By Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register
Growing up, twins Quentin and Quinlan Riser were convinced their mother, Tina Johnson, was a mathematician. Or maybe she had a secret trove of cash somewhere.
Johnson raised her two boys on her own, sometimes working multiple jobs at once. She single-handedly paid for soccer cleats or fees for any of the various sports clubs and programs her boys joined — and made it a point to be there for the games.
As it turns out, she was just really good at stretching her dollars, Quentin Riser said.
“She could have just said, ‘No, don’t. We’re not going to do this club, or we’re not going to do that sport,’ but she worked really hard to give us sort of the life we ended up having,” Quinlan Riser said.
Now 33, the Riser brothers said it was their mother who taught them the value of the dollar and impressed the importance of financial literacy and independence. Those views have influenced their careers and investments, and, most recently, they were motivated to write a new children’s book about money, which published in December.
The two grew up in Colorado Springs and eventually made their way to Iowa, where Quinlan attended the University of Iowa for his master’s in business administration, and Quentin attended Iowa State University for a master’s and PhD in human development and family studies. Quinlan now works as a financial advisor at First Community Trust in the Des Moines metro. Quentin, who also studied economics and accounting, now teaches research methods and a course called families and poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The brothers’ book, “Eden’s Money Magic: Learning About Finances,” named after Quentin Riser’s oldest daughter, follows Eden, a curious cat who lives in the town of Moneyville, learns about money and shares her knowledge with others. It introduces the concepts of debit and credit cards, credit scores, retirement, estate planning and ATMs.
The Risers see the book as a way to share what they’ve learned about finances and pay it forward to the next generation, especially to children from Black or Brown communities, which are often overlooked and vulnerable.
“This is a universal resource. We think everyone can benefit from it,” Quentin Riser said. “But make no mistake about it, when we wrote it … we wanted Brown kids, Black kids to be able to see themselves in this resource.”
Quinlan Riser said he also hopes the book breaks down barriers in a society where financial literacy education is scarce, and money conversations with kids are often taboo. The brothers describe the book as a “two-generational resource” that not only promotes parents and children reading together, but also educates children about financial literacy to grow into informed adults.
“And so what we want ultimately is for people to leverage this because even as a financial advisor, I can say money isn’t everything,” Quinlan Riser said. “And ultimately, the goal that we want people to achieve is what brings them joy and what makes them happy.”
The book can be found on Amazon or in major retail stores, including Barnes & Noble and Walmart. Teachers or administrators interested in inviting the brothers to discuss financial literacy with their students can reach out to the Risers directly at [email protected] and [email protected].
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