In this episode, the late Howard "Pete" Colhoun, a veteran investor and longtime champion of financial education, discusses why students need financial training before they encounter credit cards, student loans, and investing for the first time. Pete died on July 21, just a few months after we recorded this conversation. We're sharing it in his memory.

For nearly three decades, Pete answered thousands of questions about markets on national television as an original panelist on PBS's Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser. That experience (making complex financial ideas understandable to people watching from their living rooms) showed him how little most Americans had been taught, and it shaped the rest of his work.

He pointed to 1974 as a turning point. That's when the Employee Retirement Income Security Act reshaped American retirement, shifting responsibility from employer-managed pensions onto individuals who had never been trained to manage investments, credit, and debt on their own.

With today's flood of online financial products and information, Pete believed the need was urgent. As he put it, "We wouldn't dream of having an 18-year-old drive a car without driver's ed... yet we send them into the financial world without training."

He also helped build a four-year financial literacy program at Bryn Mawr College, covering everything from trips to Wall Street to saving before investing, time management, and delayed gratification.

Pete was an early and generous believer in NGPF. We will miss him. His obituary appeared in the Baltimore Sun.

See the transcript and listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Join Us LIVE Tonight (8/6) with Financial Journalist and Bestselling Author Beth Kobliner

In her totally revised and updated edition of Get a Financial Life, Beth Kobliner teaches younger readers how to pay down debt, get a good return on savings, and plan for the future. Hear Kobliner's answers to frequently asked money questions during tonight's Speaker Series event. Register to join us at 4pm PT (7pm ET). 

About the Author

Zach Mann

Zach recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Sociology. Zach is a Communications Intern for NGPF, assisting with content creation for NGPF's various platforms. He enjoys contributing to communications that support a mission with a tangible impact.

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