What if financial freedom started not with money but a dream? Dr. Paris Woods, educator and bestselling author of The Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom, believes students should envision the life they want before learning how education, career choices, and more can help them build it. In this episode, we cover Woods’ backstory, body of work, and more.

Woods grew up in St. Louis in a low-income household with her single mother and five other children. Her mother inspired this ambitious mindset, and it allowed her to get a full scholarship to Harvard. Despite her achievement, she did not obtain financial education in school but through books in her leisure.

She later discovered the FIRE movement that explained financial independence is not about quitting work, but having enough freedom that you can choose work without depending on a paycheck. She said, “My definition is that you don't need a paycheck, you literally control your life, your labor, and your time.”

See the full transcript and listen to the episode for more of their conversation on financial independence and exploring financial education.

Also Check Out: Carly Urban on What the Research Actually Says About Financial Education  

Does financial education truly work? After decades of research, Dr. Carly Urban states the data argues it does. However, the main variable is how personal finance is taught. In this episode, we learn about the research around financial education.

Urban is a Professor of Economics at Montana State University and has spent over a decade researching if financial education changes students’ level of urgency and knowledge. Earlier studies had various conclusions on the matter, and it interested her. Her own research indicated was a large difference between solo personal finance courses versus financial education ingrained in other subjects.

The states that allow personal finance to be in another course have fewer than half of the schools teaching required content. She also states, “We're finding 11th grade has the highest value added,” meaning that this topic is a necessity before graduating into adulthood.

See the full transcript and listen to the episode for more of their conversation on research on financial education and standalone vs embedded courses.

Join this Week's Live Event: Financial Literacy Rooted in Joy and Justice with Dr. De'Shawn C. Washington

Register here to catch this week’s live Speaker Series tonight (Sept. 3) at 4pm PT (7pm ET) featuring the Founder and President of Cultivating Changemakers, LLC, an award-winning educator, scholar, and public education advocate. Dr. Washington was the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. 

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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