How does an Acting major from NYU apply her skills to the financial education world? She creates an interactive, musical presentation that teaches elementary-aged students about money. What a fun conversation this was with Julie Beckham! Hear about her award-winning program, the questions she hears most often from students and how to establish presence in the classroom. Enjoy!

Details:

• 0:00~6:56 Current Events with MissBeHelpful: Pandemic Savings Boost
• 6:56~8:24 Introducing this Week’s Guest: Julie Beckham, Financial Education Officer at Rockland Trust
• 8:24~9:25 The emphasis on relationships at Rockland Trust
• 9:25~12:14 Early money lessons
• 12:14~15:47 Path from a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts to finance to Ms. Money & The Coins
• 15:47~16:33 The evolution of the Ms. Money performance 
• 16:33~19:04 Experience performing at schools
• 19:04~22:48 What elementary school students are curious about
• 22:48~25:36 Teaching about sharing
• 25:36~29:35 Transition to performing remotely
• 29:35~31:37 Keeping the show fresh: acting is reacting
• 31:37~36:38 Establishing a presence on Zoom and in the classroom
• 36:38~39:23 On the Credit for Life Fairs
• 39:23~41:03 Places to find personal finance resources
• 41:03~42:01 Where to find Rockland Trust’s resources
• 42:01~43:01 A message to personal finance teachers
• 43:01~44:03 Conclusion 

Resources:

• FinCap Friday: Pandemic Savings Boost
• Credit for Life Fairs
• No Shame in this Money Game

Quotes:

• “Educated consumers make better customers. If you have a better relationship with your money and you know more, you’re going to be better off. We really want to make that happen to our customers and community members because it’s so important.”

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About the Authors

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.

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.