Congrats!

Congratulations to SOAR’s Super Saje Squad for winning the first Black 365 Knowledge Bowl! The event was covered by Our Weekly:

“My mom was extremely proud and was talking to everyone on the phone,” Williams laughed. “I wasn’t surprised (when we won). I knew from the beginning we were going to win. I told my team we were going to outwork, out-perform, and outdo everyone. I told them, we have to act like we want it and if we do, we will get our heart’s desire.”

Each of the 15 participants received a copy of financial education book “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money“. The event was held Saturday at United Christian Fellowship Church.

From Our Weekly:

Despite the forecast for rain and snow, community members, educators, parents and friends of the competitors filled the sanctuary with high energy and support.

Created by local griot, Black history scholar and community leader, Jamaal Brown, 28, the Jeopardy-style quiz game consisted of four rounds of 10 categories in Black history including Egypt, famous firsts, and Africa.

For five weeks, the students studied subjects from ancient Egyptian history to current Black accomplishments.

“My expectations were far, far exceeded,” Brown said. “The event was more spectacular than I imagined it would be. Everything from attendance and crowd participation to the level of excellence and the level of mastery the students displayed.”

I’m proud to support the Black 365 Knowledge Bowl.

Teens Want It

According a study conducted by Charles Schwab, “nearly 9 in 10 say they want to learn how to make their money grow (89 percent). Two-thirds (65 percent) believe learning about money management is ‘interesting,’ and 60 percent say that learning about money management is one of their top priorities.” Do you know what that means? Young people want to learn about spending plans, acquiring appreciating assets, and creating emergency funds.

Order 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money on Amazon. Click the photo for more information.

The key to guiding students is making all the tried and true information about personal finance apply to every day life. It’s not that there are any new ideas about money management under the sun. Oh, there are folks that will try to tell you there are. Those folks are liars. The same old strategies work the best:

Don’t spend more than you earn.
Put your money into appreciating assets.
Invest for retirement as early as you can.
Etc.
Etc.

The challenge is getting these stogy old ideas to the younger generations in a fresh way. You’ve told your students/children/relatives to set goals for themselves, right? Have you every put it in the context of rapper 50 Cent’s career? You’ve talked to them about creating a budget, but you explained the merits of spending plans? Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it. You think they’re not listening, but they are. You think they don’t see your behaviors, but they do. Teens want to know more about financial literacy. Meet them half way.

Enter to Win

Answer 4 questions for your chance to win one of 10 copies!

SORRY. THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED.

Anyone that knows me, knows that July is my favorite month of the year. To that end, I’m giving away 10 copies of 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money during a month long contest starting July 1! Just take the 4 question survey for your chance to win! The giveaway will only be available from July 1 to July 31.

Winners will be notified by email Monday, August 2nd.

Click here to take the survey.