“If you’ve made mistakes as a teenager, as a college student, you still have a lot to share, especially if you marry that with current life and current wisdom.”
— Jon Acuff
In this special episode, host John Lanza teams up with Stacking Benjamins Podcast host and previous Art of Allowance Podcast guest Joe Saul-Sehy to interview author Jon Acuff. These three dads discuss parenting challenges and strategies, particularly regarding teaching teens about money and life skills. They also explore the importance of empathy when parenting, the role of repetition in financial education and the value of kids’ seeking guidance from other adults. Their conversation emphasizes the need for parents to be open about their own money mistakes and to create a supportive environment in which their children can learn and grow. It also touches on the significance of self-awareness and the impact of overthinking in parenting.
Jon Acuff is a New York Times bestselling author whose newest book is How Teens Win. He is also an INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership speaker who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences and in companies around the world. Jon’s highly engaged social media followers and email subscribers look to him for his unique blend of humor, honesty and hope. He lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two teenage daughters, with whom he co-wrote How Teens Win.
Links (From the Show)
- Connecting with Jon
- Jon’s email newsletter
- Jon on Facebook, Instagram and X
- Jon’s book, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking
- Jon and his daughters’ new book, How Teens Win: The Student’s Guide to Accomplishing Big Goals
- Jon and his daughters’ other book, Your New Playlist: The Student’s Guide to Tapping Into the Superpower of Mindset
- Connecting with Joe
- Money-Smart Mentions
- Speaker Grant Baldwin, who coined the soundtrack “Bags of gold are heavy.”
- Daniel Gilbert’s book, Stumbling on Happiness
- Erin Lowry’s book, Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
- Scott Trench’s book, Set for Life: Dominate Life, Money, and the American Dream
- Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art
Show Notes (Find what’s most interesting to you!)
- Are your kids experiments? [3:11]
- All about {Jon} Acuff [4:30]
- The impact of empty nesting [5:09]
- Going easy on yourself when parenting [9:52]
- Newsflash: You will lose control as a parent! [15:11]
- The confidence / intelligence ratio [16:36]
- Repetition is key when teaching money smarts. [18:39]
- Enabling your kids’ money introspection [21:20]
- Using Jon’s concept of soundtracks to reinforce money lessons [23:42]
- Don’t burn out your kids with goals! [25:25]
- Using a “best moments” list to discover your kids’ passions [27:12]
- Encouraging your kids to talk with receptive adults [30:27]
- Age as an asset [32:04]
- Start conversations with your teens (Hint: Doing so takes bravery!) [33:26]
- Leveraging young adults’ affinity for audiobooks [36:19]
- How Joe engaged his kids with money books [37:17]
- Jon’s take on money empowerment [39:14]
- A classic book challenge [39:25]
- Money compatibility as a core relationship component [40:20]
- Overthinking and overacheiving [41:43]
- How to access How Teens Win [43:33]
If you liked this episode …
Interested in Jon’s concept of soundtracks? Check out John’s conversation with financial advisor Tom Henske. During his Art of Allowance Podcast episode, he explains how your kids’ mantra mimicking can play a key role on your family’s money-smart journey. You’ll want to listen in at 27:40 for all the details.
What really happens when financial opposites attract? Tune in to Certified Financial Therapist-I™ Megan McCoy‘s podcast appearance to find out! She offers practical strategies to help partners align their money intentions, like a lottery ticket date night. Join in by pressing play at 17:04 or by watching this video.
Want to hear more from Joe? Give his first episode of The Art of Allowance Podcast a listen! In it, he shares how he approached money with his kids after his own financial faux pas. You can also learn about the “circling back” strategy he mentions while chatting with John and Jon by tuning in at 12:04 or by streaming this short.
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