If you were making a PF presentation for young professionals

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
Post Reply
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

If you were making a PF presentation for young professionals

Post by enderland »

I have the unique opportunity to present in a month or so to a group of young professionals a broad overview of personal finance during roughly 1 hour. Most of these are in their 20s, single and no kids, and making good salaries.

I am seeking feedback on the following topics (not really ordered right now other than by category). I am hoping to present an overview of important personal finance topics, from the perspective of, "most people never were exposed to even basic PF information, so here is an overview to provide a 'what i need to know'" type presentation.

I intend to post it here once I put it together for feedback as well and potentially make it a resource for others in similar endeavors, so please give comments on what content is missing/extra.

-------

Why personal finance?
  • Huge impact long term
  • Affects all aspects of our lives
  • Goals most of us have
    • Have $$$
    • Buy house
    • Buy car
    • Have wealth
  • Difference between millionaire at 50 or broke
How do taxes actually work?
  • Paycheck
  • Percentages
  • Tax deductions/credits
  • Social security/Medicare
How do tax advantaged accounts work?
  • 401k
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • What does “Roth” mean?
How do loans work?
  • Paying off debt
  • Interest
Budgeting/Tracking Spending
  • Why do either?
  • Tracking spending
    • Why is this important?
  • Budgeting
    • General introduction “how this works”
    • Budgeting is NOT “can’t spend”
Mortgages
  • Is “paying rent is throwing money away?”
  • Discuss additional costs
Investing
  • What is a stock?
  • What is a mutual fund?
  • What is an index fund?
  • What is risk tolerance and asset allocation?
  • What is an IRA (Roth/deductible)?
  • Rule of 72
Credit score
  • What is it used for?
  • How is it calculated?
Insurance
  • Health
  • Renters/Homeowners
  • Car
  • Life
  • Disability
Estate Planning
  • TBD
Last edited by enderland on Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Allan12
Posts: 195
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:40 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by Allan12 »

How long is the presentation?

Seems like a lot of topics!

What does difference of millionare or broke at 50?

Maybe you can introduce mint.com and go over all the topics which will give a broad overview and something tangible for them to take away.n
charley
Posts: 144
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:19 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by charley »

Speaking as a member of your target age-group, I'd include a list of good websites to learn more (a reference section perhaps). I imagine a situation something like this:

-Listen to presentation, realize I should think about this 401k thing.
-Walk away talk to colleagues about it.
-Hear someone say they've got it all figured out "picoCap stocks are where to be"
-Question what this person was talking about and look it up myself.
-Get confused if I don't stumble on a good website for information - bogleheads, etc.

Given the one hour format, there will be a lot you can't cover or can't cover in sufficient detail. If you reference some quality sites throughout, I think your audience will be inclined to refer back to those sites.
User avatar
nirvines88
Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:38 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by nirvines88 »

Give lots of tables/charts showing the "magic of compound interest". Use those 2 Einstein quotes on compound interest too.

Also, give that example of getting started early (e.g. at 25 and contributing $2,000 for 10 years) vs. getting started later (e.g. at 35 and contributing $2,000 for 30 years). The person that started contributing earlier comes out ahead (I think!!).
"Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship" - Poor Richard
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by LadyGeek »

Why don't you make a presentation using the wiki? See: Financial planning

What does financial planning have to do with personal finance? Everything. It's a top-level overview of all the topics that should be covered. Just go in order.

If you need more ideas, check the references under "External links."
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
davidepope
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:00 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by davidepope »

What I did for a 23 year old friend was make them a Google Spreadsheet showing the power of starting early and the power of compounding. At the end of the talk you could offer to share a link to the spreadsheet so they can plug in their own numbers.

Image

-- David
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

First, sorry for not realizing the AWFUL formatting (I had indented everything, and thought it would WYSIWYG on formatting - turns out leading spaces are pruned...).


@charley, good idea on the "where to learn more." I definitely am intending this to be an overview and introduction to basics and not a "how to go from financially illiterate to Boglehead in one hour!" presentation.

@nirvines88 definitely. I intend to put some charts showing marginal tax rates both for how taxes work as well as how to think of 401k/HSA/pretax contributions.

@LadyGeek my thoughts are a lot of the material in FAQ/guides gets into a bit more details than I am intending. I am hoping to communicate the basics to people so at the very least people know the topics and have some idea what all these terms mean.

@davidepope, definitely something like that too. The audience will be a fairly math savvy group (hopefully at least, not sure how they got jobs if not, haha).
User avatar
Watty
Posts: 28813
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:55 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by Watty »

An hour isn't very long so realistically the best you can hope to do is to focus on why it is important and how and where to learn more.


I would stick to the basics like;

The power of compounding and why to start early. Compare starting retirement savings at 25 and 35.

The effect of fees in investing and why index funds are the best choice.

Why to beware of financial advisors and TV financial guru's

Avoiding debt, especially credit cards.

Always get any employer match on the 401K. What funds to pick in the 401K and why targeted date funds are a good default, but not perfect, choice in a 401K.

How to learn more and what books and web sites to use.
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by LadyGeek »

enderland wrote:@LadyGeek my thoughts are a lot of the material in FAQ/guides gets into a bit more details than I am intending. I am hoping to communicate the basics to people so at the very least people know the topics and have some idea what all these terms mean.
Your outline is focused on investing and misses some very important topics - insurance and estate planning. Why don't you utilize material put together by the experts? Take a look here: Starting Your Financial Plan: A Beginner's Road Map

It's geared towards young professionals - your target audience. In fact, you could just download their (free) guide and walk down the checklist (page 6).

Your audience will probably wonder why you are discussing insurance and estate planning. Explain that a bad thing will happen (pick an example) - what happens next? Who will take care of things, how will medical expenses get paid? Get them to think.

Then, go into the topics as you've previously discussed. Live below your means, pay your debt, establish a budget, etc.
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

LadyGeek wrote:
enderland wrote:@LadyGeek my thoughts are a lot of the material in FAQ/guides gets into a bit more details than I am intending. I am hoping to communicate the basics to people so at the very least people know the topics and have some idea what all these terms mean.
Your outline is focused on investing and misses some very important topics - insurance and estate planning. Why don't you utilize material put together by the experts? Take a look here: Starting Your Financial Plan: A Beginner's Road Map
That guide is a perfect example of what I don't want to do. It starts with the assumption people understand the basics and definitions required for personal finance (just look at the checklist and all the keywords which the guide never defines or introduces. Many (most?) people have no clue what those keywords actually mean in any meaningful context).

I definitely will add insurance (this definitely should be there) and pretty seriously consider adding estate planning.
stan1
Posts: 14235
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:35 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by stan1 »

20 somethings may be more interested in their parents estate than their own.
What to do with a windfall/inheritance? SIT ON IT for a bit until you've thought it through.
Warning: I am about 80% satisficer (accepting of good enough) and 20% maximizer
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by LadyGeek »

enderland wrote:I definitely will add insurance (this definitely should be there) and pretty seriously consider adding estate planning.
That's fine. My point was that personal finance is more than investing. The guide was a starting point - albeit a pitch for the Financial Planning Association.

Estate planning could be as simple as "Be sure to have a Will and an Advanced Health Care Directive." Life insurance is only good if you die. There are quite a lot of situations which are in the "grey area." This is where a Living Will comes into play.
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
Jetpack
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:42 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by Jetpack »

I wish I had the opportunity to sit in on an hour presentation when I first starting working and earning a real income! This is a great service you're providing and I hope it isn't lost on them. I think everyone else has made some great suggestions so I'll leave that alone for now.

I do presentations on a highly technical and misunderstood topic for a living. One challenge I see in your list of items to cover is that in the public speaking world an hour isn't a lot of time. You should allow time for questions, so if you're on the agenda for 60 minutes, that gives you 45 minutes to talk and 15 minutes for Q/A. The best advice I can give you is to pick a few topics and make sure you leave a lasting impression instead of trying to do too much and losing them to information overload. One thing I do when I know I don't have enough time to cover everything is put all the topics I know I want to cover during my presentation at the beginning of the PowerPoint and then have an "Additional Info" section at the end of the PowerPoint that can be used as a take-a-way item. These items are put in order of importance, from my perspective. Doing this allows me to monitor my time and if I find that I have an additional 10 minutes or that I'm ahead of schedule, I can continue and cover a few additional items that I didn't think I'd have the time for. I generally include links to websites and other resources in this section or for any topic I felt was important but didn't knew I didn't have the time to cover.

I'm not sure what your public speaking background is, but I'm a strong believer that everyone has their own style and what fits one speaker may not fit another. I wouldn't encourage you to over-rehearse but I would encourage you to run through your presentation at least once or twice to see how you're doing, in regards to timing.

Good luck and "break a leg"!
staythecourse
Posts: 6993
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:40 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by staythecourse »

WAY TOO MANY TOPICS!!!

I usually tell folks who are giving presentations that you have to remember who is sitting in the audience to determine the depth of info.

I would keep it simple and talk about: Importance of starting early, saving regularly, keeping costs down, diversifying, and DON'T listen to CNBC or other active management folks.

Then give them some simple books to read if further interested, such as: Mr. Bogle's edition to the Little Book series and Allan Roth's "How a second grader beat wall street".

In the end it is not the point to show off what you know, but to give them 2-3 points to remember and instill a feeling of "Hey I think this is something important and now I feel I can learn more about it myself"

Good luck.
"The stock market [fluctuation], therefore, is noise. A giant distraction from the business of investing.” | -Jack Bogle
carolinaman
Posts: 5453
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by carolinaman »

The breadth of topics makes it impossible to educate these folks on anything in an hours time. IMO, the best strategy is to convince/motivate them why they should seek to become educated on these topics and provide some direction on how to get educated: websites, books or courses at local colleges.

PF is really important and unfortunately most of us learn this through trial and error, and some of the errors can be expensive. I took a PF elective when I was completing my 4 year degree at age 33. It was a great course. Because I was older, I had already learned a lot of the material through experience. For a 22 yr old, it would have been invaluable.
YttriumNitrate
Posts: 1093
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:13 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by YttriumNitrate »

deleted.
Last edited by YttriumNitrate on Sat Mar 12, 2016 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
epictetus
Posts: 796
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 5:43 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by epictetus »

I agree re: way too many topics.

would suggest focusing on 2-3 key issues as noted above. and would emphasize the importance of getting started.

also would suggest telling them they cannot and don't have to learn it all at once. it is an ongoing learning process.

I would encourage you to point them to this website and tell them this is the best place possible to continue their education.
Focus on what you can control
RenoJay
Posts: 748
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Nevada

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by RenoJay »

If each of those topics is a slide, I think it's ok, but otherwise seems like a lot of ground to cover in one hour. I think hitting just a few points, and hitting them repeatedly in different ways, usually produces a better result if the goal is for them to remember what was taught. I used to teach Junior Achievement to high school seniors and I created a presentation they really liked called, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The gist of it was to explain compound interest, and to show that despite sometimes scary fluctuations that the stock market has had a very positive return over the long haul, etc. I think it worked because it provided a framework for motivation and helped explain what the long term benefit of all this short term pain would be.
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

Btw, I am aware this might be more material than I can realistically cover in a 1-hour presentation. It's possible we might end up having 2 or even more presentations on this topic depending on interest.
If each of those topics is a slide, I think it's ok,
This was my initial plan, I wasn't intending on going into such detail about anything. I am considering revising this however in light of feedback to go a bit more deeply into a few topics.

Our company matches 6% generously, has good options, and vests completely after only a few years so there is no excuse imo for not putting at least 6% into the 401k.
User avatar
neurosphere
Posts: 5203
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:55 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by neurosphere »

It seems we could "crowdsource" some presentations, no? This issue tends to come up often, when a boglehead who has understanding and knowledge wishes to educate others in a "presentation" format, but does not have the time/experience/design skills to create a powerpoint presentation.

I am faculty at a large hospital/university and I have been planning for YEARS to give a lecture, or series of lectures, on financial topics of interest to medical residents (or anyone interested). The organizing and creating the lectures can take a very long time. I often meet with individuals to give advice, but I would have a LARGE and EAGER audience if I merely put up a flyer. I bet I could get 400 people to attend such a seminar during a one week period if I gave the talk 2-4 times. Instead, we get the whole-life salesmen who come in with their fancy (error-filled) graphs to give "free" presentation (and usually free food). Sigh.

For medical lectures, our department has a series of power point presentations which people have made over the years and stored on our server. Each year we review them, update as necessary, and any one can use one and modify to suit their own points of emphasis or their style.

Does anyone think such a thing could be possible here? I.e. create a set of slides on several very focused investing topics? Then someone could pick and choose and create a sub-set of the master group to suit their needs. I have actually considered PAYING someone to help me create such a set of slides, but have not gotten the time to identify someone capable and willing.

Anyone think such a thing is possible? A group collaboration to create such a presentation? I would still be willing to contribute $$$ to encouraging such a project if that's what it took to get the ball rolling. Thoughts? Perhaps I should spin this post out to its own thread.

NS
If you have to ask "Is a Target Date fund right for me?", the answer is "Yes" (even in taxable accounts).
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

neurosphere wrote:It seems we could "crowdsource" some presentations, no? This issue tends to come up often, when a boglehead who has understanding and knowledge wishes to educate others in a "presentation" format, but does not have the time/experience/design skills to create a powerpoint presentation.

...

Anyone think such a thing is possible? A group collaboration to create such a presentation? I would still be willing to contribute $$$ to encouraging such a project if that's what it took to get the ball rolling. Thoughts? Perhaps I should spin this post out to its own thread.
This is actually one of the things I want to do from this thread is have a presentation anyone can use for similar purposes. There are all sorts of FAQ or brochure information or longer documents online you can read but this is not easily presentable material in current format.

I also have pretty serious interest in putting together a personal finance type lecture series myself further down the road, because this is a subject I am very passionate about. I am pseudo-leading a Financial Peace University summer event with some close friends because it is "easy material" for this. Once we get to investing parts I will, ah, disagree with Mr. Ramsey ... :)
Does anyone think such a thing could be possible here? I.e. create a set of slides on several very focused investing topics? Then someone could pick and choose and create a sub-set of the master group to suit their needs. I have actually considered PAYING someone to help me create such a set of slides, but have not gotten the time to identify someone capable and willing.
I am absolutely interested in doing this as well. If there is more interest from Bogleheads, I can coordinate this.
User avatar
neurosphere
Posts: 5203
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:55 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by neurosphere »

enderland wrote:
I am absolutely interested in doing this as well. If there is more interest from Bogleheads, I can coordinate this.
I'm going to start a new thread and duplicate my post, in that case, and see who may be interested in working on this.
If you have to ask "Is a Target Date fund right for me?", the answer is "Yes" (even in taxable accounts).
User avatar
market timer
Posts: 6535
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:42 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by market timer »

As many have said, you have way too many topics to cover in an hour. If I were giving this presentation, I'd focus on four specific topics and give suggestions on where to get additional information. Also, you want to be careful not to bore your audience with stuff they've already heard (e.g., rule of 72, magic of compound interest). Get right into the meat of it with relevant questions like those below, allotting 15 minutes to each topic (budget 3-5 mins for Q&A for each section):

1. What can a young professional do to minimize taxes? -- 401K, HSA/FSA, 529, housing deductions, invest tax efficiently, etc.
2. 401K vs. Roth -- value of tax deferred vs. tax free space, briefly mention asset allocation and refer to Bogleheads, how these compare with taxable investing
3. Credit scores, credit cards, and mortgages: how to monitor credit (e.g., credit karma), how to pick a credit card (e.g., FatWallet, Flyer Talk), how much downpayment needed, where to keep downpayment
4. Student loans: pay down or invest? what repayment schedule to use (IBR/PAYE, graduated repayment, 10yr vs. 30yr, etc.)
Last edited by market timer on Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
6miths
Posts: 811
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:55 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by 6miths »

Definitely agree with using the KISS principle on the talk if it is only an hour you have to try to focus them and get them motivated to do what all Bogleheads have done - become life-long learners in the PF field. I agree with using the Einstein quotes and show the magic of compounding and starting early on savings/investing and I would definitely show the flip side - the dark magic of compounding when it comes to high fees on investments and especially credit. Use a slide to show them how much that 70 inch flat screen will cost if they put it on their credit card and make the minimum payment or how much the latte will cost. Show them why the bank wants you to take the biggest possible mortgage you can 'afford' and how much of a difference that 0.25% makes on a $500,000 mortgage over the life of the mortgage. In fact you could do a bunch of slides on the many somewhat shady practices that the financial services industry tries to pull on the unsuspecting. Concrete examples tend to stick more than abstract principles!

I'd love to get involved in some shared presentations espousing the Boglehead way! Great idea!
'It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so!' Mark Twain
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

market timer wrote:As many have said, you have way too many topics to cover in an hour. If I were giving this presentation, I'd focus on four specific topics and give suggestions on where to get additional information. Also, you want to be careful not to bore your audience with stuff they've already heard (e.g., rule of 72, magic of compound interest). Get right into the meat of it with relevant questions like those below, allotting 15 minutes to each topic (budget 3-5 mins for Q&A):

1. 401K vs. Roth -- value of tax deferred vs. tax free space
2. Credit scores, credit cards, and mortgages: how to monitor credit (e.g., credit karma), how to pick a credit card (e.g., FatWallet), how much downpayment needed, where to keep downpayment
3. Student loans: pay down or invest? what repayment schedule to use (IBR/PAYE, graduated repayment, 10yr vs. 30yr, etc.)
4. What can a young professional do to minimize taxes? -- 401K, HSA/FSA, 529, housing deductions, invest tax efficiently, etc.
Here's the problem with doing that as I see it.

First, I doubt more than 50% of people under 25 have heard of the "rule of 72" or understand how compound interest actually works. People might know compound interest is vaguely important to financial stuff but I doubt most young people (even engineers) actually could give a cohesive explanation as to why it's important.

Second, all your suggestions are assuming a lot of background knowledge. Most people probably couldn't explain how taxes even work (or understand marginal vs effective rates) enough to make a Roth vs tax-deferred discussion make sense.

I think there are really two layers here which are probably impossible to address both of in a 1-hour presentation. The first layer is basic definitions of the fundamentals. Things like, "what does Roth mean?" or "how does compound interest work" or "how do my taxes basically work" or "what is a tax deduction" or "what is taxable income" etc. I think people here dramatically overestimate how financially literate most people are with respect to basic definitions, even young professionals who are making decent salaries after a technical degree.

In my opinion, most people have no idea about anything financial unless they actively seek to research and understand things. Or, I suppose, they make enough bad decisions they end up on a forced learning plan... :oops:

------

This is all giving me a lot to think about which is wonderful feedback.
User avatar
market timer
Posts: 6535
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:42 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by market timer »

enderland wrote:First, I doubt more than 50% of people under 25 have heard of the "rule of 72" or understand how compound interest actually works. People might know compound interest is vaguely important to financial stuff but I doubt most young people (even engineers) actually could give a cohesive explanation as to why it's important.
It can be tough to identify what is an appropriate level of background knowledge in this situation. You said it's a group of young professionals, so I'm assuming a somewhat more financially literate group than a random sample of twenty-somethings. My main suggestion is to show them how they can save money today by being more efficient about things like taxes, as opposed to lecturing them about why they should delay gratification.
Skiffy
Posts: 232
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:13 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by Skiffy »

I speak from a parents point of view with 2 kids in their 20's.

Don't try to make them drink from a fire hose! Their eyes will glaze over with too much detail on anything. You will find young adults have a lot different financial habits than middle-aged people (checks? never write them or balance an account, and do EVERYTHING online, including banking; powerpoint isn't interactive or fast paced enough). I would encourage them to have an emergency fund, set their retirement contributions to automatic, talk about "balance" between living for today and saving for tomorrow. Compounding - working for you against you (school loans-compounding against you; savings working for you) Be careful with spreadsheets, as non-financial people can't comprehend anything with more than 17 numbers (so I've read and come to believe). Charts are a little better visually. Make your presentation salty--wanting them to come back for more information!
User avatar
BigOil
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by BigOil »

Skiffy wrote:I speak from a parents point of view with 2 kids in their 20's.

Don't try to make them drink from a fire hose! Their eyes will glaze over with too much detail on anything. You will find young adults have a lot different financial habits than middle-aged people (checks? never write them or balance an account, and do EVERYTHING online, including banking; powerpoint isn't interactive or fast paced enough). I would encourage them to have an emergency fund, set their retirement contributions to automatic, talk about "balance" between living for today and saving for tomorrow. Compounding - working for you against you (school loans-compounding against you; savings working for you) Be careful with spreadsheets, as non-financial people can't comprehend anything with more than 17 numbers (so I've read and come to believe). Charts are a little better visually. Make your presentation salty--wanting them to come back for more information!
+1

And WAY too much for an hour in OP's original topic list.

I also "do presentations on a highly technical and misunderstood topic for a living" in general, and I always have too much to say too. FWIW
Topic Author
enderland
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:36 am

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by enderland »

Hmm.

I think I might change the focus of my presentation slightly to make it a bit more, "here's a motivating factor to care about personal finance and financial wellbeing" instead of trying to introduce the material.

Focusing on the importance of getting your finances in order early, both budgeting or at least tracking expenses and saving.

An hour might not be enough for much more especially if people have questions.
Ignis
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:29 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by Ignis »

davidepope wrote:What I did for a 23 year old friend was make them a Google Spreadsheet showing the power of starting early and the power of compounding. At the end of the talk you could offer to share a link to the spreadsheet so they can plug in their own numbers.

Image

-- David
Nice spreadsheet. I have one similar, but like your layout much better. Any chance you would be willing to share it?
nomadgecko
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:32 pm

Re: If you were making a PF presentation for young professio

Post by nomadgecko »

enderland wrote:I have the unique opportunity to present in a month or so to a group of young professionals a broad overview of personal finance during roughly 1 hour. Most of these are in their 20s, single and no kids, and making good salaries.
My recommendation is to cover these topics
1) Primary investment vehicles
Stocks: what is a share of a company, what drives stock prices, how they can be segmented (market cap, sector, geography, etc.).
Bonds: what is a bond, what drives bond prices and yields, how they can be segmented.
What is a stock index, and what are some of the prominent ones. Average return and annual standard deviation over the past 50 years for, say, 3 indices.
What is a bond index; prominent ones. Average return and annual standard deviation over the past 50 years for some indices.

2) Your investment options
Individual securities or mutual funds or ETFs
Show a 2x2 matrix. On the y-axis, top is "do it yourself", bottom is "hire someone to do it". On the x-axis left is "active management", on the x-axis right is "passive management".
Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the 4 options; you advocate the upper right quadrant, why, with data.

3) Why/how to start now
Starting at age 25 vs 35. Get the company's 401(k) match, then Roth, then...
Live below your means
Target to save 15% of your gross salary

4) Where to get more info
5) Q&A

I would skip insurance, estate planning, etc. etc.
Post Reply