Students who made it all the way to the final quiz bowl answered questions that tested their knowledge of financial concepts such as retirement accounts, debt and compound interest. Actress and model Nicole Ari Parker served as a judge and MC for the event. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
Arhan Barve is rocking a gray suit with a white button-up shirt, looking like a seasoned financial advisor. He and his teammates are presenting a savings and investment plan for a made-up client.
“We just had to build it for a recent divorcee. Her name’s Sarah, she’s 52 years old,” said Barve.
He is representing Lambert High School in Forsyth County for the second year in a row in the annual National Personal Finance Challenge. This year, it was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
“Essentially, we were just trying to steer her in the right direction financially, make sure she’s making the right choices with her brokerage account, with her retirement accounts, emergency funds, all that kind of stuff,” said Barve.
It’s one of nearly 40 schools from 33 states competing to be crowned the champion. Ethan Baek also represents Lambert; he’s a junior.
Lambert High School in Forsyth County was one of nearly 40 schools from 33 states competing. Here, the team is presenting a savings and investment plan for a made-up client. Ethan Baek (left), Arhan Barve (second to left). (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
“I just find it interesting because it states basic concepts that you never really think about, but then once you realize that they’re actually concepts that people have, derived over time, then you start to apply it in your everyday lives, such as budgeting,” said Baek.
While Baek will return next year for another shot to win the competition, his teammate, Barve, is heading to Harvard in the fall to major in economics. He says he’s very excited to take his interest to the next level.
“I think every high schooler should have the right to learn personal finance and know how to manage their money before they become an adult,” said Barve.
A new study from TIAA, an investment firm, and Stanford University’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center shows that households are more likely to be debt-constrained, as financial literacy remains low for the better part of a decade. Among younger people, including Gen Z adults, the understanding of key financial concepts declines compared with older generations.
The event is hosted by the Council for Economic Education, a national organization pushing to expand financial literacy for more teens. It is put together in partnership with Voya, a New York City-based American financial, retirement, investment, and insurance company.
The event is hosted by the Council for Economic Education, a national organization pushing to expand financial literacy for more teens. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
Steve Bumbaugh is the CEO of CEE. He says this push to make learning about things like building a budget and managing credit card debt more widely accessible has led to competition that feels almost like an economic Super Bowl.
“It’s fun. The kids are cheering for each other. They get fired up. We make the learning fun,” said Bumbaugh.
Georgia is one of 41 states that require some level of financial literacy program in high school. Bumbaugh is not satisfied and wants this type of education mandated in every state.
Nearly 40 schools from 33 states competed to be crowned the champion. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
“These young people have a huge advantage. They’ll learn about compounding interest and about budgeting. They are learning about savings and credit card debt. Hopefully, most of them will cut up the credit cards that come in the mail to them when they’re in college,” said Bumbaugh.
Bumbaugh says that when students learn this content in high school, they are more economically secure as adults, especially for children from immigrant families.
“And with personal finance, where the rules are very American-based, they take this information home, and they teach their parents. So there is a ripple effect to this kind of content,” said Bumbaugh.
“When we first started sponsoring this program in 2018, I think in the room that day there were less than 50 kids, and now you’re here today, seeing I think upwards of 100 kids,” said Braeden Mayrisch, vice president of impact and culture at the company.
Christina Smith is a teacher and coach for her team at Rockdale County High School. She says her students are testing their knowledge of credit cards, debt, and saving for retirement, things that many adults struggle with.
“I didn’t understand a lot of the things that they’re getting the information until I got out of college and started experiencing trial-and-error type of situations,” said Smith.
Rockdale County High School presenting a savings and investment plan for a made-up client. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
She says this also gives them a head start in building generational wealth.
Actress and model Nicole Ari Parker served as a judge and MC for the event. She says she learned quite a bit from the financially savvy teens.
“I was impressed. I need to go home and re-evaluate everything I thought I was doing right. And seeing it come out of the mouths of babes, you could say, it gave me courage to take a few more risks in my own investing,” said Parker.
Coaches were almost just as pumped as the students themselves for the competition, like Christopher Power, who teaches business and personal finance at Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York.
“The CEE gives us the platform through competitions and a free curriculum that really allows us to lean really hard into the content. It’s written by educators, and it’s written and supported by people in the industry,” said Power. “Financial literacy for us has always been the gateway to financial freedom.”
Students that made it all the way to the final quiz bowl answered questions that tested their knowledge of financial concepts such as retirement accounts, debt, and compound interest. Actress and model Nicole Ari Parker (right) served as a judge and MC for the event. (Marlon Hyde/WABE)
His students made it all the way to the final quiz bowl, where they answered questions that tested their knowledge of financial concepts such as retirement accounts, debt, and compound interest. These questions could have a room full of adults stumped.
“Honestly, it was really fun and pretty challenging, honestly, but I would say that I really enjoyed going through with my teammates, and the first round of the semi-final was super fun. The questions were amazing, and we were just having a great time,” said Pei Chi Liu, a student at Francis Lewis High School.
Although a Georgia High School didn’t win, Bumbaugh says all of these teenagers are winners because they are learning skills that will help them build a stronger financial future
