Dec 03, 2015

NGPF Podcast: Tim Talks To Colin Ryan, Stand-Up Comic and Financial Educator

Thanks to Colin Ryan for participating in the recent NGPF podcast show. We ran into Colin recently at the JumpStart National Educator Conference where his keynote address was extremely well received. As you listen, pay attention to how he incorporates storytelling into his workshops and how you might emulate his models in your classroom. Colin’s workshops are not entirely about laughter..behind his comedic facade is a understanding of the role that individual motivation plays in translating financial knowledge into behaviors. His passion, keen observations and vast experience with student groups and educators (over 500 workshops and counting) make this a podcast not to be missed.

Listen to this podcast to hear Colin provide answers to the following questions:

* How did you come up with this idea of combining comedy with financial education?
* How should educators think about using storytelling in the context of financial education?
* What are the components of an engaging story?
* if you had one minute to make an impression on a high school student about the importance of financial literacy, what would you say?

Show Notes (resources mentioned by Colin during podcast):

Podcast Program

0:00-0:48: Introduction
0:48-2:14: How did you come up with the idea to combine comedy with personal finance?
4:36~8:30 : Tell me a little about money lessons you learned growing up, best teacher you have had, why parents don’t talk about money with their kids
8:30~9:45 : How would you describe your approach? How has your approach evolved over time?
9:45~11:06 : How do you stay on top of pop culture so you can connect with young people?
11:06~13:22 : What are your favorite commercials?
13:22~15:34 : What are the money fears/concerns that teens have?
15:34~17:20 : Importance of finding your passion
17:20~22:53 : Biggest money blind spots teens have? Paying for college talk
22:53~28:40 : How does your approach cover the behavioral aspects of personal finance?
28:40~32:06 : How do you incorporate storytelling into your workshops? What makes a good story?
32:06~37:48 : What is an embarrassing money story that you have experienced?
37:48~41:09: What advice would you provide educators about how best to engage students?
41:09~43:03: What if you only had 1 minute make impression on high school student on the importance of financial literacy?
43:03~45:52: Wrap-up

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.

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