What is Your Favorite NGPF Resource? We Asked 12 Educators at NGPF Summer Institute And...
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jul 17, 2017
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Activities, Credit Scores, Activity, Credit Cards, Investing, Stocks, Credit Reports, Generosity, compound interest
here is what they said. Day 1 of our July Summer Institute and we wanted to share with the community the top picks of these outstanding educators. But first, we asked them to explain a few things about this resource. Click on the link listed under Picture of Poster for educator answers to questions about their favorite resource, including:
Why is this your favorite?
What modifications (if any) did you make?
How did the resource work in your classroom?
What other feedback would you like to...
Question: When It Comes To Giving, Is It Better To Give Time or Money?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Dec 15, 2016
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Generosity, Behavioral Finance, Question of the Day, Research, Current Events, Video Resource
From WSJ (subscription):
It’s the holiday season; a time when many open their checkbooks (or go online to make payments) to support their favorite charities. Researchers have found three mistakes commonly made by charitably minded people:
Martyrdom effect: “One of the biggest errors people make involves a phenomenon that one of us, Dr. Olivola, calls the “martyrdom effect”—the tendency to prefer forms of giving that involve significant sacrifice and effort, such as running...
Question: Experiences or Things? What Do You Enjoy More?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Dec 12, 2016
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Purchase Decisions, Behavioral Finance, Question of the Day, Research, Teaching Strategies, Current Events, Article, Generosity, Writing assignment
This question seems apropos given the holiday season and is a great discussion starter. Ask your students to think about the 2-3 items that they purchased in the last year that they were (and continue to be) most excited about. Would they be classified as experiences or things?
This very accessible and relatively short (914 words or about 5 minutes) Scientific American article provides some scientific research to support one purchase type over the other (bold type are my own):
A lot of...
Video: What Does It Take to Be An Effective Altruist?
Sorry, but on a roll now with this theme of charitable giving (check out this podcast with Eileen Heisman, leader in the world of philanthropy). Here is a thought-provoking TED video with Peter Singer, ethicist from Princeton (Warning: the first 1:30 of this 17 minute video involves a car accident involving a young child is extremely difficult to watch for many reasons) :
What do I like about the video?
He addresses head-on many objections that people have to giving:
How much of a...
NGPF Podcast: Tim Talks to Eileen Heisman about Effective Philanthropy
A big thank you to Eileen Heisman, President and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), for the great conversation we had recently on the podcast. Eileen heads one of the largest grant-making organizations in the United States and is a perennial pick on those “most influential” lists you see in the world of philanthropy. Eileen’s perspectives on charitable giving are informed from her decades of service as an educator, non-profit board member, entrepreneur and leader...
Teachers, What If You Wrote A Money Letter To Your Students?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jun 19, 2016
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Teaching Strategies, Article, Generosity, Parent Conversations, Writing assignment
Ok, I admit this may seem a little far-fetched, but stick with me for a minuter here. Ron Lieber (NY Times) has a column this Saturday imploring parents to write a money letter to their kids to get a conversation going:
The Money Talk, capital “M” and capital “T,” is overrated. As with the Sex Talk, children can sense that one is coming. And if they get antsy, your words will go in one ear and out the other.
Tempted to hand over a notecard instead? Your first principles may fit on it,...
Question: How Much Did Americans Give To Charity in 2015?
Answer: $373 Billion, which set a new record. With GDP of about $18 trillion, this giving figure represents about 2% of GDP.
Courtesy of Giving USA:
“The last two years represent the highest and second-highest totals for giving—and the third and fourth largest percentage increases in giving—in the past 10 years, adjusted for inflation,” said Amir Pasic, Ph.D., the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Pasic added that “the share of total...
Activity Idea: Personal Finance Truths Displayed On A Napkin
By Tim Ranzetta
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Mar 07, 2016
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Activity, Behavioral Finance, Paying for College, Budgeting, Personal Finance, Savings, Teaching Strategies, Stocks, Purchase Decisions, Generosity, Parent Conversations, Writing assignment
I stumbled across this interactive that displays over 150 of the Sketch Guy’s (aka Carl Richards) Personal Finance on a Napkin posts. I love the way he can take complex topics and break them down using simple drawings.
Here’s an example of one of his sketches that shows the relationship between your happiness when spending money on others:
You might ask your students to select 5 (or any other number you think is appropriate) of these sketches, read the blog post that accompanies...
Video Resources: Student FDIC Song, Benefits of Generosity and Payday Lending
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jan 08, 2016
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Behavioral Finance, Checking Accounts, Current Events, Video Resource, Financial Scams, Generosity
A few videos that caught my attention this week:
FDIC Song (2:38): A student duet (complete with a ukelele) which provides a historical perspective on the FDIC and all done to the tune of “8 Days of Week.” Well done!
Here’s an amazing stat..there are more payday lending “stores” than Starbucks and McDonalds combined! Watch this short video from PBS NewsHour (3:34) to learn why they are so popular:
We have all heard the cliche, “It’s better to...
These Stories Will Inspire You...
Quick scan of stories to put you in that Holiday spirit:
Student gets Christmas surprise: A $53,000 robotic arm (Courier-Tribune)
Secret Santa hits Detroit area for eighth straight year and hands out $14,000 to strangers (USA Today)
This company lets employees choose which local charities to support (Quartz)
In case you needed another reason to be generous…it’s good for your health! (Washington Times and Medical Daily)
Time provided 7 acts of holiday season kindness in...
Looking for the Perfect Gift This Holiday Season?
Think more about experiences than physical items.
From the Fiscal Times:
So why not offer your friends and loved ones a gift that delivers more fun and enjoyment? A new survey from Travelzoo found that 80 percent of Americans would prefer to receive an experience rather than a material gift.
The 1,372 respondents to Travelzoo’s online survey ranked candlelit dinners, weekend excursions, concert tickets and spa days much higher than comparable physical gifts.
Here is a link to a slide show...
New Product: Give the Gift of Stock…
I just came across this start-up, SparkGift, which allows you to give gifts of stock and index funds to friends and family. Here is a summary of their offering from their website:
Teach someone about investing
Many people don’t have a savings or investment account. Traditional financial firms can make investing complicated. Spark makes investing simple so that young investors can learn the value of investing early and experienced investors can receive gifts that grow their portfolio. A...
What A Gift!
Occasionally, you come across a story that restores your faith in humanity…this is one of them:
From WMUR (video also available):
The graduating class at Profile Junior-Senior High School in Bethlehem made a heartfelt decision to give the money raised for their senior class trip to the school’s principal, who was recently diagnosed with cancer…The gift comes less than a week after Vashaw told them she had been diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. After four years of hard...
Why Do Consumers Have To Be Savvy?
By Tim Ranzetta
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May 19, 2015
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Activity, Credit Cards, Purchase Decisions, Current Events, Credit Reports, Generosity
Just reading some of the headlines from the Consumerist site made me realize the importance of providing students with the tools to make sound financial decisions and avoid these all too common pitfalls.
What do they need to watch out for?
From Consumerist:
Debt Collectors (How a $1,130 debt turned into an $83 million verdict against the debt collector):
A jury in Missouri recently awarded $251,000 in damages to a local woman who was wrongfully sued by a debt collector — more than 222 times...
Video Resource: Does Having More Money Make People More Likely To Break the Law?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Apr 09, 2015
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Behavioral Finance, Question of the Day, Research, Personal Finance, Current Events, Video Resource, Generosity
Answer: When it comes to stopping for pedestrians, the answer is a resounding YES.
See video from BBC here
Additional details (from BBC):
“He’s here to illustrate one of his more provocative experiments – who is more likely to stop for pedestrians, the rich or the poor?
Drivers are legally obliged to stop if someone wishes to cross. And, as a Lexus blithely slips through in front of him, Piff explains what his researchers found.
“None of the drivers of the least expensive cars broke...
