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The FinLit Zone

I equip young people with the money skills they need to avoid costly mistakes as adults. Subscribe to my newsletter for tips on how to help youth build financial confidence.

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Featured Post

🀐 Money is a taboo topic. Young people need that to change.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ When I was getting ready to write this newsletter, I thought about how I always wanted to know how much things cost when I was little. Our house, our cars, our food, my clothes, my toys β€” you name it, I wanted to know the price. My mom usually bore the brunt of my price-tag obsession. To her credit, she never made me...

Purple gift box with a green ribbon being hooked by a fishing pole. Yellow background.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ Let's talk about one of the most powerful words in marketing: FREE! Young people are growing up in an economy where free can be pretty complicated. A free app collects personal data. A free trial may become a paid subscription. Or a free delivery offer comes with service fees. That's why it's so important for young...

Purple and green score board with tallies for income, spending, savings, and debt. Go Team Money Smart is in a banner at the bottom of the board.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ Well, I have to be honest, folks. I keep seeing fall clothes in the stores and I don't like it. Can I enjoy this last bit of summer without all these reminders that fall is coming? πŸ˜‚ With new-season clothes in stores β€” sometimes months before we need them β€” it's easy for young people to think they need to shop now to...

Vintage Ford mustang, a buy sell button with a hand lumbering over it, a mini mansion and a pair of colorful nikes in a four square grid. Yellow background.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ I've been sifting through thrift store racks with a renewed passion, thanks to a recent news story about a young thrift store shopper finding an item worth tens of thousands of dollars. (More on this story later). The discovery drew plenty of attention and, for me, raised an interesting financial question: Can a...

Girl and boy on a blue background facing each other and the girl is putting money in the boy's hand.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ This time of year can feel like a whirlwind. You're squeezing in the last summer adventures and stocking up on school supplies, while trying to juggle whatever else is on your plate. I totally understand how your plans to teach your kids financial responsibility keep getting pushed to "later." If you only have the...

Red jeep Cherokee on gray background with words related to total cost of car ownership: car payment, oil change, new tires, gas, tolls, parking fees, car insurance

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ It's been hard to miss the steady stream of headlines in recent years about the rising cost of reaching the traditional milestones of adulthood. For many young people, buying a home, owning a car, or living independently doesn't even feel like a realistic goal in today's economy. That presents a challenge and...

Grocery cart loaded with baguette, water, vegetables, various bagged item and a grocery receipt all on a gray background.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ If you've been saying, "I can't believe how expensive everything is now," you're not alone. From groceries and gas to airline bag fees and restaurant meals, so many families are feeling the pain of higher prices. While it's frustrating trying to stretch your cash even further, it also presents an opportunity to teach...

Clock in center of green ombre background with rows of Robux icons all around.

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ For many kids, school is already out for the year. And with that shift comes more free time, more screen time, and more opportunities to spend money in virtual worlds. Whether it's Robux in Roblox, V-Bucks in Fortnite, or Minecoins in Minecraft, many young people are making purchasing decisions every day without fully...

A silhouette of an adult below silhouettes of three kids with labels: spender, saver, don't care about $

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ If you teach enough young people about money, like I do, you'll notice a pattern: They don't all think about money the same way. Some kids save every dollar. Others spend money as soon as they get it. One child may worry about money constantly, while another barely thinks about it. Those differences are normal, but...

black and white drawing of a teenage boy working in a fast food restaurant

Dollars, Cents, and Confidence Weekly tips for the grown-ups shaping youth into financially savvy adults Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, my favorite day of the week!πŸ€‘ It's that time of year when kids in some parts of the United States have started counting down the days until school is out and a summer of earning money begins. For most teens, getting a job is a major milestone. It definitely was for me. When I got my first job as a hostess at a diner, I was certain I was on my way...