During her 30 year career at the Washington Post, Michelle Singletary has helped millions of readers more effectively manage their finances. Michelle has used her platform as personal finance columnist to explain government programs in this age of pandemic, hold agencies to account for sloppy implementation of policy and describe finances in a way that people can understand. I know that you will enjoy this conversation with this incredible advocate. 

Details:

• 0:00~1:40 Introduction
• 1:40~2:52 Writing about personal finance
• 2:52~5:43 Favorite column
• 5:43~9:32 Lesson on saving from Big Momma
• 9:32~12:58 Intersection of race and finance
• 12:58~15:47 Experience as a columnist at the Washington Post
• 15:47~16:15 A word from NGPF
• 16:15~17:46 Making concepts consumable
• 17:46~23:28 Behind the scenes look on writing with consumers in mind
• 23:28~27:25 Don’t trust and verify -- looking out for scams
• 27:27~30:50 Trading individual stocks on apps versus investing in index funds
• 30:50~39:43 Message for students
• 39:43~40:50 Conclusion

Resources:

• Michelle Singletary - The Washington Post
• My Grandmother’s Saving Grace

Quotes:

• "It is a privilege to be able to write for The Post and this position, so I try to write columns that help people understand policy, economics, debt, credit, investing from the perspective of that person [that might need help understanding]."

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.