Investing has never been more accessible to young investors. Minimum balances of $1, fractional shares where you buy shares in denominations as low as $1 and commission-free trading have all contributed an influx of novice investors in the stock market. Let's recognize that is a good thing. However, many of the online brokers sought to "gamify" investing which provided an expensive lesson to many as they plowed into speculative meme stocks and cryptocurrencies in 2021 or invested with borrowed money (on margin). These investments have had precipitous declines in 2022. 

The idea with the mini-activity is to have students watch the videos (15-30 seconds in duration) and then answer reflection questions: 

Questions: 

• Many celebrity influencers are pitching investing products these days. Do you think it's a good idea to follow their advice? 
• These videos end encouraging you to do your own research when investing. What do you think are good sources of information for investing? 
• What do you think is the difference between speculation and investing? Which category do you think meme stocks and crypto would fall into? 

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Want to learn more about investing and the psychology behind our tendency toward "get rich quick" schemes. Sign up for NGPF Certification courses to build your content knowledge in these areas or complete On-Demand modules on bitcoin, NFTs or GameStop. 

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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