NGPF Podcast

You get the sense after talking to Rob Phelan that he thrives on little sleep. As you'll discover in this podcast, he has quite a few "side hustles" beyond his full-time teaching job at Catoctin High School (Maryland). Our conversation touches on entrepreneurship, the F.I.R.E.(Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, his favorite activities in the classroom and the philosophy behind the curriculum that he is developing. Listen intently to his "scorecard" concept which emphasizes behavioral change undertaken by students in his personal finance class. Enjoy!

In this special two part NGPF podcast series, you will hear from 11 inspiring high schoolers from across the U.S. who were the national winners of the PAYBACK Challenge essay contest. Each will receive $5,000 towards their educational expenses. They shared what they learned from paying PAYBACK, how it has impacted their college plans and the importance of personal finance in their lives. Student voice matters and these students certainly providing convincing evidence of the benefit of personal finance coursework. Enjoy!

Everything you ever wanted to learn about credit scores and more. Discover the myths, the realities and ways that you can improve your credit score in this informative podcast with Demetria Gallegos of the Wall Street Journal. Enjoy! 

What an inspiring conversation with social entrepreneur, Anisha Reddy! Anisha was featured in a local newspaper for starting a financial education non-profit and on this podcast you will hear about her journey. She will discuss her earliest start-up ventures, why she cares so much about financial education and why every student needs to learn how to manage their money. Student voice is such a powerful force and Anisha eloquently makes the case for Mission: 2030 which envisions a world where all students graduate from high school with the financial skills they need to thrive in the future. Thank you Anisha for your commitment to serve others and make a difference! 

As a superintendent of Dublin City Schools (OH), Todd Hoadley focuses on developing students who are both college and career ready. His engagement with the business community impressed upon him the importance of financial education. Listen to this podcast to hear how Todd led the efforts in his district where every student takes a personal finance class before they graduate. 

If you want to learn about credit scores and credit reports, there is no better teacher than Rod Griffin of Experian. Attend this webinar and you will learn how credit scores are determined, the educational tools available on the Experian website and recent changes that are helping to boost scores in certain situations. Enjoy! 

I had a great conversation with Martin Van Der Werf from Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. We discussed his center's report "A First Try At ROI" which analyzed  the return on investment (ROI) for over 4500 colleges. He shares the key findings and insights from this report and how families should use this information as one input in the college selection process. 

I really enjoyed my recent conversation with professional soccer player, Amobi Okugo. Off the field, Amobi developed a website, A Frugal Athlete, focused on helping professional athletes manage their money effectively. In this podcast, Amobi shares what he learned from his parents about money, his frugal tendencies and how he handled that first big paycheck after signing his professional contract (spoiler alert: there's no Bentley in his garage!). Amobi's commitment to changing the narrative of the free-spending, high-living athlete is having an impact as teammates and others seek his financial counsel. Enjoy! 

I came across Melissa Santoyo's op-ed in her college paper at Northwestern University and definitely wanted to learn more. In the op-ed, Melissa describes the challenges that first-gen students face in completing the FAFSA and how it can be a hindrance to higher education. She also notes how widespread financial illiteracy is among all undergrads and makes the argument that financial literacy is a privilege which not everyone has access to. This reality is what the community of personal finance educators is trying to change everyday by increasing access at the high school and college levels. I know you will enjoy hearing from this incredible advocate! 

Andy Rachleff is back on the NGPF podcast (previous appearance here) and provides us with an update on both Wealthfront's progress and the recent trends in financial services. Andy discusses new features offered by Wealthfront, consumer reaction to their new Cash Account, and how financial advice is ripe for creative destruction. Listen to this podcast and you will get insights on how AI (artificial intelligence) will change how we manage our money.