TTT #69: Managing Your Money with Victor Neumann

Financial education, this word is everywhere nowadays. But what do we really know about it? Not enough, says Victor Neumann, who joins Zubair in this podcast episode.

A lack of understanding about how money works can land you in precarious situations and Victor aims to educate people to prevent the same. Hailing from Germany, which he candidly admits is far behind in terms of financial literacy, Victor was struck by the difference in personal finance education when he moved to the USA. He founded Invest it, aiming to create a company that bridges the gap between stock markets and everyday finance for students. A purely voluntary, non-profit organisation, Invest it thrives in this market because it does not rely on funding from banks and insurance companies.

Talking about misconceptions, Victor says we should look a financial education as a competency, not a topic to be covered. He also reveals the youth tend to overlook basic fundamentals such as budgeting and taxes, instead focusing on crypto and investing. Zubair agrees, saying we don't usually think about how personal taxes and salaries and living expenses work.

If you don't control money, it controls you

This November, Invest It heads off to a German school to teach students about personal finance. Apart from this, they also conduct workshops, both online and offline and create content to help students out.  

Victor's entrepreneurship journey began when he and his friends took part in a national start-up competition for high school students in Germany, where he had to create a business plan. They qualified in the semi-finals and even had a mention on prime-time television! While that plan may not have worked, it was an incredible experience.

To sign off, Victor offers two main points :

1. When seeing personal finance content online, think about who the sender of it is and the intentions behind it.

2. Talk to people about money and the problems you might have.