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Jonah Edelman Stands Up for Education

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Jonah Edelman is the Chief Executive Officer of Stand for Children. His job is to work with the experts to identify the best opportunities to create better lives for children, and then guide organizations and volunteers in taking advantage of those opportunities. Stand for Children was chosen as a TILE charity because we believe in the quality of their work and their commitment to a better future. Jonah was kind enough to give us an insider perspective from within a major organization working to fight inequality and improve the education system across the country.

TILE: What’s the most pressing issue facing our education system today?
Jonah: The toughest issue facing us is the incredibly low percentage of kids graduating from high school who are ready to go on to college. This is a critical piece to the cycle of education, careers, and earning potential. Today, all the kids who aren’t ready for college and who don’t even graduate from high school face a steep uphill battle to succeed in life.

TILE: How did this happen?
Jonah: There are a combination of factors that have led us to this point: teachers who aren’t effective in the classroom, lack of funding for schools, no common standards for student achievement and teacher evaluations, and more. Every state in the country faces a different set of challenges. Unfortunately, when we stay satisfied with the status quo, we let down our children who deserve much more.

TILE: What is Stand’s primary strategy for addressing this issue?
Jonah: At Stand, we teach parents, teachers, and other concerned people how to support their kids and their local schools. We provide them with tools and show them how to lead their communities to a better place. We also work from the top down by helping pass new laws at the state level that will support the efforts of schools and districts to do more for all kids. The solution will come fastest when everyone is on the same page, working to help kids succeed.

TILE: How do you think young people (in public or private schools) can be most effective in being a part of the solution?
Jonah: Part of what Stand does is show adults how to give voice to children, who can’t vote to effect change to the educational system until they’re 18. Children can be a part of the solution by talking with their parents, grandparents, teachers, and school administrators, telling them about what is working, what doesn’t work, and what they need to succeed. Kids can write letters to the editor or their state representative to share their opinions!

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Jonah: I’d tell my teenage self to focus more on learning for learning’s sake and not just to do well in school – to learn what I’m interested in and passionate about and not just what’s assigned!

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

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Former 1Sky Director Gillian Caldwell On Changing Climate Change

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Gillian Caldwell is the former head of 1Sky, a TILE Environment charity. She’s a film maker and an attorney who’s been advocating for worldwide social justice for 30 years. Since she began as the first Campaign Director in September 2007, 1Sky has grown to become the largest collaborative campaign in the United States, building a society-wide movement in support of bold federal action to tackle global warming. The 1Sky campaign now combines the force of more than 600 allied organizations, a full time team of 23 staff and 15 Regional Coordinators, more than 200,000 climate advocates and more than 4,960 volunteer “Climate Precinct Captains” covering every state in the country. Gillian was also the Executive Director of WITNESS, another TILE partner charity, so she’s a leader close to our heart!

TILE: How do issues relating to climate change affect young people?
Gillian: Young people will be the most affected by climate change. We are just starting to see the effects of climate change, and if we are unable to pass bold climate policy soon, every young person on the planet will be severely impacted by climate change.

TILE: What’s the most important thing we can do to combat climate change?
Gillian: The most important thing we can do to combat climate change is to get political and take action now. We need to secure strong federal policy (complimented by state policy and local climate initiatives) if we hope to prevent the worst effects of climate change and kickstart the green economy, but the clock is ticking.

TILE: What’s the biggest you challenge you face in your work?
Gillian: We are living in a world where coal and oil interests are deeply entrenched in everything. Convincing our federal policymakers that climate change needs to be our nation’s foremost priority in the face of billion dollar lobbying budgets of fossil fuel industries is not easy work, but it is vital to ensuring a safe climate and a blossoming renewable energy economy. I know we can do it.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Gillian: The best advice I would give to my teenage self is to dream big and pursue those dreams with all of my energy. Climate change is a big problem, but with enough people dreaming about the clean energy future that is possible and (here’s the important part) putting those dreams into action, we can solve it!

TILE: How do you think young people can play an important role in the changing landscape of philanthropy?
Gillian: Young people continue to find new and creative ways to fund the causes that are most important to them, and at the same time inspire others to get involved in the issues they care about. Young people have a big part to play in changing the landscape of philanthropy to fit the ways that they connect with people: especially online.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

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Beth Rhyne On Fighting Poverty with ACCION

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Beth Rhyne is a true microfinance expert. In her career, she’s overseen microenterprise development at USAID and spent eight years in Kenya and Mozambique, consulting on microfinance policy and operations. From 2002 to 2008 she was the senior vice president of ACCION International, and today she’s the managing director of ACCION’s Center for Financial Inclusion. Beth earned both her master’s and her Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard, and she’s written five books on microfinance (so far). We’re impressed, and really lucky to have her answer some of our questions. You can learn more about ACCION and donate on their cause page.

TILE: What exactly is microfinance?
Beth: Microfinance is about providing financial services to poor and low income families. When people have access to microfinance they can get loans, maintain savings, buy insurance, and send money safely to loved ones. We take these services for granted, but imagine what our lives would be like if we couldn’t do that. (What would your family’s life be like without a bank account, home mortgage, car or health insurance?) Even basic services make a big difference for poor people, and today more than 2 billion poor people worldwide lack access to them.

TILE: Why not just give the money away instead of lending it?
Beth: When you give money away, it gets spent and that’s the end of that. When you use it to make a loan, it gets used over and over. We care about the dignity of the person, and making loans promotes that. When someone becomes a valued customer of a bank, they gain a pride and a sense of worth that does not come from a handout. Unlike pure charity programs that treat people as passive and unable to care for themselves, we believe that people are their own best agents for working their way out of poverty.

TILE: What motivated you to get involved with Accion/ fighting poverty?
Beth: I got involved in microfinance while living in Kenya 25 years ago. I saw microfinance as a way to create a world in which the benefits of financial services would be available to everyone, not just the elite few. I was very happy to join ACCION 10 years ago because I had watched ACCION’s pioneering work in building microfinance into something that would make a long lasting difference in Latin America. I wanted to help bring that difference to Africa and Asia.

TILE: What’s the hardest thing about working in microfinance?
Beth:The hardest thing about working in microfinance is explaining how it works to people who have never heard of it, and raising the money from them to make it work better. The best thing (one of the best things) is having friends all over the world.

TILE: How do you think young people can play an important role in the changing landscape of philanthropy, especially as it relates to poverty?
Beth: Young people can change the face of philanthropy and poverty by nurturing their own passion for social change and by learning about how to make things happen. Some adults have lost the sense that the world can be made better by individual efforts, so when a young person can speak about a solution that really works, like microfinance, it inspires adults to contribute and get involved. And when you connect with your own friends in ways that are both fun and pro-philanthropy, you can influence a wider circle of people.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Beth: Become a seeker on the trail to answer these two questions: What do I most love to do? How can I use that passion to make the world a better place?

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

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Young Upstart Divya Narendra on Starting Up on the Web

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Divya Narendra is the 28 year old CEO and co-founder of SumZero, a website designed to help professional investors to share their investment ideas and network with one another. Running a business isn’t easy work, and so Divya spends his days generating new feature ideas, consulting with lawyers, forming partnerships with third parties, marketing the website, and yes, even handling the company’s bank accounts. He paused the work whirlwind for a moment to talk with TILE about starting up a start-up.

TILE: How did you get the idea for Sumzero?
Divya: The concept of SumZero was partly inspired by Wikipedia and partly by social networks such as LinkedIn. My co-founder and I wanted to create a universal, user-generated investment idea database consisting of rigorous investment recommendations whereby only professional hedge fund, mutual fund, and private equity analysts were allowed to contribute. This idea database is structured within a transparent social network enabling site members to connect over shared research, educational affiliation, prior employers, asset class expertise, etc.

TILE: What was one of your biggest challenges in starting the company?
Divya: One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced (and one that is faced by nearly all start-ups) has been building a team that is committed to growing SumZero.

TILE: Did you always want to go into business, or did you fall into this career path?
Divya: I first knew I enjoyed entrepreneurship when I was a junior in college. That year, I created a website aimed at connecting college students and alumni.

TILE: What’s in the future for you/ Sumzero?
Divya: We are currently working on raising capital to give SumZero the necessary financial resources to take the company to the next level. We hope to one day become the de facto platform for buyside analysts to exchange research.

TILE: What advice would you give your teenage self?
Divya: I would advise my teenage self to learn web programming to avoid having to hire others to do the job.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

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Steve Goldman Takes the Impulse Out Of Investing

Friday, April 16th, 2010

When you want the cold, hard facts about a stock or a market, you look for a person like Steven Goldman. He’s spent the last 25 years as a chief market strategist for Weeden & Co., which basically means he does the really hard math so you don’t have to. (Weeden is a brokerage and research firm serving mostly institutional investors.) Steven looked up from his computer long enough to share an inside look at the work that keeps the market moving.

TILE: So how did you end up where you are today?
Steven: In the midst of heading to business school in 1979, I was offered a job at a regional brokerage. I decided to enroll in both. I was excited about working for a smaller equity brokerage firm, which would allow me greater visibility along with access to most of the seasoned employees. My initial interest was to focus on emerging and undiscovered stocks. That year and over the next few years, stock prices moved symmetrically up 30%, down 30% etc… I noticed that the stocks that I had selected always moved with the direction of the stock market. In reviewing historical patterns, I found that these symmetrical movements were not confined to three years but to 17 years (from 1966 to 1982). So my next endeavor was to not focus on undiscovered or emerging stocks, but to understand what measures can be applied to predict stock prices. My graduate thesis was called “A Non Random Walk Down Wall Street.” In 1981, I purchased an Apple II computer and I haven’t stopped since (though I have since upgraded my computer).

TILE: You’ve said that part of your job is “getting a feel” for where stock prices will go in the next few months. How much of your job is calculation and how much is intuition?
Steven: Well, I have developed over a hundred indicators, which can be broken down into four basic areas:
Market Structure – Is the market strengthening or weakening?
Sentiment – Are traders too bullish or too bearish? This is used to determine if stock prices will reverse in the short term.
Valuations – Are stock prices considered fully valued – which may start to restrict the market gains – or are valuations reasonably priced?
Interest Rates – This indicator has been less significant in the past few years. It basically involves watching the direction of interest rates to determine when a rise in interest rates or the decline in rates are reaching inflection levels with regards to stock prices. Interest rates spread between BAA rates (lower quality) vs AAA rates (higher quality) have been helpful to look at in the past few years. Despite all these standard “tools” and models, I will still synthesize all relevant factors to develop a stock market forecast over both short-term and intermediate time frames.

TILE: What advice would you give to a college student considering careers in the financial sector?
Steven: Wall Street offers a myriad of different jobs. Though my focus is exclusively in equity, larger firms have numerous specialists and strategists in many different areas such as distressed debt, interest rates, foreign currencies, convertible bonds etc…

Larger firms will have extensive trading programs and upon the completion of the programs, they will help you decide in which area you would be most valuable to the organization.

Other important things to consider are the process of self discovery… how excited or passionate would you be working in this environment… Can you handle the emotional highs and lows? How do you handle being wrong and how resilient will you be afterwards? Are you interested in math, the gamesmanship involved? Do you like to toy around with computers and complicated games like chess? A minor in math, computer programming and economics would be helpful in terms of identifying your interests and preparing you for a career in finance.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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NYSE Interview: Scott Cutler, Head of Listings

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Scott Cutler is the Head of Listings at the New York Stock Exchange, which means that when a company wants to go public and get listed on the NYSE, they’ve got to go through him first. We asked him about his work and how he got there, and Scott graciously answered.

TILE: What was your first job?
Scott: I was a paper boy!

TILE: How did you end up where you are today?
Scott: I started working as a corporate securities lawyer doing mergers and acquisitions. After that I transitioned to investment banking, working mainly with technology companies in the early days of the Internet. I joined the NYSE Euronext in April of 2006.

TILE: How does what you do affect the world at large? Why should I care about what you do?
Scott: The NYSE is one of the world’s largest financial markets and focuses on efficient trading and raising money for companies (when you buy stock or invest in a company, you are essentially giving the company money). Publicly traded companies employ over 30 million Americans and their families, that is a BIG deal! The NYSE lists over 2,000 companies in a wide variety of industries and I help manage the process of trading and raising capital.

TILE: Do you see more listings (IPOs on the NYSE) now that the economy has bottomed out?
Scott: There has been a large increase in initial public offerings, which started this past fall and will probably continue into 2010. After the crisis, the need for and ability of companies to raise money is very important.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Scott: Work hard at everything you do, as each step you take prepares you for another. Life and a career is like climbing a mountain – go a little higher with each step and don’t look back.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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Julia “Butterfly” Hill on Climate, Purpose, and Practical Solutions to Big Problems

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

On Dec. 10, 1997, 23-year Julia “Butterfly” Hill climbed into a 180-foot California Coast redwood tree. Her goal was to live in the tree for as long as it took to prevent its destruction and the destruction of the forest where it had lived for more than 1,000 years. During the two years she spent in “Luna” (as she affectionately named the tree), she attracted worldwide attention for her use of nonviolent action in defense of the forest she cared so deeply about. Julia went up the tree an unknown campaigner and came down an international symbol. Her actions, both during her time in the tree and in the years since, are an attempt to heal the rift between humans and the natural environment. TILE had a conversation with her, almost ten years after she descended from her perch in the redwood forest.

TILE: You’ve dedicated your life to protecting the planet; was there a defining moment that set you on this path?
Julia: Growing up, I was taught to appreciate and respect the Natural World. Nature was my playground and the place I went to for safety. I grew up poor and experienced a lot of violence, and Nature is where i went to get away as well as to play. As my family travelled quite a bit, we were often in cities. But even if all I could find was one tree, I would go to it. The first time I saw an ad for Greenpeace in a magazine, I was about 13 years old. I tore it out and hung it on my wall. It was a picture of the little raft boat trying to stop a seal-slaughter ship and getting hit with huge hoses of water. I thought that was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Then, in my Junior year of high school, I got involved in helping launch the first environmental club on our campus called S.A.F.E. (Student Activists For Earth.) We started a recycling program on campus and a tree-planting program and rode our bikes and walked during the homecoming parade instead of driving around in cars. We were the crazy artist radicals in that extremely conservative school and in town.

I would have to say, though, that the truly defining moment was when I entered the Ancient Redwoods of California while travelling with friends in 1997. And then I walked into my first clear-cut and was absolutely horrified at the blatant destruction. It literally looked like a bomb had been set off in the middle of the forest. Then, when I found out that 97% of the original Redwoods had already been destroyed and that they were still continuing to use extremely toxic and destructive logging practices, something in my gut told me I had to act!

I call these moments the “choiceless choice.” We see an injustice or a need in the world, and we could choose to be silent and walk away, and yet something deep inside us is so compelling that we can’t do that. We have to say, “Yes” to that calling no matter how overwhelming or dangerous it might at first seem.

TILE: What, in your opinion, is the most important thing young people concerned with Climate Change can do today?
Julia: There are so many things we all can do to affect climate change:

We can choose to become vegan (not eat animals for food.) The farming of animals for food contributes to over half of all Climate Change emissions according to scientists and studies and the World Watch Institute. If someone is not ready to go vegan, going vegetarian is a good first step and also, even just beginning with reducing the amount of meat that someone eats makes a difference.

We can walk, ride bikes, and take public transportation as much as possible. I haven’t owned a car since I was 18 which was almost 18 years ago.

We can ask our parents to get involved, lobby their representatives in government. We can write letters to the editors of papers talking about our concerns as young people about this issue. We can get our schools and homes to adopt energy-saving tools and practices like energy-efficient light bulbs, turning down thermostats in the winter (even a couple degrees can make a huge difference in energy reduction), and using recycled paper (deforestation is a huge contributor to global warming.)

TILE: You came down from Luna almost ten years ago and have worked tirelessly on behalf of many worthy causes and organizations. What are you most passionate about that you’re working on now?
Julia: I love that I get to use my life to contribute to the good work of individuals and organizations all over the world. Some of the ongoing projects that I support are Women’s Earth Alliance (womensearthalliance.org), South Central Farmers (southcentralfarmers.org), The Engage Network (engagenet.org), and What’s Your Tree (whatsyourtree.org).

TILE: What are concrete ways young people can make sound environmental choices with their consumer dollars?
Julia: Shop at thrift stores!! We have to make it COOL TO CARE! Using things/resources that have already been used is a fantastic way to reduce carbon emissions because the manufacturing process of goods is another big contributor to climate change. Plus, shopping at thrift stores means we are shopping local which is also important. Almost all of my clothes come from thrift stores.

When we shop at a large corporate chain, on average, only approximately 3 – 8 cents on every dollar stays in our community. The rest leaves and goes to CEOs, Corporate managers, Headquarter buildings, etc… When we shop locally, approximately 55 – 90 cents per dollar on average stays in our community. That’s a BIG difference!

If we have farmer’s markets, it is best to buy as much of our food there as possible. If we don’t have farmer’s markets where we live, we need to get involved in working to get them started. Also, if we have yards, we can start gardens and grow some of our own food.

If we are buying new things, it is best to buy organic, local, energy-efficient, and recycled. The more we invest in these things with our dollars, the more we invest in a healthy and beautiful future for us all!

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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Noah Brier on Sneaking Into the Job You Want and Going to the Gym While There’s Still Time

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Noah Brier is the head of strategic planning for the Barbarian Group, a firm that comes up with “awesome stuff on the Internet” for all kinds of brands. In his free time he’s also a blogger (NoahBrier.com) and a creator of websites like How Much Does it Buy? and Brand Tags. We squeezed ourselves into his busy schedule to find out how he got to where he is, and Mr. Brier kindly filled us in.

TILE: How did you end up where you are today? Did you know what you wanted to do or did your work find you?
Noah: I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Mostly I just followed my nose and found interesting things to work on within organizations. My real secret was to just start doing things without asking permission, that way by the time people notice it’s too late for you to stop.

TILE: How does what you do affect the world at large? Why should I care about what you do?
Noah: It really depends who I’m working for. Sometimes I’m trying to sell soda, other times I’m trying to make people healthier and on occasion I’m trying to fix the world.

TILE: We bet you’re a guy who has lots of ideas. How do you separate the really good ones from the rest, and then what do you do with them?
Noah: Generally I separate them in two ways: First, I ask myself if this is actually a good idea. Sometimes a little thought is enough to eliminate an idea. Second, I see if I actually make it happen. If it isn’t something that excites me enough to bring to fruition than I guess it wasn’t a good enough idea.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Noah: Honestly … Go to the gym more. Compared to my schedule today I had nothing to do when I was a teenager and I could have gotten myself into really good shape.

TILE: What is the coolest thing on the Internet?
Noah: Oh man, that’s a tough one. Well there’s Brand Tags – http://brandtags.net – which I built and I think is pretty cool. Honestly, my answer to this question changes on a weekly basis. At the moment I’ve been loving Tumblr. (Find Noah at heyitsnoah.tumblr.com!)

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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Pamela Hawley On How to Have a Rewarding Volunteer Experience

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Pamela Hawley is founder and CEO of UniversalGiving, a social entrepreneurship nonprofit organization whose vision is to “create a world where giving and volunteering is a natural part of everyday life.” She took some time to share her tips for getting the most out of a volunteer experience.

TILE: TILE members are often interested in finding groups to get involved with. For someone looking to volunteer for the first time, how do you suggest they go about choosing an organization?
Pamela: If I had to state it quickly, I’d say: “Find a cause you care about, and a leader you believe in.” Those are two great milestones that can help ensure success with your volunteer experience.

I would really also try to understand yourself and find out first what your greatest passions are. What is the issue you care about, such as education, poverty, the environment? What do you enjoy doing? Writing, working with people, detailed work/operations? And what is the region you are most interested in, such as New Orleans, El Salvador, Africa or the neighbor across the street?

What’s also important is the size of the organization. Would you like to work in a larger organization that may have more resources, but less flexibility? Or a smaller, entrepreneurial organization that has less support, but multiple opportunities to get involved?

Most importantly, I’d find a good personal fit. Leadership is so important. Find a cause you care about, and a leader you believe in. That’s always a great start!

TILE: Someone once complained to me that it’s hard to find an organization that will assign volunteer tasks other than “clean out the broom closet.” Is this true in your experience and what tips do you have to avoid such situations?
Pamela: It’s important that you find an opportunity that provides a good chance to grow and contribute. I’d try to meet with the leader or volunteer manager to make sure it’s a good fit. Are they open, willing to give you opportunities, warm, friendly, outgoing? Do you see yourself enjoying your day working with them? Then most likely you will have a positive relationship where you can ask to be involved in areas you care about. They will want to see you grow and develop, and you will want to help them. It’s a ‘win-win’ for everyone, each helping another.

It is important to realize, too, that we all have to jump in. I’m CEO, but I still send faxes, too. I try to teach my team that a ‘fax is never a fax.’ As I was faxing, I told my team member, this is not just about a piece of paper going through a machine. This particular fax was our contract with Cisco, which allows us to pay salaries at our nonprofit. So it is important to do the small, detailed tasks, and connect them in to higher meaning. Everything works together for good; everything is important. Can you try to find the meaning, and see how you can serve? All leaders appreciate wonderful attitudes and a sincere desire to serve. If you work sincerely at creating a service-minded attitude, a kind demeanor, and make an impact, they will want to help you, too.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Pamela: Be open. Surprise yourself. You may find you are interested in something you never considered! Go for your dreams and goals, and realize that every experience helps you learn something, and contribute something. Sometimes it will feel great! Other times you might not enjoy it as much, but try to commit to serving, learning and growing. That will lead you to the next wonderful step on your journey.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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Financial Expert Heidi Steiger On Getting Started…

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Heidi Steiger is the author of “Wealthy and Wise: Secrets About Money,” and an expert in financial management. After a long and successful career in the financial industry, she’s currently an Advisory Director at Berkshire Capital, an investment banking and strategic advisory firm that works with companies in the financial services industry. She also sits on four different corporate boards. We asked Heidi a few questions about what she does and how she does it, and she really came through. Enjoy!

TILE: How did you end up where you are today?
Heidi: Well, it isn’t always about talent. Sometimes it’s just luck. I went to college for broadcast journalism. It so happened that I worked at Fidelity one summer after an internship fell through at the last minute. The man who ran the finances of the company (the controller) mentored me, and ultimately helped me get a job there. That was the break which launched my career!

TILE: How does what you do affect the world at large?
Heidi: How can financial independence and the ability to pursue what you love not be somehow intertwined? If I can create services which help people successfully invest, provide easy access, education and the ability to reach one’s goals, then I think I’ve done my job well.

TILE: What’s the biggest secret about money?
Heidi: The biggest secret about money is that most people never answer the question “What’s the money for?” before they decide how to invest it.

TILE: At what age do you think young people should start to take responsibility for their own finances?
Heidi: At about 6 or so. Really! I started my kids with an allowance they could manage. As they got older, they got more money with the instructions that 1/3 was for spending, 1/3 was for saving and 1/3 was for giving. Maybe at age 10 they didn’t know what specific organization should get the money, but they did know who they would like to help. At age 13, they each got a checking account, and then a credit card when they were 14. I remember speaking at a meeting once where a mother was complaining that her college-age daughter didn’t know how to book a plane reservation. I asked her if her daughter had a checking account or a credit card. The answer was no. How could her daughter know how to make a plane reservation when she hadn’t taught her daughter the most basic things?

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Heidi: Spend and save wisely. Just because something’s more expensive, doesn’t mean it’s better. Prioritize and don’t worry about the rest.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

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