I know that you are going to enjoy this conversation that I had with advocate, author and documentarian, Adam Carroll. After running into Adam at more than few conferences, we finally found time in his busy schedule (you can see based on the headline that he has a lot going on!). In this broad-ranging conversation, we discuss Adam's journey from profligate young adult to a highly sought after speaker to Gen Z and millennial audiences where he focuses, you guessed it, on money. His main message: use money as a tool to "build a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle." Adam shares observations that come from speaking to tens of thousands of young people about their money concerns and desires. How can bamboo be a motivator? What's the difference between a doodad and an asset? Listen to this podcast with Adam and find out!

• 0:00–1:07 Introduction
• 1:08–5:36 Adam’s odyssey into the world of financial education
• 5:37–8:45 Teaching the money game: if the students are laughing, they’re learning
• 8:46–16:13 Building the right habits early on
• 16:14–20:19 How the Broke, Busted & Disgusted documentary came to be
• 20:20–26:12 Walking the fine line & talking about higher education
• 26:13–31:10 The mind shift of Millennials and Gen Z
• 31:11–36:05 Adam explains how to survive the new economy
• 36:06–37:54 Entrepreneurs aren’t born, they’re taught
• 37:55– 39:22 Best thing bought for under $10: Bamboo shoot & the power of “yet”
• 39:23–41:53 Biggest money mistake
• 41:54–44:27 Adam’s favorite books, and differentiating doodads and assets
• 44:28–47:36 Advice to students: “Build a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle”
• 47:37–48:16 Conclusion

All about Adam:

• His website: http://www.adamspeaks.com/
• Documentary on student debt: Broke, Busted and Disgusted
• Books
  • “Winning the Money Game”
  • “The Money Savvy Student”

Adam’s favorite books:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• The Cashflow Quadrant
• The Millionaire Next Door
• The Richest Man in Babylon
• Mindset

Other resources mentioned:

• The Power of Habit (Tim mentioned this)
• Alicia Rainwater, Certified Generational Keynote Speaker

Notable QUOTES:

• “Once you get to a point where you have way more discretionary money than you have expenses, it creates this very freeing effect.”
• “You have to free yourself to be yourself.”
• “It was really interesting how I could hook [students] with a phrase or marketing term, and they’d remember it forever.”
• “Once [my kids] start saving, I noticed there was more of an incentive to save than to spend.”
• “Today’s narrative [of college] is actually a bit different because of the economics of college. Today the narrative should be: consider going to school and where you go to school and how you do that. Be prepared to leverage yourself up to do that, and be prepared for the fact that when you graduate, you may not have a job in your major for the first 2 to 5 years.”

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.

More posts by Tim