Here’s an activity idea for your Instagram-obsessed students. Have them take pictures of personal finance that they notice in their everyday lives. Here are a few I came across this weekend while wandering around the Bay Area:

• In the new world of work, many choose to have a “side hustle (here’s the NGPF podcast with Ash Cash who popularized the term and a recent post on the topic),” an additional source of income. Here’s a sign I saw at a Re-Maker faire in San Francisco:

• With the fake accounts scandal at Wells Fargo, there’s a renewed focus on the practice of cross-selling at bank branches. Saw this sign at a Bank of America branch in Dublin, California. The bank is promoting their subsidiary, Merrill Lynch, and their IRA product by encouraging customers to “talk with us today.” Is it a good idea to buy investment products from your bank? Great opportunity for a classroom discussion!

• As a personal finance educator, one of the skills I want to leave with my students is their ability to ask the right questions be engaged in their financial lives and think about their future selves (here’s a writing exercise and a simulation where students will have to “face” their future). Seen at a Charles Schwab office in San Francisco:

About the Author

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.

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