NGPF Podcast

It's April...and I can't imagine having a better guest for Financial Literacy Month than Laura Levine, the President of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed Laura's short and long-term goals for Jump$tart, the importance of their teaching training initiative, and how the personal finance landscape has changed over time. Thanks to Laura for sharing her insights on such questions as: . What are the goals for your organization this year and in the future? . What are teachers searching for on the Jump$tart Clearinghouse? What resources are in greatest demand? . What is the philosophy underlying the Jump$tart teacher training initiative? . How has personal finance education changed over time? . How can teachers advocate at their schools to make finance education a requirement?

Thanks to Reece Cannady and D.J. Bierwirth for recently joining me on the NGPF podcast. Reece and D.J. have leadership roles running the Financial Literacy Community Project (FLCP) at the University of Pennsylvania. Their organization serves several high schools and community programs in west Philadelphia by supplying a team of near-peer volunteer teachers teaching an innovative curriculum. Their goal: prepare these students to make sound financial decisions in their futures. Reece and D.J. provided their perspectives on questions which included: . What lessons have the largest impact on their students? . How do they train their college volunteers to teach the middle and high school students they serve? . What have been the most surprising questions that they have heard from their students? . What advice would they offer other colleges interested in running a similar program?

Thanks to Eric Tyson for recently joining me on the NGPF podcast. Eric has brought personal finance advice to millions through his work as a financial advisor, syndicated columnist and author of Personal Finance for Dummies (and other titles in the Dummies series. Eric provides insights to the following questions during our conversation: . How did his earlier experience as a management consultant to financial service firms inform his personal finance writing? . How does he think personal finance should be taught in high school? . How much weight should be given to advice provided by "financial gurus?" . How should people think about "wealth" beyond just the size of one's bank account? . What are the most common personal finance traps or mistakes has he seen people make consistently over the years?

Thank you to Pete Jordan for joining the NGPF Podcast show to discuss his company, Knowledge Matters (KM), and their popular personal finance simulation. Pete describes the benefits of using simulations so students can learn from first-hand experience the impacts of financial decisions that they will be making throughout their lives. He discusses how the tens of thousands of lines of code ensure that the simulation provides a real-world experience for students while meeting the learning objectives we all strive for in a personal finance course. Here are some questions that Pete answers during our conversation: . What is "the look" and how did it inspire him to start a company? . How has Knowledge Matters effectively been able to get their product in front of so many high school students? . How are teachers using KM's personal finance simulation as a core part of their curriculum? . How has the simulation changed over time and what new features are on the product roadmap? . What are some examples of how real-world this simulation is? . Based on his data, what concepts do students tend to understand best? least?

Thank you to Ron Lieber, NY Times columnist for recently joining the NGPF Podcast show. Ron shares what he has learned in the process of writing over 700 personal finance columns and answers such questions as: . What is the best method to teach personal finance? . What anxiety are parents feeling when it comes to teaching their kids about money? . What are good ways to teach teens about investing? . How can young people and their families make better decisions about applying for and paying for college? Enjoy!

Thank you to Helaine Olen, Slate columnist and author of Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry and The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated, for recently joining the NGPF Podcast show. Helaine shares what she has learned from her years as an author, columnist and researcher of the personal finance industry. Listen to this podcast to get answers to such questions as: . Can you really fit everything you need to know about personal finance on an index card? . What is the best way to invest in the stock market? . Why is insurance so important to financial planning? . What does being a fiduciary mean and why does it matter when it comes to investment advice? . What is her favorite book focused on personal finance?

Thanks to David Anderson, Executive Vice-President at w!SE (Working in Support of Education) for joining me recently on the NGPF podcast show. David joined w!SE in 2007. He oversees w!se’s national financial literacy programs and, with the President, for partnerships, development and marketing. He previously had a career on Wall Street. Listen to this podcast to hear David answer such questions as: 1) What is the process for schools to sign-up with w!SE? What programs and resources are included? 2) What personal finance topics are most challenging for students to master? for teachers to teach? 3) In addition to their assessment tool, how else does w!SE measure the impact of their personal finance work? 4) What does it take to become a “Blue Ribbon” school?

Thanks to Emily Iverson of Mukwonago High School (Wisconsin) for joining me recently on the NGPF podcast show. I came across Emily in a recent Lake Country Now article that highlighted the amazing growth of personal finance enrollment at her high school. I was also intrigued that Emily had created an online course in 2011 that could serve summer school students not able to schedule the course in during the school year. I thought our educator audience would want to learn more about how to incorporate online resources into their classroom. Listen to this podcast to hear Emily answer such questions: 1) What the most important personal finance concept you incorporate into your curriculum? 2) How do you think about structuring an online unit? What are the key components? 3) What is the role of teacher in an on-line environment? 4) How do you make the most of on-line student discussions? 5) What are the most important lessons learned through your experience over the last five years? Enjoy!

Thanks to Barbara O'Neill of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Program for joining me recently on the NGPF podcast show. Barbara has had an amazing career serving as educator, researcher, writer, trainer and I am sure that I am leaving stuff out! Most recently, she used her networking prowess to place NJ atop the standings in the NGPF Q&A Forum Challenge and has appeared as a Featured Teacher in the NGPF Blog and also received an award from NGPF. Here is Barbara's life work, in her own words: In my 37 years with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, I have taught almost 30,000 adults. I’ve taught my undergraduate Personal Finance course for juniors and seniors at Rutgers University for 10 years and reached almost 200 students and helped make them “Money Smart.” I have also indirectly impacted thousands of New Jersey K-12 students by providing training for hundreds of teachers annually at our Financial Education Boot Camps that combine content and learning activities. Listen to this podcast to hear Barbara’s insights on: 1) The differences between teaching adults and college students 2) What personal finance teachers need to be more confident instructors 3) Harnessing Twitter to expand your knowledge base and generate lesson ideas 4) The wonders of compound interest (her favorite personal finance subject!) 5) Her plan for improving financial education in this country Enjoy!

Thanks to Mary Morrison for joining me recently on the NGPF podcast show. Mary was Director of Funds Management in the Office of Financial Aid at Stanford University and gave away millions of dollars in financial aid each year. Identifying a need, she started a personal finance course for Stanford students and has prepared thirty groups of Stanford seniors for the "real world" that awaits them. She received Amy Blue Award in 2008 for her service to students and the University and continues to serve the community by leading financial aid workshops throughout the region. Listen to this podcast to hear Mary's insights on: 1) The biggest blind spots that families have when it comes to financial aid 2) The inside scoop on college scholarships 3) How she prepares Stanford students for their post-college life 4) What she wishes college students knew before they step foot on a college campus Enjoy!