About the Author
Tim Ranzetta
Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.
NGPF Podcast: Micah Bender on how new NCAA regs increase need for financial education
Thanks to Barb O'Neill for connecting me with this week's NGPF podcast guest. Micah Bender wears a few hats including leading financial literacy efforts at the state level in New Jersey. His side hustle involves providing financial education to college student-athletes. This brings together two of Micah's passions derived from 14 years as a personal finance teacher and sports coach. That passion is evident in our conversation that follows. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~1:32 Introduction
1:32~2:46...
NGPF Podcast: Kelly Lannan of Fidelity on Gen Z Investing Trends
NGPF Podcast welcomes back Kelly Lannan from Fidelity to talk Gen Z and their increased interest and access to the world of investing (see Fidelity study here). The past year has seen increased stock market participation with the meme stock craze, new trading platforms with no fees and low minimums and the influence of social media (TikTok and WallStreetBets come to mind). Kelly shares what she is seeing in her role at Fidelity and how her company is embedding education into their apps...
NGPF Podcast: Author and Gen Zer Ella Gupta on money lessons for her generation
Continuing on the theme of incredible young people channeling their passion for personal finance, this week on the NGPF podcast you will hear from high schooler Ella Gupta. We discussed her book, Gen Z Money $ense, which is best described as "a framework for anyone looking to build wealth and make their dreams a reality through investing and taking charge of their financial future." Ella shares her motivation for writing the book and why she focused so much attention in the book on investing....
NGPF Podcast: Meet Rishi Vamdatt:, the 11-year-old founder of Easy Peasy Finance
WOW! Have you ever had a conversation with an 11-year-old about the wisdom of index funds, the power of compounding returns and the process of opening a brokerage account? Nope, neither had I until I had the opportunity to talk to Rishi Vamdatt earlier this week. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~1:04 Introduction
1:04~2:07 What is Easy Peasy Finance?
2:07~3:10 Interest in personal finance
3:10~5:07 Creating a YouTube channel and a website
5:07~6:31 The power of starting early
6:31~10:48...
How Teachers Used the NGPF Website in May of 2021
It's been almost three years since I last blogged about how teachers used the NGPF website in November of 2018. A lot has changed since then. We had just crossed the milestone of 10,000 teachers in August of that 2018. Here's an update based on website data from May 2021 as we approach 50,000 teachers with NGPF accounts! Thank you for sharing NGPF with your teacher colleagues. YOU are the number one source of new teacher accounts:)
More than 1600 unique webpages were visited by at least 10...
NGPF Podcast: Sitara Nieves and Jed Kim talk Season 2 of the Million Bazillion Podcast
With Season 2 of Million Bazillion podcast launching this Tuesday (June 22nd), I was excited to sit down with Sitara Nieves, Executive Director of On-Demand at Marketplace and Jed Kim, host of Million Bazillion. If you are new to Million Bazillion, it's a podcast about money for kids and their families that helps to make money more understandable. Geared for middle school-aged kids, Sitara, Jed and team use questions from kids to explain taxes, the stock market and pricing anomalies (the...
Three entrepreneurial lessons I learned from Rich Barton, the co-founder of Expedia and Zillow
I'm a huge fan of podcasts as a way to continue to educate myself about entrepreneurship. There's so much to learn from Rich Barton who built two of the biggest consumer internet brands of the past 20 years in the travel and real estate industries. Here's three things I learned in his recent podcast with Guy Raz on How I Built This:
Most entrepreneurial opportunities are built out of frustration. Rich didn't like having to go through a corporate travel agent while working at Microsoft and...
NGPF Podcast: Ted Daniels on Building Financial Capability at HBCUs
Today on the NGPF podcast listen to the inspiring work of Ted Daniels, founder of the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development. His commitment to serve others and build financial capability through innovative programming makes this a podcast you don't want to miss. Ted also shares his secret on how to bust the myths and misconceptions about investing which helps increase participation rates in the stock market. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~2:33 Introduction
2:33~3:29...
Question of the Day: What has happened to used car prices over the past year?
Answer: 21% increase
Questions:
Do you know anyone who has looked to buy a used car recently? What was their experience like?
Why do you think that used car prices have risen?
Is there a substitute available for consumers looking to buy cars?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Consumer Reports):
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, used-car prices have jumped 21 percent since April...
NGPF FinLit Bill Tracker as of June 7, 2021
The NGPF FinLit Bill Tracker is greener as two more states increased student access to financial education with Governor signatures sealing the deal since our last update. Those states are:
Nevada AB19: Among the core academic subjects that must be taught include "Social studies, which includes only the subjects of history, geography, economics , civics, financial literacy and multicultural education..."
Rhode Island HB5491 and SB349: Key point in legislation: "Beginning with the graduating...
Question of the Day: Over a recent 20 year period, what percent of pros investing in large companies "beat the market?"
Answer: 94% of investment pros underperformed (see below), so 6% outperformed.
Questions:
Why do you think investing professionals struggle to "beat the market?
Why do you think investors continue to invest their money with professionals despite their record of not being able to "beat the market?"
Your friend says "you are better off investing with professionals instead of buying a simple index fund (e.g., S&P 500) that matches the market return." Do you agree or disagree based on...
NGPF Podcast: A Conversation with Meghan Rabuse, The Family Finance Mom
I had a great conversation with Meghan Rabuse, who has taken her passion for finance and translated it into a popular blog and podcast, The Family Finance Mom. Her focus: "sharing my simple money tips with you to help your family make the most of its means, and reach your financial goals." Meghan's shares how her investing expertise came from stints at a leading Wall Street investment bank and hedge fund. She has some great analogies to make complex financial topics easier to understand....
Question of the Day [Updated]: What's the new interest rate on federal student loans for the 2021-22 school year?
Answer: 3.73% (vs. 2.75% for 2020-21 school year)
Questions:
How do you think this interest rate compares to the interest charged on credit card debt?
Average student debt is around $30,000 for college graduates. At current interest rates, roughly how much in interest would be paid over the life of a 10-year student loan? Here's a loan calculator to help with the math.
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use with your...
Question of the Day: Which age group has seen the greatest increase in jobs in 2021?
Questions:
Do you plan on working this summer? Your friends?
Are jobs as plentiful for teenagers as this article suggests? What do you think are the factors causing this?
Are you finding that jobs that are available to teens are also paying more per hour than they were before the pandemic?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (NY Times; sub required):
As companies try to go from hardly...
NGPF Podcast: Julie Beckham of Rockland Trust (MA) is Ms. Money & The Coins
How does an Acting major from NYU apply her skills to the financial education world? She creates an interactive, musical presentation that teaches elementary-aged students about money. What a fun conversation this was with Julie Beckham! Hear about her award-winning program, the questions she hears most often from students and how to establish presence in the classroom. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~6:56 Current Events with MissBeHelpful: Pandemic Savings Boost
6:56~8:24 Introducing this Week’s...
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