The Art of Allowance Podcast | Parenting | Families | Money Smarts | Financial Literacy John Lanza

Guest Dr. Ashley LeBaron-Black returns to the podcast to talk with host John Lanza about her research focus of family finance. Ashley first defines the terms “financial well-being” and “financial socialization.” She then highlights the importance of family modeling and open discussion on the money-smart journey. Ashley also emphasizes the essential nature of experiential learning and the shortcomings of classroom financial literacy. Both she and John then address the concept of money scripts, the ability of some kids (dubbed “financial phoenixes”) to overcome poor modeling and the need to go beyond rational-based instruction.

Dr. Ashley LeBaron-Black is an Assistant Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University who received her PhD in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona. Her research focus is family finance, including couple finance and financial socialization. Ashley has published 33 peer-reviewed articles and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. She is also Chair of the Family Financial Well-Being Focus Group for the National Council on Family Relations.

Guest Colin Ryan speaks to college-age kids nationwide and shares humorous anecdotes to help them grapple with money. He also encourages parents to see their children as the heroes of their financial stories, understand their kids' unique perspectives and personalize conversations to foster connections. During his podcast appearance, Colin and host John Lanza discuss the idea of “earning by saving,” the role of modeling and technology’s impact on financial well-being. They also chat about personal finance's emotional and psychological facets, finding success and contentment in a consumer-driven society, social media's power, vulnerability's importance and the value of connecting through shared experiences.

Colin Ryan is a comedic financial speaker, an author and an award-winning storyteller who has been featured everywhere from NPR and PBS to The Moth Radio Hour and Reader’s Digest. He was named one of the top ten finance presenters in America and has spoken to over one million students and adults. He is also the author of A Comedic Guide to Money and the founder of the Public Speaking for Leaders Podcast. As a speaker’s mentor, Colin is dedicated to helping talented leaders and public figures become fun, memorable and impactful communicators. He now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, Lindsey, and their dog, Remy.

Self-professed "money disaster" Joe Saul-Sehy shares his experiences with and insights on raising money-smart kids with host John Lanza. Joe recounts his own credit card debacle, which influenced how he approached money with his twins. He shares how he introduced them to money when they were young, his family's allowance system, his "circling back" strategy and how he tackled money conversations. He also discusses money tracking, the difference between saving and investing and responsible debt management. Additionally, Joe and John touch on the loneliness epidemic, the importance of financial coaching, having the freedom to make money mistakes and not making a purchase without a payment plan.

Joe Saul-Sehy learned from failure. Destroying his credit immediately after leaving home, he had to gain financial experience the hard way. Ironically, he learned many lessons as a financial advisor. (Yes, he was telling other people how to manage their money!) After 16 years in the industry, he moved to financial media and created Stacking Benjamins, one of the most streamed podcasts in the personal finance sphere. He also co-authored the book Stacked: Your Super-Serious Guide to Modern Money Management. Joe lives in Texarkana with his spouse, Cheryl, and cat, Cooper, and records shows in his mom’s next-door basement.

Host John Lanza speaks with Vince Shorb about the importance of financial education, the need for financial literacy programs in schools and the challenges of scaling these programs. They address the underappreciated role of parents in financial literacy education and the importance of teaching kids to save, earn money and control expenses, while highlighting the power of compounding and the psychology of money. They also discuss similar grandfatherly advice influenced by The Great Depression. Vince shares his early money lessons and how his parents encouraged his entrepreneurial spirit while emphasizing the importance of resilience in making financial decisions.
Vince Shorb, CEO of the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC), has helped transform financial education by developing engaging and effective programs that significantly impact diverse communities. The NFEC’s over 2,500 programs help empower community champions to help citizens work toward financial self-sufficiency and security.
 

Looking for some fresh perspective on your family's money-smart journey?
Kevin Kelly's approaches to finances are sure to be conversation starters. Kevin is the Senior Maverick at Wired, an award-winning magazine he co-founded in 1993. He is also the co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking, and the founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. What's more, Kevin has authored multiple best-selling books about the future of technology. His newest one, Excellent Advice for Living, contains 450 modern proverbs for a pretty good life. 
Kevin is someone who podcaster and author Tim Ferriss has described as the real-life “most interesting man in the world.” I love his writing and the radical optimism for which he is well known. (If you can't tell, he is one of my intellectual heroes.) I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging discussion, which touches on topics from billionaires and dying broke to protopias and traveling Asia.

How can parents encourage their kids to harness the power of patience on the money-smart journey?

My latest Art of Allowance Podcast guest, Will Rainey, offers parents strategies for teaching investing and saving. Will is an award-winning investment consultant who has advised governments, insurance companies and some of the world's largest pension schemes. During his "mini-retirement," he began writing and speaking to help parents teach their children all about money.

Will wrote Grandpa's Fortune Fables, a children's book that encourages kids to plant money seeds that will, with patience, sprout into massive money trees. His company, Blue Tree Savings, has also helped thousands of parents begin money conversations with their kids. What's more, Will has been invited to speak at Fortune 500 companies, and his work has appeared in the Financial Times, Forbes, iNews and the National News.