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.
Question of the Day: Which group is seeing the fastest growth in being scammed online: Gen Z OR those over 60 years of age?
Answer: Gen Z
Questions:
Why do you think that young people are seeing faster growth in online scams?
Have you seen any examples of online scams? How could you tell they were scams?
What advice would you give to your peers to avoid being scammed online?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (CNBC):
Here are some common scams that target teens or young adults and how to avoid them, per Social...
NGPF Podcast: Kevin Carter on two decades of investment product innovation
This week on the NGPF Podcast, you will hear the fascinating entrepreneurial journey of Kevin Carter. Many innovative investment product ideas originated in companies that Kevin founded. You will learn why it took two decades for fractional shares to become widely available for retail investors. You will discover how the direct indexing approach used by companies like Wealthfront and Betterment originated in a company that Kevin had founded a decade earlier. Finally, you will hear about...
Question of the Day: Since March of 2020, which month saw the highest U.S. personal savings rate?
Answer: April of 2020 when personal savings rate hit 33.8%
Questions:
Why do you think the savings rate peaked in April of 2020? [Time article explains why]
Do you think these savings habit will stick in the long-term? Why or why not?
What do you think is a good saving target to aim for personally?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Time):
The U.S. personal saving rate...
NGPF Classic: Melissa Santoyo on the importance of financial education for first-gen students
Rebroadcast from 2019. Student advocacy for financial education is definitely having its moment (an inspiring story out of Montgomery County (MD) just this week). Listen to Melissa Santoya describe how the FAFSA can be a barrier to higher education and you will get fired up thinking about ways to increase access to this essential course. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~1:18 Introduction
1:18~2:09 What Melissa does on a day-to-day basis
2:09~4:13 Learning to manage money growing up...
INTERACTIVE: Think you can time the stock market?
The evolution of FinTech has led to day trading gamification apps such as Robinhood that are available to 18-year-olds. Some students confuse investing and day trading, without realizing the consequences of their decisions. With phones in their hands and day trading apps at their fingertips, we need to work to help students make informed decisions. Teachers have told us time and time again how important it is that we continue to provide or suggest engaging resources to do just that, and the...
Question of the Day: What matters most to teens when making a clothing purchase: Brand, Price or Quality?
Answer:
Note: Teens ranked on 1-5 score with 1 being the most important.
Questions:
Which of these factors matter most to you when making a clothing purchase? Why?
Would you have given a different answer if you were asked this question 5 years ago?
How would your answer change if considering a food purchase instead of clothing?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the...
Question of the Day: Gen Z (18-24 year olds) have on average ___ credit cards with an average balance (amount they owe) of $______.
Answer: Gen Z (18-24 year olds) have on average 1.64 credit cards with an average balance (amount they owe) of $2,197.
Questions:
What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear "credit card?"
When do you think you will get a credit card?
If you have one already, when did you get it? How do you use it?
What do you think are some of the pros/cons of credit cards?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the...
Classic NGPF Podcast: NY Times Columnist Ron Lieber on his new book, The Price You Pay for College
The rebroadcast of this podcast seemed especially timely since the new FAFSA form hit on October 1st and high school seniors are starting to ponder life after high school. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~1:23 Introduction
1:23~2:07 On the new book, The Price You Pay for College
2:07~7:56 Ron’s own college experience
7:56~10:54 Appearing on the NYT while in college
10:54~18:30 The current financial aid system
18:30~23:13 Changes with the FAFSA and the effects of COVID
23:13~28:00 Asking for a...
Weekend Reading: October 1st - 3rd
Beth is on break this week so I am filling in.
Here are some articles that caught my attention this week:
In Silicon Valley and in the world of start-ups, there's a fine line between "fake it to you make it" and outright fraud. We were reminded of that again with news swirling around Ozy Media which went from media darling to out of business in a frantic five day span. This NYT Dealbook column addresses this burning ethical question.
Signs of asset inflation abound
Used car prices up 26%...
Question of the Day: What was the #1 reason new Latinx/Hispanic investors gave for opening investment accounts in 2020?
Answer:
Note: Investment accounts are more accessible now due to commission-free trading, minimums as low as $1 and the ability to buy fractional shares of stock
Question:
What would motivate you to open an investment account? For those who have an investment account, explain your reasons for opening it.
How much money do you think you need to invest in the stock market to get started?
How might new investors that are 18 or 19 years old answer this question...
Question of the Day: What's the average time to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?
Answer:
Questions:
What’s the benefit of completing the FAFSA?
Billions of dollars in federal financial aid are lost by not completing the FAFSA. What do you think are the challenges to completing this important form?
What is one question that you have about the FAFSA?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Saving for College):
Filling out the FAFSA takes a lot less time than most people fear. It takes...
NGPF Podcast: High Schooler Jakob Diepenbrock on Starting the Young Investors Network
Details:
0:00~1:02 Introduction
1:02~2:03 Jakob’s background
2:03~3:21 Early money lessons and interest in personal finance
3:21~4:22 First-ever stock investment
4:22~5:58 Favorite investing books
5:58~7:16 Tik Tok, Wall Street Bets, and StockTwits
7:16~9:10 Opinion on index funds
9:10~11:24 On the Young Investors Network
11:24~14:12 Young adults starting to invest on Robinhood
14:12~15:50 Access to personal finance education at Jakob’s school
15:50~17:19 Three most...
Question of the Day: What percent of 18-24 year olds learn about personal finance from social media?
Answer: 38.8% including TikTok, YouTube or other social media outlets, like Twitter or Instagram
Questions:
Other than the lessons you learn in school, where else do you learn about personal finance?
If you have learned some lessons from social media:
What was the best advice you received?
What was the worst advice?
How do you determine whether a source of information is reliable or not?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can...
Question of the Day: For the 32% of Gen Zers that have an auto loan, what is their median loan balance?
Answer: $14,620
Question:
Do you think you will need a loan for the first car that you buy?
What do you think is a reasonable amount of auto debt to have?
A car salesperson says they can get you into your first car for $300 a month. What should be your next question?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Lending Tree):
Gen Xers are the most likely to have auto debt, and they also carry the largest...
NGPF Podcast: Mark Herschberg on Developing a Toolkit for Career Success
Author. Entrepreneur. Educator. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in the careers of the future, you need to listen to Mark Herschberg. In this podcast, he shares some of his favorite classroom activities that he developed in his two decades as an MIT instructor, as well as insights into the skills that students need to succeed. Podcast listeners also have the opportunity to receive a free copy of Mark's book, The Career Toolkit. Just listen to the podcast and complete this...
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