waste it on things that don’t actually make you happy.

How investing is different from just saving

A lot of people use the words saving and investing like they’re the same thing. They aren’t. Not even close. They’re more like cousins—related, but each with a totally different vibe. Understanding how they’re different is one of the first steps to actually getting good with money, because the way you use each one depends on what you want your money to do. And that’s the part most people skip over.

Saving is the safer, quieter cousin. It’s what you do when you just want your money to stay put and not lose value. You stick it in a savings account, and it sits there. Maybe it earns a tiny bit of interest—like, barely enough to notice—but it doesn’t really grow. It just waits for you to come get it when you need it. And that’s fine if we’re talking about short-term stuff. If you’re saving for a laptop, a car, or even a spring break trip, a savings account makes sense. You need that money soon, and you can’t afford to lose it.

But here’s the thing: saving by itself isn’t going to make you wealthy. Not even close. Because while your money is just sitting there in that account, prices for everything else are rising. Gas, food, rent, clothes—they all get more expensive over time. That’s called inflation, and it eats away at your savings bit by bit. You’re basically losing money without even realizing it. That’s where investing steps in.

Investing isn’t about letting your money sit. It’s about putting your money to work. You’re buying pieces of companies, or bonds, or funds, and letting them grow over time. The goal isn’t just to keep what you have—it’s to make more. A lot more. Sure, investing comes with risk. Unlike saving, where you know exactly how much you’ll have, investing can go up and down. That freaks some people out. But over the long term, investments almost always grow way faster than savings accounts do.

It helps to think of it like this: saving is about protecting what you already earned. Investing is about creating something bigger. If you only ever save, you’ll have to keep working harder and harder to earn enough. If you invest, your money starts working for you. And if you give it enough time, your money actually starts earning its own money. That’s how wealth is built.

Here’s where a lot of people get confused—they think because investing comes with risk, it’s basically gambling. It’s not. Gambling is throwing your money on something you can’t really control, hoping you get lucky. Investing is about making smart choices and letting time do most of the work. Sure, prices go up and down, and yes, you can lose money in the short term. But the longer you leave your money invested, the less that risk actually matters. People who keep their money invested for decades almost always come out way ahead of where they would’ve been if they just kept it in savings.

If you’re only thinking about the next few months or a year, saving is the way to go. You don’t want to risk losing money you’re going to need soon. But if you’re thinking about five, ten, or twenty years down the road, saving won’t cut it. Your money won’t grow fast enough to keep up with rising prices, and you’ll actually lose buying power over time. That’s why investing is the smarter choice for long-term goals.

One of the coolest parts about understanding this difference is that you can start having smarter conversations about money. You’ll hear adults say things like, I’m saving for retirement, but what they really mean is investing. Because no one can actually save enough to retire comfortably—just sticking money in a savings account would take forever and barely keep up with inflation. Retirement accounts are invested in stocks, bonds, and funds, and that’s why they grow big enough to support people later.

You might also hear people say they’re afraid to invest because they don’t want to lose what they’ve saved. And yeah, fear is normal when you’re talking about risk. But once you understand that investing and saving are meant for two totally different things, the fear starts to make less sense. You wouldn’t use a hammer to screw in a bolt, right? Saving and investing are just different tools for different jobs. If you try to save for something that’s decades away, you’ll fall behind. If you try to invest money you’ll need next month, you might lose it.

There’s also a mindset difference between savers and investors. Saving feels safe, and that can make it hard to step outside your comfort zone. You might see a few hundred dollars in your account and think, Cool, that’s enough for now. But investors see money differently. They don’t just see a few hundred bucks—they see the potential of what that money could become if they let it grow. That’s why investing feels a little bolder. You’re trusting your future self enough to let go of the idea that every dollar has to just sit there where you can see it.

The other thing people don’t talk about enough is that saving is actually risky too—just in a different way. If you only save, you’re almost guaranteeing that your money will lose value over time because of inflation. It feels safe now, but it’s dangerous later. Investing feels risky now, but it’s safer in the long run. That’s a mental shift worth making, because it helps you see the big picture instead of just what’s in front