Phil reached out to me about a year ago via email to schedule a meeting during his trip to the States from Australia. Our paths crossed at the Dover, Delaware FinCamp this spring which was fortuitous given the logistical challenges he encountered while en route. As a recipient of the prestigious Churchill Fellowship, Phil chose to investigate innovative methods of equipping teenagers with essential financial skills for life in the U.K., U.S. and Canada. In this podcast, he shares what he learned in his travels which included meetings with over 60 movers and shakers in the financial education field. You will be fascinated to learn about the similarities and differences that Phil found in his research across these three countries. A must-listen for anyone interested in hearing about best practices in the field from a keen observer. 

Details:

• 0:00~1:43 Introduction
• 1:43~4:31 Phil’s background
• 4:31~9:19 Early money lessons
• 9:19~12:44 How Phil found NGPF
• 12:44~15:12 Traveling through Canada and the US
• 15:12~19:28 What Phil observed during his fellowship
• 19:28~21:34 The importance of professional development opportunities
• 21:34~26:05 Good examples of professional development
• 26:05~26:42 A word from NGPF
• 26:42~28:00 Getting other teachers involved
• 28:00~35:05 Recommended resources
• 35:05~38:50 Using digital resources, social media
• 38:50~44:46 Bringing parents into the conversation
• 44:46~57:08 How to help create financially capable adults
• 57:08~60:43 How personal finance education differs in Canada and the UK
• 60:43~63:34 Conclusion

Resources:

• MyBnk
• PennyDrops
• Talk, Learn, Do

Quote:

• “A big key factor in engaging the students is making sure the teachers or an outside expert really know the topic and know how to present that in a very engaging way. Obviously, another key factor is meeting the kids where they are at in terms of what you are talking about. They have to be able to relate with the examples, situations, case studies, or whatever you are discussing needs to be relevant to them.”

About the Authors

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.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.