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In this issue: My latest podcast episode, becoming financial literacy famous and a nugget of weekly wisdom. “Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.” 3 Ideas to Share & Save Hello, friends! I hope you enjoy this new, lighter newsletter. More idea density. Less fluff. Your time comes at an opportunity cost, and I respect that.* So in that spirit, let’s get down to business! — 1 — The Fourth “R”: My conversation with Vince Shorb, the CEO of the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC), dropped today.
I can’t stop thinking about this shiny dime from our discussion: “It [financial education] starts in the home. It starts with families. It starts with parents making sure their kids are empowered and getting the lessons. Because if it’s not you, it’s really not in schools. It’s not in colleges. There’s nowhere else.”
(This idea comes from a guy who has arguably impacted more schools than anyone else in the financial literacy field. I teased it with a short video in last week’s newsletter.) Of course, financial literacy should be taught in schools. Still, Vince’s instruction inversion is striking. Imagine if a high school course was less of an introduction to and more of a capstone for our kids’ learning, which began at home and with us from an early age. After a short review of core behaviors like automating saving, living beneath our means and investing wisely, teachers could then focus on additional concepts like credit, insurance and debt. In summary, I like how Robert Duvall (No, not that Robert Duvall! 😉) framed this concept. The former CEO of the Council for Economic Education (CEE) called financial literacy the fourth “R”: reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic and the real world. — 2 — Financial Literacy Famous: Would you like to be a part of The Art of Allowance Podcast? Do you have a story about your kids’ money-smart (or not-so-money-smart 🤑) behavior? Record yourself on your phone or other smart device, and send the file to me at john@snigglezoo.com. Here’s a prompt you can use: “This is __ from __. I wanted to tell this story of our family’s money-smart journey. __________________.” Or have you heard a story from a friend? Then forward this email, and ask them to share! — 3 — Weekly Wisdom: “If the problem can be solved, why worry? And if the problem can’t be solved, then worrying will do you no good.”
—Shantideva
I thought I’d lost my podcast edit days before it was due to drop. (And for the second time! 😭) This predicament nagged at me all night as I awaited an answer from my podcasting platform’s support team. But as is often the case, when I awoke in a fresh and “fix it” frame of mind, I quickly uncovered the cause. My lesson learned: Sleeping on a problem often reveals a solution. Worrying, though, just doubles its size. I hope you have a money-smart week. And, as always, enjoy the journey! John, P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being. View this email in your browser. *A hat tip (🎩) to Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok for the idea of highly valuing the time you take to read my newsletter. The opportunity cost is anything else valuable you can do with that same time. Tyler and Alex appeared on David Perell’s wonderful How I Write Podcast. (David, who is one of my writing mentors, also coined the “shiny dime” term I used above.) Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
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