for students - mastery of money...2. choose to have “micro-enterprise” days where students make...

F O R S T U D E N T S

by A D A M C A R R O L L

Objective

To help educate students about the mastery of money starting with the foundation and the basics with action steps to follow:

1. The introduction to what it means to pursue mastery.

2. Understanding that the cost of living life is more than most students are aware of.

3. Taking full responsibility for their own financial future.

4. Spending less than you earn as a core principle.

5. Where your values around money come from.

6. The types and benefits that come with each type of income.

7. The necessity of tracking expenses and monthly budgeting.

8. Beginning the process of saving and investing as a student.

9. What to know about credit and borrowing.

10. The implications of debt.

11. What kinds of insurance should students know about.

12. Who pays taxes and where does the money go.

13. Understanding the increased cost of college.

14. How to make money as a student.

15. What steps to take next in your path to pursuing mastery.

Materials

Mastery of Money for Students by Adam Carroll

Procedures

1. Have students read one chapter at a time and discuss key points from the chapters as listed in the lesson plans.

2. Choose to have “micro-enterprise” days where students make plans on how they’d make money to pay for the things they most WANT.

3. Have students teach some of the lessons they’re picking up from The Mastery of Money for Students around spending, saving, investing, and making money as a student.

The Introduction

1C H A P T E R

Objective

To setup the reading of the book as a bit of a wake-up call to pay close attention to personal finance

at a young age. Adam Carroll suggests that students approach the book with a ‘student’ mindset

instead of a ‘tourist’ or ‘inmate’.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter One.

2. Have students discuss whether or not they are a student of money already.

Who are they learning from? What lessons have they learned already?

Discussion Questions

1. Do you know of anyone that has gone through college and borrowed too much?

2. When the author describes financial independence, what do you think he means?

3. When you’re in school today, do you think of yourself as a student, tourist or inmate?

4. What would going through this book help you with if you approach it from a student mindset?

Links

www.MasteryOfMoney.com — Encourage students to visit the site and sign up for the

newsletter and resources.

You Are Expensive

2C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand that the cost of living their life currently is mostly absorbed by their

parents. As a result, most students don’t understand how much their life actually costs. When they

eventually go out on their own, this chapter will help them from being surprised at the cost of life.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Two.

2. Have students write down a list of everything they’re wearing that day, food they’ve eaten,

and surgeries or other expenses like glasses or braces. Have them assign a total dollar

figure to the list — clothes, food, activities, etc. to get a sense of how much they may be

costing their parents.

3. What else can you purchase for $245,000? (The cost to raise a child from 0-18)

4. What could you do to minimize the overall cost to your parents while still a student?

5. Have students write a thank-you note to their parents for providing for them.

Adaptations

Students can look up what it costs to have a baby, play 8 years of soccer, what braces cost, how much

eyeglasses are, etc. This is a great chapter to help them understand how much real life costs.

You Are Expensive

2C H A P T E R


1. Do you think about how much your parents spend on you each month or year?

2. Do you and your parents ever talk about how much things cost?

3. Have you ever NOT gotten something because of the cost? What was it and how did it

make you feel when you didn’t get it?

Links

https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/tools/CRC_Calculator/ — A great calculator provided by the USDA to

figure out how much it costs to raise a child.

Your Financial Success Is Entirely Up To You

3C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand that despite the fact they may be financially supported by their

parents, their financial success is up to them.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Three.

2. Have students calculate how much they’d need to operate their current lifestyle on a

weekly basis. Use the numbers they calculated from Chapter Two as a guide.

3. Have students list out 5 areas they’d need to cut back on in order to afford their

current lifestyle. (Page 13)


1. Were you surprised by how much it costs to live your lifestyle on a weekly basis?

What surprised you?

2. If your parents just gave you $50 a month plus food and shelter, would you be able

to survive without asking for more? What would you need to do differently than you

do today?

3. What did you think of Jerry’s daughters asking their dad to put money in their account?

A Simple Concept

4C H A P T E R

Objective

To gain an understanding of the need to spend less than we make on a monthly basis.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Four.

2. Have students create a list of how they play offense in their life and how they play defense

(offense might be part-time jobs, babysitting, etc. defense would be coupons, cold lunch, etc.)

3. Have students research rappers and athletes who have lost all their winnings because of

their inability to play defense financially.


1. Would you invest in CY (company you)?

2. What are some of the craziest ways you’ve heard of people making money?

3. What are some of the craziest ways you’ve heard of people saving money?

4. Why do you think Shaquille O’Neal owns the businesses he does?

(franchises are easy to start up, proven, and profitable!)

Links

30 For 30: Broke (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_pNduHQymA) — An ESPN documentary

about professional athletes that spent all of their money earned (and then some) before retiring from

the game. (run-time 120min)

Your Friends And Family Influence Your Financial Values

5C H A P T E R

Objective

To present the fact that who you surround yourself with, both family and friends, are playing a part

in what you value financially. To cause students to question what they hear as passing phrases like,

“we can’t afford that” or “money doesn’t grow on trees”. To gain an understanding of financial values

and how they’re shaped.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Five.

2. Have one group of students keep track of brand names that they see in the hallway for

one day. Then compare the list the following day to see who saw which brands. More than

likely the male and female students will pay attention to different brands. All of which are

shaping their value system.

3. Have another group of students track statements made by their families around money.

It’s best if there’s a shopping trip or grocery store run and the student goes along.


1. Do you hear your parents talk about money? How has that had an effect on you in your life?

2. When you and your friends talk about money, what comes up? Do you notice that people

have different value sets when it comes to purchasing things?

3. What did you think when you heard the story of the two college roommates that were

going out to eat regularly (and one having to put her meals on a credit card)?

4. What does ‘Keeping Up With the Joneses’ mean to you?

Income

6C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand that there are various types of income and ways of earning them. To

add to their vocabulary when it comes to terms like W2, 1099, and investment income.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Six.

2. Have students look into what it would cost to put a gumball machine in the classroom.

Investigate both new and used machines as well as how much it would cost to keep it

stocked with gumballs.

3. If approved by the school, you could sell “shares” of the machine for $5 a piece and then pay

out dividends throughout the school year for anyone that owned a share of the machine.

Have a CFO, CEO, Treasurer, Sales People, etc. to make it a real business experiment.

4. Have students investigate what they could make per hour at various restaurants or

businesses nearby. Then calculate how much their paychecks will be at the link below.

5. Have students look up how much it would cost to buy a duplex in your community, how

much the rent would be and how much they’d make by renting out a unit. A complete

discussion could be had about all of the expenses that go along with being a landlord.


1. What kind of income do you make in your part-time job?

2. What did you think about the statistic of 50% of our population being independent

contractors by 2020?

Income

6C H A P T E R

Discussion Questions (continued)

3. What surprised you about the author buying a gumball machine? Do you think you’d ever do

this? Where would you put the machines to make sure you were making money every month?

4. Do you receive an allowance and are there any rules about what the money can be used for?

5. Have you ever considered investing in the stock market? How much do you think you need

to get started? What companies would you invest in? Why?

Links

http://www.paycheckcity.com/calculator/salary/ — A salary calculator that will help students

understand how much is taken out in taxes every paycheck.

www.Zillow.com — A site where students could look up duplexes for sale in their area.

Expenses and Budgeting

7C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand the impact of budgeting for monthly expenses on their ability to save

and invest money (or payoff debt). To get them to inquire about home expenses so they have a better

idea of what it costs to live life!

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Seven.

2. As a large group, have students identify what kind of monthly expenses a typical family

might have. Document all of the areas on a flipchart or whiteboard.

3. Have students identify which of those expenses are a surprise to them, which ones they

contribute to, and how they could help minimize some of the expenses in the budget if they

were living on their own.

Adaptations

Ask your students what they’d do with a salary of $40,000, $80,000 or $100,000. Then ask how their

life would change if they made $200,000 or $500,000. Where would their expenses likely increase?

Expenses and Budgeting

7C H A P T E R


1. Did any of the numbers on Amanda’s budget (page 49) surprise you? Where do you think she

could cut back to have more money left over at the end of the month?

2. What expenses do you have at home that could be considered fixed? variable?

What category would athletic expenses or extracurriculars fall?

3. Would you consider living at home after college if it saved you money?

How long would your parents let you stay?

Links

www.MrMoneyMustache.com — A great no-nonsense site about living on less and

learning about money.

www.FinanceGirl.com — A great site written by a female financial advisor geared

towards young people.

Saving and Investing

8C H A P T E R

Objective

To get students thinking about how much they’ll need to save for an emergency fund, and once they’ve

established that, how they can invest the money for future returns. They’ll expand their vocabulary

when it comes to investment terminology as well.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Eight.

2. Have students create a list of things that could be considered an “emergency” that they’d

need money for. Have them identify an appropriate emergency fund amount based on their

predicted expenses.

3. Invite your class to participate in The Stock Market Game where they get to begin picking

their own stocks. (http://www.stockmarketgame.org/)

Adaptations

Think you don’t have enough money to begin saving/investing? Take out your calculators and type in

.01 xx .01 and then = 31 times. This is how much you’d have if a penny doubled every day for 31 days.

Still think you don’t have enough to start saving?

Saving and Investing

8C H A P T E R


1. What are the reasons you should begin investing at a young age? (compound interest, learn

early, better prepared when you’re older, earning money at an early age which helps with

college tuition, etc.)

2. What would you invest in if you had money to put in the stock market? (As a hint, ask what

kinds of products or services they like to buy, then find out if they’re publicly traded stocks:

Nike, Under Armour, Microsoft, etc.)

3. What other vehicles or products would you invest your money in?

(precious metals, bonds, real estate, etc.)

4. Do you think that you’ve bought ‘stuff’ in your life, when you’d rather have the money today

for investments? What kind of ‘stuff’ would you return for the money?

Links

http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/net-worth1.htm —

Goes into greater depth about assets, both liquid and illiquid, and liabilities.

http://www.stockmarketgame.org/

http://www.smartypig.com — A robust saving tool that combines social media, banking, and behavior change.

www.stockpile.com

Credit and Borrowing

9C H A P T E R

Objective

The objective of Chapter Nine is to open students’ eyes to how much debt actually costs over the

long-term. Whether a car loan or a credit card, if a student understands the overall costs, they’re

more likely to make better (informed) decisions.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Nine.

2. Have students do a quick check online for credit card offers to see how much various cards

charge in interest. Have them look at various local banks and credit unions for car loan rates.

3. Using the calendar in the links below, have them calculate how much their car payment would

be on their dream car (either by looking up the cost or making an assumption on total cost).


1. What surprised you about the example on pages 76-77 about the difference in car loan

payments? Did you have any idea one small mistake could cost $10,000 more when buying a car?

2. What are some of the things you’ll do differently before making credit card purchases or

buying a vehicle?

3. Based on the information in the book, what are some ways to guarantee that your credit

score will be low?

4. What did you realize after calculating your car payments? Can you afford the car of your

dreams? What would you have to give up in order to have it? (i.e. food, shelter, etc.)

Links

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/auto-loan-calculator.aspx

Debt

10C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand that debt is both a useful tool, but also something to be very careful

with. Chapter Ten is meant to be a useful conversation starter about how debt is used in society.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Ten.

2. Have students visit www.usdebtclock.org and lookup current levels of debt in society.

Especially have them look through the student loan debt numbers, car loans, mortgage debt,

and the total amount owed by our government.

3. Consider using the film Broke, Busted & Disgusted to talk about the level of student loan

debt in society. (www.brokebusteddisgusted.com — runtime 53 min.)


1. Which of the debt numbers you looked up surprised you? How long do you think it

took to get there?

2. Student loan debt is the second highest debt there is next to mortgages. What does that

make you wonder?

3. If you had a significant amount of student loan debt, how would that impact your ability to live

the life you imagine? How do you think you could avoid taking out student loans?

Links

www.usdebtclock.org — This is a fantastic, up-to-date resource for students to check out how

much is owed by Americans in various types of debt. Also helpful to look at population numbers,

employment data, etc.

Broke, Busted & Disgusted (www.brokebusteddisgusted.com) — This documentary produced and

written by Adam Carroll and Calvin Johannsen is a 53 minute discussion about the true costs of college.

Insurance

11C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand what types of insurance they’ll be responsible for as they age.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Eleven.

2. Have students make a list of the insurances their parents more than likely have.


1. What do you think about your credit score also impacting the cost of your car insurance?

2. Have you asked your parents how much your car insurance costs them per year? What is

your guess if you haven’t asked them? Tonight, ask them how much it costs to have you added

to their auto insurance policy.

3. Health insurance has been in the news A LOT lately because of the Affordable Care Act from

the Obama presidency. What do you know about health care and it’s costs?

Taxes

12C H A P T E R

Objective

To help students understand how taxes impact their budget, where they’ll pay taxes, and what taxes

are paid for.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Twelve.

2. Have students brainstorm all of the different taxes they will pay in their lifetime.

Collect them on a whiteboard or flipchart.


1. Do you think paying more in taxes benefits society? Where would that money best be used?

2. Do you know how much sales tax is in your community? The way to figure out how much tax

is charged is by multiplying the purchase price by 1.0x (x being whatever the percentage of

sales tax is charged in your area).

3. Do you think taxes will go up or down in the future? What might have an impact on how

much is charged in taxes? (answers could be: the government, our economy, national debt,

expenses going up or down, etc.)

Links

https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes — A site that features an interactive calculator that will

help predict how much is taken out of a paycheck in taxes.

www.usdebtclock.org — One of the categories shown on the US Debt Clock is the amount of tax

revenue collected. In the past several years, this number is the highest it’s ever been.

College Is Expensive

13C H A P T E R

Objective

To get students thinking about how they’ll pay for college, the various ways to approach higher

education, understanding applying for scholarships, and a variety of other strategies to help students

determine their “path” after high school.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Thirteen.

2. Have students go through (at least) Video 1 of Scholarship Mastery. Have them create a list

of scholarships and/or grant opportunities they could be applying for while in school.

3. Ask your students to pick 2 or 3 potential careers they’re interested in and look up what

kind of salary could be expected on www.Salary.com. Have them estimate what a degree in

that particular career field might cost them.


1. Have you thought much about how much you’ll be borrowing for college? What are some of

the ways you’ll be minimizing how much you borrow?

2. What did you think when you saw the average cost to attend a state university?

Private school? ( page 98).

3. What scholarships did you find that you may be eligible for? Can you imagine winning a

$1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 scholarship? What would that do for your future?

4. Do you think you’ll have to (or want to) work during college? How about being a Resident

Assistant or Research Assistant?

5. What are you doing to accumulate college credits while in high school? How much do you

think you’ll save in tuition by doing this?

6. Anyone considering joining the military to defray college costs? Why or why not?

7. There were a variety of options listed in the book if you aren’t exactly sure what you want

to do. Which of those intrigued you?

College Is Expensive

13C H A P T E R

Links

www.CollegeChoiceToday.com — This is a fantastic resource for students who aren’t quite sure what

they want to do after graduation from high school. CCT Coaches will walk students through career

options that would be logical choices based on answers to a standardized test.

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/compare-colleges — A way to compare and contrast various

colleges and Universities cost.

http://www.efcplus.com/ — A calculator that helps families accurately predict how much college will

cost with loans, grants, and other financial aid.

www.scholarshipmastery.com - A free four lesson course, created by Adam Carroll, on how to

navigate the scholarship process.

Making It Rain

14C H A P T E R

Objective

To get students thinking about making money while in school APART from just going to get a part-

time job. The future will be ripe for entrepreneurs that understand some of the technologies available

to them, this chapter is meant to introduce some of them.

Procedures

1. Have students read Chapter Fourteen.

2. Have students cruise through the free page on Craigslist or freecycle.org and see if there’s

anything that strikes them as valuable that they could resell. (While not critical they

actually pick them up and resell them, the goal is to get them thinking it’s possible.)

3. Encourage students to click through some of the websites listed 129-131 to see what’s

possible when it comes to making money online.


1. Have you ever tried starting a business or making money in an unconventional way?

2. Which of the entrepreneurial stories from the book resonated with you? Why did they?

3. What skill do you have right now that you could potentially turn into profit?

4. Tell me about some of the sites you clicked through and what you learned?

Links

www.Amazon.com

www.YouTube.com

www.Gumroad.com

www.paypal.com

www.shopify.com

( All links listed on pages 129-131 )

www.mailchimp.com

www.craigslist.com

www.wordpress.com

www.canva.com

www.99designs.com

www.upwork.com

www.kickstarter.com

www.indiegogo.com

www.gofundme.com

Resource ListBroke, Busted & Disgusted (www.brokebusteddisgusted.com) — This documentary produced and

written by Adam Carroll and Calvin Johannsen is a 53 minute discussion about the true costs of college.

www.vertex42.com — Budgeting sheets, goal setting charts, etc.

www.dinkytown.net — Calculators of ALL kinds that students can plug numbers in to see financial

situations. Great for showing true cost of buying a car, home, or other charged purchases.

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/173 — What is a million? This site answers that question plus

many more. A great resource for teachers wanting to expand the lesson and use the internet for

discussion points.

www.smartypig.com — SmartyPig is an Iowa company that leverages social media in helping people

save for a specific purpose. Students can set up an account and begin save/saving money for a

worthwhile goal.

www.mint.com — Mint.com is an online record keeping system that links directly with most online

banking institutions. It’s a great way to keep running track of the balances, amounts owed, and

budgets. All students should have a Mint.com account. (Plus, it’s free!)

http://budgettracker.com/login.php — Sample budget creators that students can use to create an

electronic version of their budget.

http://www.direct.ed.gov/ — The Federal Direct Lending Program website. Here you’ll find

calculators and research information on the subject of college funding.

http://www.kiplinger.com/ — Great site for information on all sorts of financial decisions.

Plenty of paper-writing opportunities from this site alone. Students should know about this for

their own well-being.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byRSKEw0oa8 — Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

details the difference between an asset and a liability.

https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes — A site that features an interactive calculator that will

help predict how much is taken out of a paycheck in taxes.

www.usdebtclock.org — One of the categories shown on the US Debt Clock is the amount of tax

revenue collected. In the past several years, this number is the highest it’s ever been.

T E S T I M O N I A L S

When a student stops me on campus and thanks me profusely for bringing your program

to campus, I know I’ve picked the right speaker. Adam will be back every year.

- Lisa W., Buena Vista University“ ”Adam Carroll is so inspirational! He’s has changed my way of

thinking of networking and how to succeed in business and I think everyone, not just business students, should hear him speak!

– Kim Mai, Alumni, University of San Francisco“ ”I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do after graduation thanks

to the networking skills I learned from your speech.

- Andy C., Winona State“ ”

This was the most influential, inspirational program I’ve seen in my college career.

- Derek B., Colorado State University“ ”

This is, by far, the best program on money and finances that I’ve ever seen.

- Ryan T., Iowa State University“ ”

C O N N E C T : www.AdamSpeaks.com/Speaking

T O B O O K : [email protected]

for students - mastery of money...2. choose to have “micro-enterprise” days where students make...

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