We know how much young people look up to, mimic and try and emulate the stars. That’s why I thought this article might grab your students’ attention. Here are a few of the 11 stars that were mentioned (I have to admit that I am having a lot of “who’s that?” moments as I skim through the article, your students probably won’t).

From Bloomberg: 

Jenny Slate (Comic, actress);  Slate stars in the films Gifted (April) and Landline (July)

• Have you made any big mistakes with your money?
  No, I’m not like that. I will say my clothes are where I spend my money, like buying a Marc Jacobs letterman jacket. I panicked when I bought my TV.

Priyanka Chopra (Actress, activist); Chopra stars in ABC’s Quantico and the film Baywatch, opening in May.

• How do you manage your money?
  I divide it between what I want to save, investments, what I want to spend, and philanthropy.
• What’s your best investment?
  Land in Mumbai and Goa.
• Ever spend money imprudently?
  Ten years into movies, in 2013, my mom insisted that I needed to commemorate it. I picked her up, we went to dinner, and then drove to a Rolls-Royce dealer and bought a custom car.

Dale Chihuly (Sculptor); An exhibition of Chihuly’s work is at the New York Botanical Garden until Oct. 29.

• When was the moment you realized you could make art for a living?
  Until 1980, I taught full time at the Rhode Island School of Design. When the sales of my artwork matched my salary is when I thought I could make a go of it.
• What’s the best thing you’ve done with your money?
  In Seattle, Lake Union is a “working lake” that serves the fishing and boat-building industries. I got lucky a few years ago, and a famous boat builder was selling his business and building. I was able to take over the building. Boats go by all day long.

Questions for students:

• Do you see any patterns with the financial behavior of these stars? What was the biggest mistake that many of them made?
• What was the best advice that you got from this article?
• What are the challenges that you think most stars have with their money?
• Take three of the questions and provide your own answers to them.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.