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 persuade their schools to make finance education a requirement?

• 0:00~0:35 – Introduction
• 0:35~1:31 – History of Jump$tart
• 1:31~4:15 – Laura’s passion for financial literacy
• 4:15~5:49 – How personal finance education has changed
• 5:49~6:43 – Impact of technology on the youth of today and their relationship to money
• 6:43~9:32 – Jump$tart’s goals and initiatives for 2016
• 9:32~14:36 – Teacher Training Alliance initiative
• 14:36~16:31 – The Jump$tart Clearinghouse
• 16:31~19:45 – What are teachers looking for at the Clearinghouse?
• 19:45~24:08 – The evolution of the Jump$tart National Conference
• 24:08~27:35 – Changes in the structure of workshops at the conference
• 27:35~27:55 – A word from our sponsor
• 27:55~31:57 – How have national standards for K-12 personal finance education changed?
• 31:57~34:24 – How paying for college fits into a personal finance class
• 34:24~37:35 – How a teacher can persuade their school/district to make personal finance a requirement
• 37:35~40:55 – Activities for Financial Literacy Month
• 40:55~44:12 – Federal efforts to teach personal finance
• 44:12~47:30 – Longer-term goals for Jump$tart
• 47:30~49:02 – The importance of educating people about personal finance
• 49:02~52:10 – Three personal finance tips
• 52:10~53:05 – Conclusion

About the Author

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.