The financial lesson Alexa von Tobel wishes she’d learned as a kid

Alexa von Tobel realized the importance of being financially savvy at a young age, but she still wishes she’d learned more about money as a kid.

In fact, the Harvard University-trained investor points to one financial lesson in particular she wishes she’d learned earlier: “Really understanding the compounding of investing,” she tells CNBC Make It.

“Rather than spending the $2 today, let me invest it and I’ll spend [more] in a few years,” says von Tobel, who is a founder and managing partner of venture fund Inspired Capital. 

Like most children in the U.S., von Tobel received “no formal education” on personal finance. It wasn’t until she was already an adult that she fully learned the skills she needed to be wise about saving and spending.

“Money becomes real when you’re making it yourself and spending it yourself… So, in your 20s, we all understand that you quickly are learning about money, whether you want to or not,” she says. 

Von Tobel’s own childhood experiences with money inspired her to found online financial advisory LearnVest in 2008, which she later sold for a reported $375 million to Northwestern Mutual. When she was 14, von Tobel’s father passed away and she watched her nurse practitioner mother assume control of the family’s finances. As an adult, recalling that experience convinced von Tobel that the average person could use more personal finance tools at their disposal.

That same belief played a big role in von Tobel’s latest project: writing a children’s book aimed at teaching young kids, especially girls, about personal finance and how to earn, save and spend money. She partnered with children’s media brand Rebel Girls to write the book, called “Growing Up Powerful: Money Matters,” which will be published on March 26.

The book features lessons for kids and teens on a range of personal finance topics, including setting savings goals and creating a budget, or even a business plan. It also includes a whole chapter on investing.

“Appreciating…