How To Stop Boring Students When Teaching Personal Finance – 2

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The Daily Show: This clip pokes fun at the use of credit cards and is a great way to discuss buying habits using cash, debit, and credit.

Taxes:

The Simpsons, the longest-running American sitcom, satirizes many elements of American culture.  One of my favorite clips is about the Town of Springfield—and Homer specifically—struggling to complete and submit tax returns on time. It is a terrific way to introduce taxes and insights around deductions and penalties (and teach students that, yes, they do need to file their taxes every year).

Investing:

Jerry Seinfeld (the comedian, not the show): There’s a short but effective clip from Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up act about “Morning Guy” and “Night Guy.” The clip highlights the consequences of overvaluing our present selves and not thinking about the consequences that our actions today will have on our future selves. This clip can help set the stage for discussions about starting to invest for retirement early or about some of the pitfalls of credit cards.

Seinfeld: To demonstrate the time value of money, I use my favorite clip of Jerry’s dad doing the calculation of what a $50 debt would be worth 52 years later.  I use this clip with college seniors, graduate students, and new employees as a helpful complement to demonstrate how important putting money away early is to their long-term financial success.

Last Week Tonight: While in school, most students will interact with people – professors, administrators, advisors – who will have their best interests at heart; however, this is not the case after they graduate. John Oliver tackles one of the most important overarching lessons to instill in students, which is that they are ultimately responsible for their own financial destiny. The end of the clip is an effective way to introduce students to the importance of fiduciary duty.

One word of caution. Copyright law carves out fair use exceptions for using clips in educational settings, but there are limits. Before using any clips, please make sure you are abiding by copyright and fair use guidelines.

What other media clips have you used to engage students when teaching personal finance?  Which have been the most effective?

Shahar Ziv is the Founder of Acing Your Finances, which helps individuals develop healthy financial habits. Follow him on Twitter @ziv_shahar

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Source: forbes.com