A personal finance podcast for Gen Z.
Watching Trees Grow
Sept. 1, 2022

1.5 MINUTES of Your Time Could Into a $1.5 MILLION Retirement Plan!

Building a retirement plan is a walk in the (Schenley) park… See how we turned 1.5 minutes of a college student’s time into a plan for $1.5 million! #finance #invest #investing #finlit #financialliteracy #student #personalfinance #educator #college #financialcapability #financialfreedom #goals #motivation #technology #millionaire #careers #oakland #pitt #cathy #moneytips

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Aug. 25, 2022

We built a financial plan all while the person we were building it for was playing ping pong!

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June 8, 2022

The Troutwood App: Product Launch

CREATE your first financial plan with the Troutwood app! - Explore colleges - Explore careers - Explore locations - Model hypothetical plans - Build actual personal financial plans - Implement YOUR financial plan Download the Troutwood app today, for free! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/troutwood/id1530619297 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.troutwood.sfp&hl=en_US&gl=US The Troutwood App was designed and developed to…

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May 5, 2022

How To: Create Your First Financial Plan on the Troutwood App

Got a minute? Create your first financial plan! This video tutorial shows you how to get started with the Troutwood App. Explore colleges Explore careers Explore locations And much more . . . Put it all together and create a financial plan to help achieve your financial goals! Download the…

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April 11, 2022

How to Save for College with Virginia529 CEO

What is a 529 plan and why do you need one? On this week’s episode, Gene calls on the Mary Morris, CEO of the Virginia 529, to discuss the in’s and out’s of the plan and why everyone can, and should, have one! A four year college might not be…

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March 29, 2022

Chief Finance Analyst Answers Top Money Questions from College Students! Bankrate.com executive

In this Speaker Series episode, Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst for bankrate.com, joins the podcast. Greg is an advocate for financial literacy and education and has made it his life work to help bring resources and financial tools to young people. Greg talks about his favorite Bankrate: Guiding you through…

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March 23, 2022

Emergency Preparedness and Liquidity

Troutwood’s watching trees grow podcast continues last week’s conversation on the importance of emergency preparedness. Rachel joins Gene on the podcast to talk more in depth about accessing your assets in an emergency. When does liquidity and easy access to your money become too tempting and too accessible? 🟢 TIMESTAMPS…

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March 18, 2022

Gene, how do I start investing?

Week 7 of Office Hours A straight forward great money question came up halfway through class, and it sparked an important conversation about how to get started. "Gene how do I start investing?" As a class we did two things to effectively answering this question: First we went to Google…

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March 15, 2022

Emergency Preparedness and Planning

What is Emergency preparedness? Maybe you’re prepared for an environmental emergency, but what about a health emergency or job loss? Gene and Jeff were inspired by the student questions while teaching a course at Grove City College. Gene answers some of those questions in this episode and how YOU can…

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March 8, 2022

Why We Built an Investment Simulation Game

Becoming a life-long investor doesn't happen over night. We know that. That's why we made a simulation for you to practice! In this episode, Gene and Jeff talk about the inspiration behind Buy Sell Hold and how you can use it to up your investing game! Learn how to play!…

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March 4, 2022

Confidence increases with understanding

Week 6 of Office Hours Class again started with a game of Troutwood's "Buys, Sell, Hold!" Student scores increased to an average of close to $2.5 million with a high score of $4.3 million! Download the APP and give it a try! This week's Watching Tres Grow podcast assignment, was…

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March 4, 2022

How To Play: Buy Sell Hold

Buy, Sell, Hold! is a fun, fast and educational way to get savvy on saving and investing by tapping the power of gaming and simulation technologies. Can you beat the MARKET and your friends to finish with the highest score? Learn important, lifelong investment principles. How it Works Players take…

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March 1, 2022

Students Owning Their Financial Future

What are the right financial questions to ask as you start your first job? How do you start to do your own taxes for the very first time? And more importantly, to whom do you ask these questions? In this episode, Gene tackles an email from a student that includes…

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Feb. 25, 2022

Money pros, cars and homes

Watching Trees Grow is a money and personal finance podcast for Gen Z. Grow your knowledge of finance and understand the consequences of your money choices. Office Hours is a 10-week series that brings the classroom to the Troutwood Community. Troutwood CEO, Gene Natali, has taught collegiate personal finance at…

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Feb. 18, 2022

Have the courage to ask Money Questions

Watching Trees Grow is a money and personal finance podcast for Gen Z. Grow your knowledge of finance and understand the consequences of your money choices. Office Hours is a 10-week series that brings the classroom to the Troutwood Community. Troutwood CEO, Gene Natali, has taught collegiate personal finance since…

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Feb. 15, 2022

Good Debt vs. Bad Debt

Watching Trees Grow is a money and personal finance podcast for Gen Z. Grow your knowledge of finance and understand the consequences of your money choices. This episode covers good debt versus bad debt. 18% of high school seniors will graduate having taken a personal finance course. 100% of high…

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Feb. 11, 2022

Building a financial plan, budgeting

Gene Natali has taught Collegiate Personal Finance for 7-years. Join us each week as he brings the classroom to the Troutwood community. Week 3 Office Hours: Budgeting In this episode of office hours you will learn the basics of building a budget. Open an excel file, google sheets, or get…

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Feb. 8, 2022

How Interest Rates Impact YOU!

Interest rates have been in the news a lot recently. How does a change in interest rates you? From students to homeowners, everyone can feel an impact. Gene covers the basics in this short episode about interest rates and debt! 0:48– What interest rate headlines really mean 0:57– Total debt…

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Feb. 4, 2022

Building a Financial Plan

Gene Natali has taught Collegiate Personal Finance for 7-years. Join us each week as he brings the classroom to the Troutwood community. Week 2 Office Hours: Building a Financial Plan, getting started In this episode of office hours you will learn the first step in building a financial plan. Turn…

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Feb. 1, 2022

A Post-Grad Perspective on Student Loans

You took out the student loans. Got the degree. What now? Gene and Rachel sit down to continue the conversation about student loans, this time from a “post-grad” perspective. “I got three or four different options, but it turned out that income based repayment was the best for me.” Rachel…

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Jan. 28, 2022

What is a financial plan?

Gene Natali has taught Collegiate Personal Finance for 7-years. Join us each week as he brings the classroom to the Troutwood community. Week 1 Office Hours: What is a financial plan? In this episode of office hours you will learn what a financial plan is and and why it is…

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Jan. 25, 2022

Getting Real About Student Loans

Student loans can be daunting when you’re in college. How do you know you’re not making any student loan mistakes? Will you encounter issues with your student loans? Rachel and Gene have a candid discussion about the fears and apprehension of making student loan mistakes. Rachel shares her personal experience…

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Jan. 19, 2022

Behind the Scenes of Charitable Giving with Goodwill

In this episode, Gene has a conversation with special guest Andrew Marano, Vice President of Retail at Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Andrew’s passion grew with his experiences and led him to a place of leadership within the local non-profit sector. He tells us first-hand how impactful it is to receive…

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Jan. 11, 2022

The Story of My First Financial Plan

On this episode of the Troutwood Mailbag Series, Gene and Maggie discuss Maggie's first financial plan. How did she do it? How much time did it take? Building a financial plan can be daunting. You can make one today! Listen to find out how Maggie got started. Start your own…

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