December 17, 2025 • 17 mins
The focus of this episode revolves around imparting financial literacy to students, an endeavor that can significantly influence their future financial well-being. We engage in a comprehensive discussion with Andrea Farmer, a math educator and department chair at South Cobb, who explains the evolution of financial education within the school curriculum. As financial management becomes increasingly complex, it is imperative that students are equipped with the requisite skills to navigate their economic landscape effectively. We delve into the pivotal concepts of budgeting, saving, and investing, underscoring the urgency of establishing a solid financial foundation during the formative teenage years. This episode serves as a call for parents to foster meaningful conversations about financial responsibility and to actively participate in their children's financial education, thereby preparing them for a successful transition into adulthood.
Guest:
Andrea Farmer
Podcast Home:
https://the-inside-scoop.captivate.fm/
Cobb Schools on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/@TheRealCobbSchools
Give us a review:
https://www.podchaser.com/TheInsideScoop
Here's the link to let us know what you'd like to hear:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VYTRCLG
Cobb Sports Podcast:
https://cobb-sports.captivate.fm/episodes
The Cobb County School District:
https://www.cobbk12.org
Takeaways:
- The importance of teaching teenagers financial literacy cannot be overstated, as it equips them with essential skills for managing their finances effectively in adulthood.
- Students often view credit cards as free money, which leads to misconceptions about debt and financial responsibility that need to be corrected through education.
- Teaching students to establish a budget, particularly when beginning their first job, is a crucial step in fostering responsible financial habits that will serve them well in the future.
- Encouraging teens to save a portion of their earnings, even in small amounts, helps build a foundation for financial security and prepares them for unexpected expenses in life.
- The urgency of financial education for teenagers is heightened by the accessibility of the internet, which exposes them to both opportunities and risks related to money management.
- Engaging parents in discussions about financial goals and budgeting strategies can significantly enhance the financial literacy of their children, leading to more informed decisions in the future.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Quick question, parents. Ifyour teen got a paycheck tomorrow,
would they know what to dowith it or would it disappear by
Friday? We're talking aboutdeveloping money skills for student
success today on the InsideScoop. Hello and welcome back to
the Inside Scoop. I'm DavidOwen. Do your teens think money grows
(00:22):
on trees? Ward knows. It seemslike some of mine do. Managing their
money well can make thedifference between a good life and
a life filled with financialstruggles. I thought it would be
good to hear straight fromsomeone who teaches those skills.
So joining us today is SouthCobb math teacher and math department
(00:42):
chair, I believe, AndreaFarmer. Andrea, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you. Thank you. I'mhappy to be here.
So first thing about this isI've heard over years, actually parents
say we need to be teachingfinance how to manage your money,
how to use a check, if peoplestill use checks, I do, and that
(01:07):
sort of thing. We have hadthat embedded in courses, right?
Yes.
And you taught that for a while?
I did. I taught it at SouthCobb. It is a course called Advanced
Financial MathematicalThinking in our school. And that's
one particular unit in ourschool in that particular course
(01:27):
where we teach students moneymanagement, budgeting, finance. And
just I wouldn't say it's aglance over, but it's very brief.
It doesn't. It's not in depth,so it's just a splash in the bucket,
so to speak.
But that's changed.
Oh, absolutely.
Okay. Because it sounds likemaybe the superintendent and the
board heard these same peoplesaying, this is a need in our society.
(01:49):
So what is that, what's itcalled now? And what does that do
differently?
So there's an additionalcourse that they added to our curriculum
within the last two years, andit's called Advanced Financial Algebra.
And it's a course thatstudents can take in their fourth
year. So typically as asenior, they take it and it focuses
on financial management forthe entire semester. So we really
(02:12):
are able to delve into debtand I'm sorry, asset and debt ratio
equity. We can delve intoliability, what exactly a liability
is for you. And I'm able toreally not only provide a foundation
for our students for financialmanagement, but really expand on
it so that then when they gointo the world, whatever path they
choose to take after theygraduate, they're prepared to make
(02:35):
sound financial decisions.
Okay, so. And some of theterms and finance can be intimidating.
Right. But they are thingsthat at least a basic understanding
is really important. I knowwhen you're talking about debt and
so forth, credit scores andall of that. Do you get into that
(02:55):
sort of thing, like a personal.
Oh, for sure.
Okay.
Oh, for sure. We definitelyget into credit scores. We go into
the first question that I askmy students when I open up and I
was like, so what do you wantto do? And they say, we want to make
as much money as possible. Andthen I say, and then what? And they
can't answer the. And thenwhat? They're like, we don't think
that far. And I'm like, soonce you have the money, then what
(03:16):
do you do? And how do you makeit, you know, last and how do you
sustain it? And then that'show I'm able to go into showing them
what's important, what'srelevant. Going from your credit
score, going to. Do you wantto rent? Do you want to own? Even
with cars? Leasing and buying.
Oh, especially with cars. Right.
We do a project where I makethem either buy or lease a car. It's
(03:37):
a life after college projectthat they have to do and they have
to create. And they have tocreate a budget. And they can't have
less than $2,000 in theiraccount at the end of each month.
And they have to either decidewhether they want to re. Or, for
example, either lease or buy acar. So they have to look it up.
They have to find a bank thatwill give them a loan. So they have
to shop around.
(03:57):
They have to figure out whatthe value of the car is.
Absolutely. And what theirloan or lease payment is going to
be. And then decide which oneyou're choosing and tell me why.
Okay. I'm only asking becauseone of my teens had a car accident
the other day and everybody'sfine, but it was totaled. And so
I'm looking at, okay, how muchdo I owe? How much is it worth? And
(04:18):
you know, so it was a greatlearning opportunity. Right. Everything
is. But I'd rather it not bethat harsh. But the reality is kids
don't think in those terms.And that's a key part of being successful
in life. Right. Financiallyspeaking. So when we're talking about
financial literacy and all ofthese various things, why is it so
(04:41):
urgent for them to learn thesethings at their young age? I guess
it's considered young as a teenager.
I think right now the urgencyis they have the world at their fingertips,
that is the Internet,technology. Right. And by a click
of a button, you can, for themost part, have what you want. But
also with that comes risk. Youknow, there's scams that are out
(05:03):
there to get them that pops upon their screens. There's digital
finance with, you know,crypto. And so to make those decisions,
you have to be financiallysavvy or at least have a good mindset
of I'm not going to fall forthis, I'm going for this and go in
with the plan rather thanfalling for all of those things and
then end up with debt youdidn't even realize could exist for
(05:24):
you.
Okay, now you've kind of,you've given me the idea of, you
know, teenagers aren't perfectwhen they launch. What are some of
the biggest mistakes? Or canyou give us two or three illustrations
of typical mistakes that youngpeople make as they enter the world
of finance?
(05:44):
Absolutely. The concept aboutmoney, like you said before, money
grows on trees.
Yeah.
They just feel if I work forit, I get it, I could spend it not
having a budget and then justspending the money. And then also
one of the biggest thing isnot saving your money and not having
a goal.
Yes.
If you don't have a goal, thenyou're not working towards something
(06:06):
and then what you want, youwon't even know what you want because
you can't get there.
You know, at the risk ofsounding overly philosophical, the
reality is that we live inwhat some people call a fast food
world and that is that wedon't have as many opportunities
to teach short term sacrificefor long term gain. Right. So what
(06:30):
you are doing in a financialsense is that exact thing. So we
work for a school districtthat has a 1.8 billion billion dollar
budget. I think that was whatthey said. That's huge. But budgeting
is not just for the biginstitutions. It's for the home,
it's for the kitchen tableconversations. How do you teach students
(06:54):
to build a budget that'srealistic for a teen's life? Because
that's a teen doesn'tnecessarily have a 9 to 5 job and
a salary that's predictable.They're usually working hourly wage
jobs that, you know, the hoursfluctuate. They're not sure how much
they're going to get. How, howcan you teach that and how do they
(07:16):
receive it as another thing.
So the first thing I say iswe're going to, you're going to operate
on 80, 20. You can spend 80%of your income and save 20%. So 20%
you can't touch. Okay. The 80%has to be allocated for everything,
means there should be nothingleft. So 80% of this I'm going to
do self care. I can get amassage. And I'm thinking More about
(07:37):
myself now.
Teachers in general.
Exactly. But the 80% is you'regoing to get manicures, you're going
to get. You know what I mean?You're breaking all of it down to
everything. To what do if youwant to eat out, I'm going to use
this amount because they'dlove to eat out. This amount I'm
going to use per week. So Iknow at the end of the month I've
used this amount. So youallocate the entire 80, so there's
(07:57):
nothing left, but everythingis accounted for. Yeah. And then
the 20% is savings. Andthey're like, well, I don't need
to save anything because I'mliving at home. That's perfectly
right. True. However, your 20%is something you don't touch and
it sits there for a rainy day.So when the rainy day comes, it's
sprinkling. It's not a tsunami.
Yeah, exactly.
And they normally receive it.And then I always tell them, I'm
(08:19):
like, you cannot havechampagne taste with Kool Aid money
right now. You have to berealistic with where you are now
in the future, do you want tohave champagne taste and champagne
money? Absolutely. That's whatI want for you as well. But right
now, let's focus on what youhave, because you want to create
a goal. And I always tellthem, with your budget, what's your
goal? Like, eventually, whatwould you like to have? Or what would
you like to do? Like in, let'ssay, five years? And if you can say
(08:42):
that, then maybe part of yoursavings could be used for that. And
as long as I'm putting itaway, I can get to that.
Yeah. And other teenagersaround them aren't necessarily thinking
like that. So thought comes tomind. You're familiar with Dave Ramsey,
the financial guy. He has aphrase that says, live now like no
one else so that you can livelater like no one else. Right. Something
(09:05):
like that. That kind ofsacrificial mindset now, putting
it off for greater gain later.That's huge. And you're a big part
of getting that in theirminds. That's awesome. So credit
and debt are two concepts thata lot of adults don't grasp. Right.
(09:27):
How do students see creditscores, debt? Do they have a preconceived
notion about these things thatyou find yourself correcting all
the time?
All the time. In their mind,credit cards is free money, and that's
how it's advertised. Right?
(09:48):
That is.
It's how it's advertised. It'sfree money. I'm Going to give you
this limit. They're like, oh,I have this money. And I tell them
it's not free money. And I tryto break it down. I said first, the
limit you're given is basedoff how valuable you are or how they
trust you, their level oftrust in you. If your limit is low,
then likely they're going towatch you. If your percentage is
low, then that means you're trustworthy.
(10:09):
Your interest rate percent. Yes.
Your interest rate percent ofyour income. If that's lower, your
trustworthy. The higher it is,the more of a risk you appear to
them.
Yes.
So with your limit, I alwaystell them if you must get a credit
card because having a creditcard is not a bad thing, but you
should get it to use it as toincrease your credit score. That's
what I tell students.
Yes.
So if you have to get one, youget one. And you want to be able
(10:29):
to purchase only what you havein your bank account right now. So
once you purchase it, pay itoff within two weeks before your
statement comes out. So thenyou are not. Because as soon as your
banks is going to. I'm sorry,as soon as the credit card company
is going to give you astatement, they're asking you for
a certain amount. A minimumamount from that amount is going
to be their interest first.Which is why it takes so long to
(10:51):
pay off her credit card.
Exactly. And I love the twoweeks thing because now you're introducing
working down that interestrate. Right. And the interest amount.
And the interest amount.
Because you're beating thegrace period in most cases.
And let's say you forget andyou don't. As soon as you remember,
immediately pay it.Immediately pay it.
Just go ahead, get it out ofthe way. Now. I find that one of
(11:14):
the hardest things in thatscenario is for kids to stay on top
of what they actually have. Soif they have a. Like in the case
of a teen who has a carpayment, if they look at their checking
account and they see, oh, I'vegot $500 in there, that's awesome.
(11:34):
But then that payment isgetting ready to hit at 450, they
got to make sure they don'tspend that they shouldn't be.
Exactly. Yeah. Which is whywhen we do our budgets each month,
every time you pay somethingor buy something, you are updating
your budget sheet.
Yeah.
So that. And you see what'soutstanding. So if you're looking
that often, you seeoutstanding. Oh, I got a car payment
(11:55):
up. I know this is really theonly amount that I have left in the
account that I can use. So Iknow I'm not going to have that.
That's not available to me.
Yeah. So for those of you whoare also math nerds, this is great
talk, but for the rest of you,I'm sorry, we're getting a little
bit in the weeds maybe, but doyou have or do you help students
find credible apps for how tostay on top of what they actually
(12:18):
have? Or our banking systemsnow to the point where they provide
the features that really work well?
We're still in the processlearning that because for me, I don't
use apps as often. But so thestudents are showing me. So I'm kind
of learning from them as well,which is great. But there's apps
out there as well. But also,you're right, the banks have kind
of like, okay, we need to geton board as far as technology wise.
And they have the softwarebuilt within their, you know, their.
(12:40):
There are sites where this ishow much. This is your spending pattern.
And so it kind of shows thestudents as well, and some of them
actually keep track for them. So.
And if you do an auto paymentthing, it can show you what's pending,
right?
Yeah.
That's awesome. So you'vetalked about emergency fund establishment.
Compound interest, I guess, isalso a huge part of your conversation.
(13:03):
On the debt side.
On the debt side, absolutely.
What about investing?
For investing, I tell thembecause oftentimes when they open
up an account, it's typicallyat a bank where their parents or
their family has one at.That's the easiest thing. Right.
And I say starting off, that'sgreat. Sometimes you want to shop
around and you want to have asavings or a savings account that
you're looking at the interestrate of, you can earn because you
(13:25):
always want your money to makemoney for you as it sits there.
Yeah.
And I said, your firstinvestment could be a bond, a cd,
and shop around and look atthe interest rate and how long it
has to sit. And they're like,well, they're asking it for three
years. I said, okay, that's.That's great. But at the end of the
three years, are you going tohave more than what you put in there?
Yeah.
Like you have to think aboutwhat's actually going to happen.
I said, remember the. And thenwhat question? They're like, okay.
(13:48):
And typically that gets them.And I also have them do that when
they're thinking of.Especially with compound interest
when you're trying to save.But also interest as well. I'm going
off, but interest as well.When they start to shop around, like
for their car payments andthings like that, for the banks,
why it's so.
Important for even a half percent.
Yes. And what it actually doesand what you're actually paying.
(14:09):
And I've shown them anequation they can take. And I've
had students come back to meafter they graduate, when they buy
the car, when they go into thedealership and they have already
been approved for a loan andthey know the amount that they should
have, and they make thedealership work for them.
I love that.
They're like, I got it what I wanted.
We ought to start a consumertalk show of some sort. Oh, my gosh,
I love that sort of thinking.Because then they go into the lot
(14:32):
armed, not literally, but theywalk in in a better negotiating position
than everybody else walking inbecause it's so easy to go. Well,
yeah, I guess I'll just haveyou finance it for me. I even heard
a commercial the other daythat said these car lots will actually
add 2 percentage points toyour loan if you get it through them
(14:56):
in many cases. So that's hugefor them. So bringing it all together
as we wrap up here. Parentsusually listen to this podcast for
some practical advice. How canparents, I guess, partner with you
to help their students learnthese things at home? What practical
(15:19):
things can they do at home?Maybe even if their students not
in your class or a class inthe district, that would help them
to launch successfullyeventually. In a financial sense,
I would say.
First, sit down with them andhelp them establish a budget when
they get their first job.
(15:40):
Okay.
Just to start them off andthen have honest conversations like,
what do you want to do? Wheredo you want to go and have those
conversations and show them?What does that look like for them
financially? Especially now asstudents start to look like in their
sophomore, up to their senioryear as going to college. And what
does it look like? What is itgoing to look like when you go to
(16:00):
college? And how do thoserates work? And sit down and have
those conversations, help themmap out, well, if we only want to
pay this amount, let's startlooking at these scholarships. What
would this amount look like ifwe start to pay it when we sign the
promissory note on your firstday as a freshman, what are you actually
going to be paying when yougraduate as a senior? Just have those
conversations with them.
Is it worth maybe going toschool part time to be able to work,
(16:24):
to be ahead of that financialpicture? Right.
Yeah. And students, they wantto. They want to make money, but
they don't know what theydon't know.
Right?
Right. And if you like, ifthey want to get a credit card as
a parent, shop around withthem. Show them. If you get this
credit card, you got to bemindful of this and this and this.
Because if you're with them,making that decision with them, you
know, you're preparing them tobe successful.
(16:45):
So, Andrea, this is someawesome information that I wish I
had been able to have my kidsin your course decades ago. Lots
of kids, old guy, whatever.But it really could help them launch
well. And I know our viewersreally appreciate you sharing this
(17:07):
information and we'll be sureto put the links that would be helpful
for you in the episodedescription and show notes. If you
heard something you foundhelpful, please make sure to like,
subscribe and share theepisode with other other parents.
It tells the algorithms what'sgood to recommend to viewers and
helps us get the word out. Sothank you for listening to the Inside
(17:29):
Scoop, a podcast produced bythe Cobb County School.
Quick question, parents. Ifyour teen got a paycheck tomorrow,
would they know what to dowith it or would it disappear by
Friday? We're talking aboutdeveloping money skills for student
success today on the InsideScoop. Hello and welcome back to
the Inside Scoop. I'm DavidOwen. Do your teens think money grows
(00:22):
on trees? Ward knows. It seemslike some of mine do. Managing their
money well can make thedifference between a good life and
a life filled with financialstruggles. I thought it would be
good to hear straight fromsomeone who teaches those skills.
So joining us today is SouthCobb math teacher and math department
(00:42):
chair, I believe, AndreaFarmer. Andrea, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you. Thank you. I'mhappy to be here.
So first thing about this isI've heard over years, actually parents
say we need to be teachingfinance how to manage your money,
how to use a check, if peoplestill use checks, I do, and that
(01:07):
sort of thing. We have hadthat embedded in courses, right?
Yes.
And you taught that for a while?
I did. I taught it at SouthCobb. It is a course called Advanced
Financial MathematicalThinking in our school. And that's
one particular unit in ourschool in that particular course
(01:27):
where we teach students moneymanagement, budgeting, finance. And
just I wouldn't say it's aglance over, but it's very brief.
It doesn't. It's not in depth,so it's just a splash in the bucket,
so to speak.
But that's changed.
Oh, absolutely.
Okay. Because it sounds likemaybe the superintendent and the
board heard these same peoplesaying, this is a need in our society.
(01:49):
So what is that, what's itcalled now? And what does that do
differently?
So there's an additionalcourse that they added to our curriculum
within the last two years, andit's called Advanced Financial Algebra.
And it's a course thatstudents can take in their fourth
year. So typically as asenior, they take it and it focuses
on financial management forthe entire semester. So we really
(02:12):
are able to delve into debtand I'm sorry, asset and debt ratio
equity. We can delve intoliability, what exactly a liability
is for you. And I'm able toreally not only provide a foundation
for our students for financialmanagement, but really expand on
it so that then when they gointo the world, whatever path they
choose to take after theygraduate, they're prepared to make
(02:35):
sound financial decisions.
Okay, so. And some of theterms and finance can be intimidating.
Right. But they are thingsthat at least a basic understanding
is really important. I knowwhen you're talking about debt and
so forth, credit scores andall of that. Do you get into that
(02:55):
sort of thing, like a personal.
Oh, for sure.
Okay.
Oh, for sure. We definitelyget into credit scores. We go into
the first question that I askmy students when I open up and I
was like, so what do you wantto do? And they say, we want to make
as much money as possible. Andthen I say, and then what? And they
can't answer the. And thenwhat? They're like, we don't think
that far. And I'm like, soonce you have the money, then what
(03:16):
do you do? And how do you makeit, you know, last and how do you
sustain it? And then that'show I'm able to go into showing them
what's important, what'srelevant. Going from your credit
score, going to. Do you wantto rent? Do you want to own? Even
with cars? Leasing and buying.
Oh, especially with cars. Right.
We do a project where I makethem either buy or lease a car. It's
(03:37):
a life after college projectthat they have to do and they have
to create. And they have tocreate a budget. And they can't have
less than $2,000 in theiraccount at the end of each month.
And they have to either decidewhether they want to re. Or, for
example, either lease or buy acar. So they have to look it up.
They have to find a bank thatwill give them a loan. So they have
to shop around.
(03:57):
They have to figure out whatthe value of the car is.
Absolutely. And what theirloan or lease payment is going to
be. And then decide which oneyou're choosing and tell me why.
Okay. I'm only asking becauseone of my teens had a car accident
the other day and everybody'sfine, but it was totaled. And so
I'm looking at, okay, how muchdo I owe? How much is it worth? And
(04:18):
you know, so it was a greatlearning opportunity. Right. Everything
is. But I'd rather it not bethat harsh. But the reality is kids
don't think in those terms.And that's a key part of being successful
in life. Right. Financiallyspeaking. So when we're talking about
financial literacy and all ofthese various things, why is it so
(04:41):
urgent for them to learn thesethings at their young age? I guess
it's considered young as a teenager.
I think right now the urgencyis they have the world at their fingertips,
that is the Internet,technology. Right. And by a click
of a button, you can, for themost part, have what you want. But
also with that comes risk. Youknow, there's scams that are out
(05:03):
there to get them that pops upon their screens. There's digital
finance with, you know,crypto. And so to make those decisions,
you have to be financiallysavvy or at least have a good mindset
of I'm not going to fall forthis, I'm going for this and go in
with the plan rather thanfalling for all of those things and
then end up with debt youdidn't even realize could exist for
(05:24):
you.
Okay, now you've kind of,you've given me the idea of, you
know, teenagers aren't perfectwhen they launch. What are some of
the biggest mistakes? Or canyou give us two or three illustrations
of typical mistakes that youngpeople make as they enter the world
of finance?
(05:44):
Absolutely. The concept aboutmoney, like you said before, money
grows on trees.
Yeah.
They just feel if I work forit, I get it, I could spend it not
having a budget and then justspending the money. And then also
one of the biggest thing isnot saving your money and not having
a goal.
Yes.
If you don't have a goal, thenyou're not working towards something
(06:06):
and then what you want, youwon't even know what you want because
you can't get there.
You know, at the risk ofsounding overly philosophical, the
reality is that we live inwhat some people call a fast food
world and that is that wedon't have as many opportunities
to teach short term sacrificefor long term gain. Right. So what
(06:30):
you are doing in a financialsense is that exact thing. So we
work for a school districtthat has a 1.8 billion billion dollar
budget. I think that was whatthey said. That's huge. But budgeting
is not just for the biginstitutions. It's for the home,
it's for the kitchen tableconversations. How do you teach students
(06:54):
to build a budget that'srealistic for a teen's life? Because
that's a teen doesn'tnecessarily have a 9 to 5 job and
a salary that's predictable.They're usually working hourly wage
jobs that, you know, the hoursfluctuate. They're not sure how much
they're going to get. How, howcan you teach that and how do they
(07:16):
receive it as another thing.
So the first thing I say iswe're going to, you're going to operate
on 80, 20. You can spend 80%of your income and save 20%. So 20%
you can't touch. Okay. The 80%has to be allocated for everything,
means there should be nothingleft. So 80% of this I'm going to
do self care. I can get amassage. And I'm thinking More about
(07:37):
myself now.
Teachers in general.
Exactly. But the 80% is you'regoing to get manicures, you're going
to get. You know what I mean?You're breaking all of it down to
everything. To what do if youwant to eat out, I'm going to use
this amount because they'dlove to eat out. This amount I'm
going to use per week. So Iknow at the end of the month I've
used this amount. So youallocate the entire 80, so there's
(07:57):
nothing left, but everythingis accounted for. Yeah. And then
the 20% is savings. Andthey're like, well, I don't need
to save anything because I'mliving at home. That's perfectly
right. True. However, your 20%is something you don't touch and
it sits there for a rainy day.So when the rainy day comes, it's
sprinkling. It's not a tsunami.
Yeah, exactly.
And they normally receive it.And then I always tell them, I'm
(08:19):
like, you cannot havechampagne taste with Kool Aid money
right now. You have to berealistic with where you are now
in the future, do you want tohave champagne taste and champagne
money? Absolutely. That's whatI want for you as well. But right
now, let's focus on what youhave, because you want to create
a goal. And I always tellthem, with your budget, what's your
goal? Like, eventually, whatwould you like to have? Or what would
you like to do? Like in, let'ssay, five years? And if you can say
(08:42):
that, then maybe part of yoursavings could be used for that. And
as long as I'm putting itaway, I can get to that.
Yeah. And other teenagersaround them aren't necessarily thinking
like that. So thought comes tomind. You're familiar with Dave Ramsey,
the financial guy. He has aphrase that says, live now like no
one else so that you can livelater like no one else. Right. Something
(09:05):
like that. That kind ofsacrificial mindset now, putting
it off for greater gain later.That's huge. And you're a big part
of getting that in theirminds. That's awesome. So credit
and debt are two concepts thata lot of adults don't grasp. Right.
(09:27):
How do students see creditscores, debt? Do they have a preconceived
notion about these things thatyou find yourself correcting all
the time?
All the time. In their mind,credit cards is free money, and that's
how it's advertised. Right?
(09:48):
That is.
It's how it's advertised. It'sfree money. I'm Going to give you
this limit. They're like, oh,I have this money. And I tell them
it's not free money. And I tryto break it down. I said first, the
limit you're given is basedoff how valuable you are or how they
trust you, their level oftrust in you. If your limit is low,
then likely they're going towatch you. If your percentage is
low, then that means you're trustworthy.
(10:09):
Your interest rate percent. Yes.
Your interest rate percent ofyour income. If that's lower, your
trustworthy. The higher it is,the more of a risk you appear to
them.
Yes.
So with your limit, I alwaystell them if you must get a credit
card because having a creditcard is not a bad thing, but you
should get it to use it as toincrease your credit score. That's
what I tell students.
Yes.
So if you have to get one, youget one. And you want to be able
(10:29):
to purchase only what you havein your bank account right now. So
once you purchase it, pay itoff within two weeks before your
statement comes out. So thenyou are not. Because as soon as your
banks is going to. I'm sorry,as soon as the credit card company
is going to give you astatement, they're asking you for
a certain amount. A minimumamount from that amount is going
to be their interest first.Which is why it takes so long to
(10:51):
pay off her credit card.
Exactly. And I love the twoweeks thing because now you're introducing
working down that interestrate. Right. And the interest amount.
And the interest amount.
Because you're beating thegrace period in most cases.
And let's say you forget andyou don't. As soon as you remember,
immediately pay it.Immediately pay it.
Just go ahead, get it out ofthe way. Now. I find that one of
(11:14):
the hardest things in thatscenario is for kids to stay on top
of what they actually have. Soif they have a. Like in the case
of a teen who has a carpayment, if they look at their checking
account and they see, oh, I'vegot $500 in there, that's awesome.
(11:34):
But then that payment isgetting ready to hit at 450, they
got to make sure they don'tspend that they shouldn't be.
Exactly. Yeah. Which is whywhen we do our budgets each month,
every time you pay somethingor buy something, you are updating
your budget sheet.
Yeah.
So that. And you see what'soutstanding. So if you're looking
that often, you seeoutstanding. Oh, I got a car payment
(11:55):
up. I know this is really theonly amount that I have left in the
account that I can use. So Iknow I'm not going to have that.
That's not available to me.
Yeah. So for those of you whoare also math nerds, this is great
talk, but for the rest of you,I'm sorry, we're getting a little
bit in the weeds maybe, but doyou have or do you help students
find credible apps for how tostay on top of what they actually
(12:18):
have? Or our banking systemsnow to the point where they provide
the features that really work well?
We're still in the processlearning that because for me, I don't
use apps as often. But so thestudents are showing me. So I'm kind
of learning from them as well,which is great. But there's apps
out there as well. But also,you're right, the banks have kind
of like, okay, we need to geton board as far as technology wise.
And they have the softwarebuilt within their, you know, their.
(12:40):
There are sites where this ishow much. This is your spending pattern.
And so it kind of shows thestudents as well, and some of them
actually keep track for them. So.
And if you do an auto paymentthing, it can show you what's pending,
right?
Yeah.
That's awesome. So you'vetalked about emergency fund establishment.
Compound interest, I guess, isalso a huge part of your conversation.
(13:03):
On the debt side.
On the debt side, absolutely.
What about investing?
For investing, I tell thembecause oftentimes when they open
up an account, it's typicallyat a bank where their parents or
their family has one at.That's the easiest thing. Right.
And I say starting off, that'sgreat. Sometimes you want to shop
around and you want to have asavings or a savings account that
you're looking at the interestrate of, you can earn because you
(13:25):
always want your money to makemoney for you as it sits there.
Yeah.
And I said, your firstinvestment could be a bond, a cd,
and shop around and look atthe interest rate and how long it
has to sit. And they're like,well, they're asking it for three
years. I said, okay, that's.That's great. But at the end of the
three years, are you going tohave more than what you put in there?
Yeah.
Like you have to think aboutwhat's actually going to happen.
I said, remember the. And thenwhat question? They're like, okay.
(13:48):
And typically that gets them.And I also have them do that when
they're thinking of.Especially with compound interest
when you're trying to save.But also interest as well. I'm going
off, but interest as well.When they start to shop around, like
for their car payments andthings like that, for the banks,
why it's so.
Important for even a half percent.
Yes. And what it actually doesand what you're actually paying.
(14:09):
And I've shown them anequation they can take. And I've
had students come back to meafter they graduate, when they buy
the car, when they go into thedealership and they have already
been approved for a loan andthey know the amount that they should
have, and they make thedealership work for them.
I love that.
They're like, I got it what I wanted.
We ought to start a consumertalk show of some sort. Oh, my gosh,
I love that sort of thinking.Because then they go into the lot
(14:32):
armed, not literally, but theywalk in in a better negotiating position
than everybody else walking inbecause it's so easy to go. Well,
yeah, I guess I'll just haveyou finance it for me. I even heard
a commercial the other daythat said these car lots will actually
add 2 percentage points toyour loan if you get it through them
(14:56):
in many cases. So that's hugefor them. So bringing it all together
as we wrap up here. Parentsusually listen to this podcast for
some practical advice. How canparents, I guess, partner with you
to help their students learnthese things at home? What practical
(15:19):
things can they do at home?Maybe even if their students not
in your class or a class inthe district, that would help them
to launch successfullyeventually. In a financial sense,
I would say.
First, sit down with them andhelp them establish a budget when
they get their first job.
(15:40):
Okay.
Just to start them off andthen have honest conversations like,
what do you want to do? Wheredo you want to go and have those
conversations and show them?What does that look like for them
financially? Especially now asstudents start to look like in their
sophomore, up to their senioryear as going to college. And what
does it look like? What is itgoing to look like when you go to
(16:00):
college? And how do thoserates work? And sit down and have
those conversations, help themmap out, well, if we only want to
pay this amount, let's startlooking at these scholarships. What
would this amount look like ifwe start to pay it when we sign the
promissory note on your firstday as a freshman, what are you actually
going to be paying when yougraduate as a senior? Just have those
conversations with them.
Is it worth maybe going toschool part time to be able to work,
(16:24):
to be ahead of that financialpicture? Right.
Yeah. And students, they wantto. They want to make money, but
they don't know what theydon't know.
Right?
Right. And if you like, ifthey want to get a credit card as
a parent, shop around withthem. Show them. If you get this
credit card, you got to bemindful of this and this and this.
Because if you're with them,making that decision with them, you
know, you're preparing them tobe successful.
(16:45):
So, Andrea, this is someawesome information that I wish I
had been able to have my kidsin your course decades ago. Lots
of kids, old guy, whatever.But it really could help them launch
well. And I know our viewersreally appreciate you sharing this
(17:07):
information and we'll be sureto put the links that would be helpful
for you in the episodedescription and show notes. If you
heard something you foundhelpful, please make sure to like,
subscribe and share theepisode with other other parents.
It tells the algorithms what'sgood to recommend to viewers and
helps us get the word out. Sothank you for listening to the Inside
(17:29):
Scoop, a podcast produced bythe Cobb County School.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.