Nov 08, 2019

NGPF Podcast: Vincent Branch on the transition from financial advisor to educator

NGPF Fellow Vincent Branch has a passion for financial education that became apparent the first time we met at the NGPF Summer Institute earlier this year. As a financial advisor in an earlier life, he saw the tactics used to "sell" financial products and realized how few people knew the right questions to ask. He's preparing his students to be that skeptical consumer as a personal finance teacher at Washington High School (Houston, TX). In this podcast, Vincent will discuss why he cares so much about finance education, share some of his favorite in-class activities and tell his favorite finance story. Enjoy! 

Details:

  • 0:00~1:46 Introduction
  • 1:46~4:23 Vincent’s current role
  • 4:23~7:40 Working as a financial advisor and seeing the gaps
  • 7:40~11:58 How Vincent learned about personal finance
  • 11:58~16:43 Starting a personal finance course 
  • 16:43~19:07 Growing the personal finance program
  • 19:07~21:06 Challenges to getting personal finance courses into schools
  • 21:06~25:04 Budgeting with Roommates
  • 25:04~25:34 A word from NGPF
  • 25:34~28:35 Playing Spent
  • 28:35~31:22 Favorite story to tell students
  • 31:22~34:32 Questions from fellow teachers
  • 34:32~37:07 Conclusion

Resources:

Quote:

  • “I saw a lot of need for education because a lot of the bankers out there and financial advisors are there to sell a product or a service. In order to know if that service or product is right for you, the public should have a basic understanding of personal finance to ask the right questions and know where their money is and how it’s working for them.”

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Over 200 podcasts in our archive including guests Jonathan Clements, Bill Bernstein, Burton Malkiel and Charley Ellis. Check it out here. 

 

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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