Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair recently joined the NGPF Speaker Series to talk about her new book for teens, How Not to Lose a Million Dollars. The conversation centered around helping students think critically in a world of finfluencers, gambling apps, and prediction markets. Here are four of her top takeaways for the classroom.

Knowledge is the best defense

We can't keep students off social media, so we have to prepare them for what they'll find there. As Bair put it, "the best way we can fight this bad advice... is to give them their own baseline of financial knowledge so they themselves can make the assessment."

Teach students to vet the source

When evaluating advice online, she urged students to "look at credentials... not the people who are just trying to get the most clicks." Not every influencer is bad, she noted, but credibility matters.

Diversification beats manipulation

Worried the market is rigged against the average person? Bair's answer is a broad, low-cost index fund: "Being well diversified is also a hedge against manipulation."

Slow down

Her behavioral rule applies to car lots and finfluencers alike: "Don't do anything you don't understand. Ask questions. Take a deep breath."

For Bair, skepticism isn't cynicism. It's the confidence that comes from knowing enough to ask good questions. 

To hear the full conversation, listen to the podcast and get the transcript here. 

Join Us LIVE Tonight for The Hi-5 Banking Method with Sahirenys Pierce

Financial educator and author Sahirenys Pierce will share why so many people struggle with money management despite having access to more financial advice than ever before. She'll break down her refreshingly simple "2 Checking, 3 Savings" system, built from her own experience navigating nearly $100K in debt and her son's open heart surgery.

Register to attend tonight's (June 11) NGPF Speaker Series with Sahirenys Pierce at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. 

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.