Marketplace interviewed four college seniors who are older members of Generation Z (who were in middle school during the Great Recession) to get their perspectives on money, the economy and paying for college.  The audio resource is six minutes long and provides short answer snippets to the questions listed below.

Prior to listening to the audio recording, It might be interesting to have your students do a pair-share choosing three of these questions so they can see how their perspectives are similar/different to the students interviewed:

• Do you trust the economy?
• Are you saving for college?  How are you accomplishing this?
• How much of a priority is money in your life?
• What do you spend your money on?
• What is your biggest fear as you think about your post-college career?
• How well do you understand how you are going to pay for college?

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.