Marketplace Scratch Pad

Financial Futures

Scott Jagow Nov 9, 2009

Marketplace Money takes its show on the road tonight with a special event in Portland, Oregon. The theme is a subject that deserves special attention in these economic times — young people and their money.

If you live in the Portland area, there are still tickets available (just $9 adults/$5 for kids). More information here but the guest list includes Chris Walla of the band, Death Cab for Cutie, a comedy sketch troupe, personal finance expert Beth Kobliner and former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley. Should be an entertaining, informative show.

On the Financial Futures page, you’ll find plenty of good interviews and segments on the issues that will be dealt with on the show.

Kobliner’s daughter Becca has a list of things parents should know about kids and money:

We want to have the money talk. No joke. We don’t want to stress about money now, or ever. And we want to be able to afford the things we like. So please talk to us talk about money. How else are we going to learn? (PS: Talk to us before we make mistakes, so it feels like you’re trusting us, instead of waiting until we’ve done something wrong–like overspending–and turning it into a lecture.)

Just because we have a bank account doesn’t mean we know what to do with it. Should I be checking it online every day? What exactly is overdraft protection and do I need to worry about it? Should I be saving toward a goal? Please explain the basics. (Just please explain them quickly.)

Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland interviewed actor Donald Faison of the TV show “Scrubs”:

Faison: Well yeah, they never tell you how to save your money. No one tells you. We’ve been trained to spend money since we were born with all these commercials with toys and G.I. Joes and Transformers. But there’s so many things in the supermarket, there’s so many things on television that automatically when you turn it on are saying “Buy! Buy! Buy! Buy! Buy! Buy! Buy!” And no one’s ever saying, “Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save! Save!”

It’s trickery. They’re trying to trick us into spending our money. And really the best way out of it is to save your money.

Kobliner also has a roundtable with teens called “Cents and the City:”

Beth Kobliner’s Cents and the City from Marketplace on Vimeo.

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