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

Are you ready for "Moose"? In this episode of The Art of Allowance Podcast, I talk with Morgan ("Moose") Wright. Morgan's life enthusiasm is as infectious as his allowance program is novel. In fact, it was my previous guest, CNBC journalist Kelli Grant, who introduced me to Morgan because she had reported on his interesting approach to teaching his kids money smarts. Of course, if you're a fan of the TV show American Ninja Warrior, then you might know "Moose" as the uber-popular 43-year-old gym teacher who advanced to the 2017 Kansas City finals in his eponymous hat. I think the video of his run has received over a half-million hits. However, Morgan is more than just a fit guy in an antlered hat bouncing off logs on YouTube. He's a retired U.S. Army first lieutenant as well as a Golden Apple award-winning Physical Education teacher, and he's transferred his enthusiasm for exercise to an interesting allowance program for his kids. Enjoy this episode, and I promise that there will be plenty of food for thought — ideas you may want to consider with your own family. So hop on, and hang on tight for this ride with "Moose"!

This episode (Lucky Number 13!) of The Art of Allowance Podcast features Chuck Kalish, the Director of Science for The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). Chuck received his B.A. in Psychology from Swarthmore College and earned his doctorate in Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan. Before Chuck joined the SRCD, he was a Professor in and a past Chair of the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Chuck is an expert in understanding how children develop what we might consider commonsense beliefs and how kids interpret the social norms that we adults take for granted. He and I discuss toxic stress and its insidious effects, executive function and a recent study that has called into question the oft-cited Marshmallow Test. And as the headline suggests, Chuck also explains his belief that videogames might teach financial literacy better than books. There is a lot to chew on (Pun intended!) in this particular show, as Chuck has a deep understanding of kids' and adults' relationships with money.

In this episode, I talk to Sam Renick, the award-winning financial educator who created Sammy Rabbit to help kids get in the savings habit. Sam is a true pioneer in youth financial literacy who’s has spent two decades writing, speaking and performing for kids everywhere. Sam earned the 2016 National Financial Educators Council Financial Educator of the Year and the 2015 NJ Coalition for Financial Education Lifetime Achievement Award. More importantly, Sam is a totally engaging guy who has done a lot of deep thinking about how to move the financial literacy needle forward for families everywhere and our conversation is chock full of great, useful information from start to finish.

In this episode, I talk with Laura Levine. Laura is the Executive Director of the Jump$tart Coalition. We are a partner with this terrific non-profit that advocates for more financial literacy learning in the schools and aggregates resources for families and teachers on the comprehensive Jump$tart Clearinghouse. I’ve known Laura for some time — she’s originally from SoCal where I live now — but currently lives and works in Washington DC. She’s a wonderful woman who has dedicated much of her life to pursuing the financial literacy needle forward and she shares what’s going on in the schools, the overall state of financial literacy and her personal experiences with her son.

In this episode, I talk with Elizabeth Odders-White. Elizabeth is a researcher from the University of Wisconsin Madison who has recently struck out on her own to provide coaching and consulting services. She co-authored the most comprehensive youth financial literacy research review to date and she brings her incredibly thoughtful approach to our discussion. Elizabeth talks to us about financial well being, the importance of scaffolded practice and how we might change the money conversation with our kids from “we can’t” to “we choose not to.”

In this episode, I talk to Kelli Grant, Personal Finance and Consumer Spending Reporter for CNBC. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney and Kiplinger's Personal Finance among other publications. Kelli holds a master's degree in personal financial planning from Kansas State, and a bachelor's degree in journalism and anthropology from Ithaca College. Kelli was practically bursting with practical information about how to help even young kids reduce stuff, the importance of 529s and the FAFSA — you’ll have to listen if you don’t know what I’m talking about — and much, much more. I think you’ll really enjoy my conversation with mom and personal finance expert, Kelli Grant.

In this episode, I talk to Tom Henske of Lenox Partners. Tom is a Certified Financial Planner and Financial Advisor to many wealthy clients in New York City. He also created their Money Smart Kids program. He leverages his wealth of financial knowledge as well as kids and money to teach his kids some very important lessons in financial literacy. Tom shares lots of wisdom in this episode, including interesting ways to use matching to teach your kids money values, a new bedtime ritual you may want to consider and crypto allowance (seriously). Oh, and for you soccer fans out there, Tom was a two-time All-American goalkeeper who helped the Virginia Cavaliers men’s soccer team win their first national title.

Bill Dwight is the founder of FamZoo, a "Virtual Family Bank" that integrates prepaid card accounts with family finance software to help parents and kids develop responsible money habits through hands-on experience. Bill is a father of five and he brings both his personal experience and that of the many FamZoo users to provide a plethora of great money smart teaching tips for teenagers, tweens and younger kids that you should be able to use. If you’re looking for tips to bring financial literacy to your kids, this episode is your ticket.

Tabatha Thurman is an award winning financial literacy educator who has taught money smarts to tens of thousands of Oklahomans. She is also a mom to a four-year-old who, as you might imagine, is being taught money smarts from a very young age. Tabatha and I both believe that starting a conversation is one of the most important aspects to financial literacy so it’s only fitting that I would have her on the podcast to chat. Tabatha gives us an assessment of the state of financial literacy from the front lines, talks about how she’s started an allowance for her little one and shares a new term that I think you’ll love — The Family Jar.

Atsuko, a mom, emailed me recently to say that her now 16-year-old daughter had started learning money smarts with The Money Mammals back in our program first game out. Her testimonial is here. Of course, I had to have her on the podcast. I think you’ll enjoy our interesting and wide ranging conversation, including her use of the “balance” as a guiding force (for you Jedi warriors out there) in raising a money-smart child who is clearly on the path to money empowerment.