Through volunteering with CARE Chicago, a nonprofit that provides free financial literacy presentations on topics such as credit, budgeting, and more, Gene Volchek and Jeff Schwartz share what thousands of classroom visits have taught them about explaining credit. In this episode, they discuss the misconceptions that trip students up most, the analogies that finally make credit click, and how to teach this before the first card, not after the first mistake. 

Jeff, a bankruptcy attorney, mentions that bankruptcy judges noticed that young adults who file for bankruptcy lack prior financial education. That led to the founding of CARE. Rather than reacting to damaged credit, their goal is to teach students how credit works before they borrow money and proactively build good credit habits early.

Gene, a credit-scoring expert who is a Senior Vice President at TransUnion, said he tells students, “Think of your credit report as your adult report card. If grades become your GPA, then your credit score is your adult GPA.” Young adults may be intimidated by all this new information, but this analogy puts it back in terms they all know.

See the full transcript and listen to the episode for more of their conversation on co-signing, important habits, common misconceptions, and more.

Making Personal Finance Fun and Hands-On with Stephen Day   

Financial education can sound intimidating or tedious to some younger audiences. Enter Steven Day, a former high school social studies teacher and author of Teach a Kid to Save: A Fun, Hands-On Approach to Building Smart Money Habits. In this episode, Steven breaks down how financial education can be interactive and presented at an early age.

Steven’s father created a mini economy in the household, and Steven explains how it can be adapted for the classroom. It is a hands-on way to learn different lessons in one setting or to incentivize learning with privilege coupons that can bail a student out of homework or earn them extra screen time.

Steven says, “Kids don't really get enough practice with money, and this is especially true for the elementary grades."

Packed with practical tips, free printable resources, and a few laugh-out-loud parenting moments, this conversation is a must-listen for any teacher or parent who wants to raise money-smart kids.

See the full transcript and listen to the episode to rethink what financial education can look like from the ground up.

Join Us LIVE Tonight for a Conversation with the FitMoney Team

FitMoney is a nonprofit offering free, research-backed K–12 financial literacy curriculum designed to help children and teens build lifelong money skills. They'll discuss why early, age-appropriate money lessons matter, how FitMoney’s programs and the FinanciallyFit online certificate platform work in both school and at home, and how their leveled games, teacher guides, and worksheets make lessons easy to teach and track.

Register to attend tonight's (July 23) Speaker Series with FitMoney.

About the Author

Zach Mann

Zach recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Sociology. Zach is a Communications Intern for NGPF, assisting with content creation for NGPF's various platforms. He enjoys contributing to communications that support a mission with a tangible impact.

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