Finance in Schools, Adding Value, and AI Travel Itineraries

Take a few MOMENTS to relax and read.

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MONEY TIP

Why isn’t finance taught in school? This is a common question, but did you know there is actually a reason? Well, one reason (more on the conspiracy theory side, but it could be true) is that the government/large corporations need “worker bees,” so they want most of the workforce to be followers. Maybe. Makes a lot of sense, but finance journalist Dan Kadlec, actually found these definite five reasons in his research:

1. Only one in five teachers feels qualified to lead a personal finance class
2. We don’t have enough instructors to teach finance classes (see reason #1)
3. Personal finance isn’t part of the ACT or SAT – if it’s not tested, it’s not taught 4)
4. Education is up to the states, not the feds, and each state has different ideas
5. There isn’t much agreement as to which finance concepts would be taught

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OPPORTUNITY

There are many good board games that teach finance skills, but one of the best for young kids is PayDay. Kids learn how to pay bills, make money, and form investments.

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MINIMALISM TIP

Instead of focusing on what you need to remove, shift your mindset to what truly adds value to your life. Keep only the possessions, commitments, and relationships that serve a clear purpose or bring genuine joy. This way, minimalism becomes less about deprivation and more about curating a life of intention and meaning.

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ESSENTIAL READING

If you want a simple but helpful book on minimalism, check out The Minimalist Way by Erica Layne. I really enjoyed her approach and we still use several of the methods from this book.

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NOTION

This one is controversial and debatable, but I think we should teach our kids sales skills. Here’s why:

1. Kids need to learn how to sell themselves, if nothing else
2. Kids need to learn how to protect themselves from being sold to

We’re all in sales, in one form or another. The simple fact that salesmanship has such a bad reputation is evidence that we need to be teaching the right way to sell something to someone. There is always a win-win option, but most salesmen are known for preferring win-lose.

Win-win isn’t a myth, regardless of what others have said. The mentality that “win-lose or lose-win is the only option” is further evidence that we need to show kids how selling should work. “Think win-win” is one of the 7 habits of highly effective people for a reason.

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TRAVEL TIP

I don’t use AI often, but using ChatGPT to make a travel itinerary is a fun way to get some ideas. It won’t be perfect, but it’s a great start. The more specific you are, the better. The prompt would be something like “Create a 7-day itinerary for a family of 5, with kids ages 4-14, to include a mix of learning activities, entertainment, exercise, and historic sites for whatever location you’re heading to.” That’s an extremely simplified example, but you get the idea.

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SCRIPTURE

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23

Closing Question

Are you creating amazing stories through your daily memories that you will want to tell your grandchildren?