The shelf — books, games and free programs
Books by age, board games that teach something real, and the free Canadian programs worth knowing about.
How this shelf was picked
- Everything here was checked available before it was listed. Anything unconfirmed is marked.
- A game has no nationality; an account does. Mechanics travel — earning, trade-offs, bad luck, compounding. Anything teaching a foreign account type is cut.
How we are paid. We are in the Amazon Associates programme: book and game links below are affiliate links, and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Every title was chosen on merit before any link existed. No prices here — check Amazon. Full terms: affiliate disclosure.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any author, publisher or game maker named here. Associates is a link arrangement with Amazon, not with the people who made these.
Books
Saplings 8–12
Canadian author and publisher, ages 9–13. Comics and odd true stories, not a textbook. The one to buy if you buy one- A Canadian CPA, saving through to investing basics. By the person behind the largest Canadian account in this space
Growers 13–15
- Short and blunt, written for teenagers rather than at them. A fifteen-year-old will finish it
Makers 16–18
A story rather than a lecture, and why a generation of Canadians pay themselves first. Specifics date it
The clearest short case for low-cost index investing. Pairs with Makers Level 6
Funny, and covers what an eighteen-year-old actually runs into: debt, housing, small recurring costs
Still being verified: Money Ninja, Growing Money, How to Money (Jean Chatzky) — Canadian availability and edition unconfirmed, so deliberately not recommended above.
Games and activities worth buying
Free Canadian programs
Free, and built for Canadian rules.
Talk With Our Kids About Money (opens in a new tab)
CFEE, supported by Scotiabank. Free, English and French, searchable by your child's age — activities, conversation starters and lesson plans by province. The one to use beside this pageScreenshot of Talk With Our Kids About Money
Bank of Canada Museum (opens in a new tab) · educational resources (opens in a new tab)
Free, bilingual, curriculum-aligned. You Are the Economy is six lesson plans for grades 7–12Screenshot of Bank of Canada Museum
CRA and ESDC — the RESP pages themselves
The primary source for every grant figure — our RESP page cites themYour public library
Most carry every book here, and many run free financial-literacy sessions
Worldwide resources, and the one test they have to pass
Free, reputable, still true for a Canadian family? Use a foreign resource for the how, never the what.
US CFPB youth materials (opens in a new tab) — free, by age, with parent conversation guides. Skip every page on US account types: 529s and Roth IRAs have no Canadian equivalent — ours are on the RESP page.Screenshot of US CFPB youth financial education- Podcasts work in the car. Greenlight's Million Bazillion, roughly ages 8–12; US-made, so the occasional detail does not apply.
What we deliberately left off
- Apps that gamify investing for teenagers — they teach checking a price; Makers Level 6 teaches the opposite.
- Anything with a subscription in front of the educational part.
- Chore apps paying in points for one store — the point of earning money is that it is money.
Educational information only, not financial advice. Nothing here is a paid placement. Availability changes without notice.
This page is financial education, not financial advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation of a product, a provider or an investment. Where a figure is a statutory amount it is stated as one. Rates, fees, sign-up bonuses and annually indexed income thresholds change, so they are either described without a number or labelled with the tax or benefit year they apply to. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the issuing body or the provider directly.