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Currently, 23 states, including Tennessee, guarantee at least one semester of personal finance before graduation, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
Tennessee is one of eight states — along with Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia — that has fully implemented the requirement.

Michael Morrow
Courtesy: Michael Morrow

As Americans grapple with economic uncertainty, educators in Nashville, Tennessee, are preparing high school and middle school students with personal finance courses that many of their parents never had.
Currently, 23 states, including Tennessee, guarantee at least one semester of personal finance before high school graduation, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.

Tennessee is one of eight states — along with Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia — that has fully implemented the requirement.
“It’s been a joy and a delight,” said Michael Morrow, 46, who was recruited to bring financial literacy to Lead Southeast High School in Nashville and now trains other educators through Tennessee Jump$tart’s annual conference.

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While Morrow teaches money management topics like savings, credit and debt, he also covers charitable donations and other giving, which differs from some other schools.
“The concept of giving has been one of the main priorities,” said Morrow, who was one of the first teachers to receive Tennessee Jump$tart’s Excellence in Financial Education Educator of the Year award.
“It changes their life for the better because it tells them ‘it’s not always about me,'” he said.

The concept of giving has been one of the main priorities.

Michael Morrow
Educator at Lead Southeast High School

Over the years, Morrow has seen students meet financial goals, like saving to cover Christmas gifts for family or start a business. Those lessons have open spilled often to their parents, who have tapped him for credit or other money advice.
“We teach them these concepts and the power behind it,” he said. “It changes a lot of their mindsets for the better.”

‘I think it’s going to be life-changing for them’

Teresa Helms
Courtesy: Teresa Helms

While personal finance isn’t required for middle school students, Teresa Helms, 45, recently began teaching My Classroom Economy, a financial literacy program.
“I’m not the teacher you would expect to be doing this,” said Helms, who teaches fifth through eighth grade Spanish at Rose Park Middle School in Nashville. “But the students are very excited.”  
Since 2018, nearly 8,900 Tennessee students have used My Classroom Economy and more than two-thirds of teachers have reported a boost in students’ financial skills, according to the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission’s 2022 annual report.    
The program integrates with any subject, allowing students to earn rewards, budget and spend money on items sold in her classroom’s store, Helms explained.
While her classes are still starting the program, she thinks it will impact students in ways they aren’t expecting, including future career interests. “I think it’s going to be life-changing for them,” Helms added.

‘The main thing I try to do is plant seeds’

Shelley Lott
Courtesy: Shelley Lott

Another award-winning educator, Shelly Lott, 60, brought financial literacy to Northeast Middle School in Clarksville, Tennessee, which is roughly 50 miles northwest of Nashville.
A former math teacher, Lott now leads Money Matters for Middle Schoolers, a course for sixth through eighth grade students, covering topics like savings, budgeting, income, behavioral finance, insurance and identity theft.  

The main thing I try to do is plant seeds, and eventually I’m hoping they get fertilized by more information.

Shelly Lott
Educator at Northeast Middle School

“The main thing I try to do is plant seeds, and eventually I’m hoping they get fertilized by more information,” said Lott, who also serves on the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission’s Distinguished Educator Council.
Lott said the personal finance course provides real-world applications of what students learn in math classes. For example, learning discounts later helps when calculating percentages.
“I know they’re not going to master these skills in middle school,” she said. “But it’s part of a foundation that’s really important.”
TUNE IN: “Cities of Success” special featuring Nashville, Tennessee, will air on CNBC on Dec. 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. More

To learn more about the CNBC CFO Council, visit cnbccouncils.com/cfo-council/

Founding Members
CNBC CFO Council

Rogers, chair of Ariel Investments, expects the mega-cap tech stocks that outperformed this year are “priced for perfection.”
The investor is bullish on stocks tied to the housing sector.
Rogers is also finding opportunity in the media sector that has been battered this year from concerns around advertising.

Ariel Investments chair and chief investment officer John Rogers Jr.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

It’s time to look at value stocks as growth names will have a difficult 2024, according to Ariel Investments’ John Rogers.
“I think the top of growth stocks is coming,” Rogers told CNBC’s Scott Wapner at the CNBC CFO Council Summit in Washington, D.C. “I really, really do.”

In fact, Rogers, chair of Ariel Investments, expects the mega-cap tech stocks that outperformed this year are “priced for perfection,” and will likely face challenges heading into 2024.
Instead, the investor is bullish on value names as the gap in performance between growth and value widens. For example, the Russell 3000 Growth climbed roughly 34% this year, while the Russell 3000 Value is up more than 2%.
“It’s one of the largest gaps in the history of recorded history, I guess, looking at those indexes,” Rogers said. “So that gives me a lot of confidence that small value is going to be the place to be, and that growth stocks are gonna have a very difficult time as we go into next year.”
The value manager said growth stocks could continue to outperform in a falling interest rate environment. But he thinks the gap is so large between growth and value that there will be some big winners that could get overlooked by growth investors.
“I think there’s gonna be a real opportunity to pick up some of those orphans, really outperform as we go through ’24 and ’25, even with the tailwind that the growth stocks will have for the lower rates,” Rogers said.

The investor is bullish on stocks tied to the housing sector. Names include ADT, the home security company that is down 35% this year, and Mohawk Industries, the flooring company that is down 14%.
Rogers is also finding opportunity in the media sector that has been battered this year from concerns around advertising. He favors Paramount Global on the merit of its vast content library and portfolio of global brands, as well as a “mindset shift” among leadership there.
“We think the stock is worth over $40 a share,” Rogers said. “We think there’s a real opportunity here.”
Paramount shares, which are down 14% this year, closed at $14.41 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the investor likes Madison Square Garden Entertainment. He also said his team is more “bullish than ever” on cruise stocks such as Royal Caribbean, which has been “our sort of anchor stock” given the consumer appetite for experiences.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Your Money

While men are hopeful when it comes to money, women feel stress.
As men focus on retirement saving, women are focused on catching up.
To gain financial confidence, these are the steps experts recommend women take.

AleksandarNakic | E+ | Getty Images

Women have a complicated relationship with money.
That may start with how they feel about their finances. While men most commonly say they are “hopeful” when it comes to money, women’s No. 1 word for their financial feelings was “stress,” according to a 2023 Fidelity Investments survey.

“Women’s No. 1 source of stress is money,” Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest, an online investing platform for women, told CNBC in a recent interview.
“Women spend a week-plus [each] year worrying about money,” she said.

There are a few reasons why women’s financial concerns are more acute.
For starters, overall, women have 30 cents of wealth for every dollar white men have, Krawcheck said. Consequently, women’s top goal is to shore up the wealth they’re lacking, while their second priority is taking care of their families, she said.
In contrast, men’s No. 1 priority is saving for retirement.

Other factors hold women back financially, according to Cary Carbonaro, a certified financial planner and director of woman and wealth services at ACM Wealth.
A so-called “good daughter penalty” makes it so that care for the entire family often falls on her. When it comes time to retire, she often has less money than men, but with a longer life expectancy and higher health-care costs.

Start small: ‘You don’t have to do everything all at once’

It is possible for women to turn their emotions — and financial progress — around. A recent Ellevest survey found 86% of women say investing makes them feel powerful.
But those who do not take a proactive role in their financial lives face greater risks.
“I work with mainly women, and by the time they get to me, it’s usually because they’re in a crisis, like a death, a divorce, a disability,” Carbonaro said.
Improving women’s finances now — and avoiding a future calamity — does not have to be overwhelming.
A step-by-step approach works best, according to Stacy Francis, a certified financial planner and president and CEO of Francis Financial in New York. She is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
“You don’t have to do everything all at once, because I’ll be honest, it can be overwhelming and intimidating,” Francis said.

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The first step is to aim to “get back to neutral,” Francis said. If you have credit card debt or high interest loans, paying them down with absolute passion and devotion should be your top goal, she said.
The next step is to establish an emergency fund worth three to six months of your monthly spending.
“That is the airbag, the safety net,” Francis said. “That’s going to protect you from having to use high interest, dangerous credit cards for some of these unexpected expenses.”
Once you have an ample emergency fund, it’s time to turn to long-term goals, Francis said. That includes saving for a house, ramping up your 401(k) plan deferral to at least get the employer match or funding another retirement account such as an individual retirement account.

Use the new year to reset

After you hit those goals, it’s “rinse and repeat,” Francis said, or continuously minding your debts, savings and long-term planning.
Ultimately, the goal is to put away 20% of what you earn. But it’s not easy to get there, admits Francis, who said it took her 10 years of gradually increasing her savings to reach that level.

But even ramping up savings by 1% or 2% per year is progress, she said.
As the year comes to a close, that brings a couple of opportunities for women to reset their financial circumstances.
Plan to ask for a raise at work in the new year where appropriate, Francis said.
Also revisit your expenses for 2023 by taking a look at your credit card and bank statements.
“Look at it without judgement,” Francis said, and see where you may be able to cut back to increase your debt pay down and savings rate.
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Nearly all Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy.
Still, many continue to spend more and save less.
“Doom spending” may be one way to cope with stress as economic fears mount, however, it comes at the expense of your financial well-being.

Black Friday shoppers leave the Nike store as other shoppers wait in line to shop as retailers compete to attract shoppers and try to maintain margins on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, U.S. November 24, 2023. 
Vincent Alban | Reuters

Consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient in the face of some stiff economic headwinds.
Nearly all Americans, 96%, are concerned about the current state of the economy, according to a recent report by Intuit Credit Karma.

Still, more than a quarter are “doom spending,” or spending money despite economic and geopolitical concerns, the report found.
Even as inflation and high interest rates have squeezed budgets, a record 200 million shoppers turned out between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. This season, holiday spending is expected to reach record levels, totaling up to $966.6 billion, the NRF projects.
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“Much like doom scrolling, we’re seeing people mindlessly shop to soothe concerns about the economy and foreign affairs, which could take a toll on their financial wellbeing,” said Courtney Alev, Credit Karma’s consumer financial advocate.
Even as credit card debt tops $1 trillion, Gen Z and millennials are particularly susceptible to this mindset, other reports show.

Rather than cut expenses, 73% of Gen Zers say they would rather live in the moment, a recent Prosperity Index study by Intuit found. 
High inflation has made it particularly hard for those just starting out. More than half, or 53%, of Gen Zers said the increased cost of living is a barrier to their financial success, according to a separate survey from Bank of America.

“Younger adults feel discouraged,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.
However, “one thing that young adults have working for them is the advantage of time,” he added. “Every dollar you set aside will compound.” Gen Z workers are the biggest cohort of nonsavers, Bankrate also found. 
At the very least, strike a balance, Rossman advised. Automate a portion of your income toward savings and build some fun into the budget, he said. “At least then you are not paying 20% credit card interest.”
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Scammers are taking advantage of the frustrating and confusing time for student loan borrowers.
You should never pay someone over the phone offering services to avoid repayment, lower your payments or get your loans forgiven.
Here’s what consumers should look out for.

Antonioguillem | Istock | Getty Images

It has been a frustrating and confusing time for many student loan borrowers.
President Joe Biden promised millions of Americans up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness, but then the Supreme Court blocked the program, and the relief never came. As payments restarted in October after a three-year break, borrowers were often given confusing or insufficient information on their accounts.

That has presented opportunities to scammers.
“When borrowers have difficulty reaching their loan servicers or are disappointed by the lack of loan forgiveness, they look elsewhere for help,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “Student loan scams fill the gap.”
More from Personal Finance:Can money buy happiness? 60% of adults say yesThe ‘radically different’ wage growth forecast in 2024Cooling job market no reason for panic yet, economists say
Ari Lazarus, consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission, wrote in a recent consumer alert that “scammers might try and tell you they can help you avoid repayment, lower your payments, or get your loans forgiven — for a price.”
You should never pay someone over the phone offering these “services,” experts say. At StudentAid.gov/repay, you can apply for different repayment plans, forgiveness programs and payment pause options for free.

“It isn’t rocket science and takes just a few minutes,” Kantrowitz said.
If a borrower is struggling to get through to their servicer, they can likely get their questions answered on the company’s website or at StudentAid.gov, he added.

Student loan scam warning signs

If you’re being pressured to pay an upfront fee to get help with your student loans, it is likely a scam, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In many cases, these requests are illegal.
Promises for immediate student loan forgiveness are also likely scams, experts say. Although the government has programs that lead to debt cancellation, they take years to complete.
Communication about the Biden administration’s new student loan forgiveness plan will come directly from the U.S. Department of Education and your student loan servicer. You can find the list of companies the government works with on student debt here.
If someone promises you that they can remove your debts from your credit report, it may also be a scam, the CFPB says. If you legally hold a debt, it will remain on your reports.
Scammers may also demand that you sign a “third-party authorization” or “power of attorney.” These written agreements grant a person or company legal permission to talk directly to your student loan servicer and make decisions for you.
“Beware of any company that cuts off communication between you and your servicer,” the CFPB says.

Some scammers may falsely claim to be affiliated with the Department of Education or your servicer. Borrowers should be extra careful that they’re actually speaking to someone at their servicer and might want to ask to call their lender back directly if they’re having doubts.
Meanwhile, emails with the Department of Education should have “.gov” in their addresses.
Borrowers should never give their FSA ID to anyone, the CFPB says. It notes that the government or your servicer will never ask for that information.
If you’ve been scammed or suspect someone of trying to scam you, StudentAid.gov has a list of different ways to report it.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Charlie Munger at his book signing event Katherine Graham at Borsheim’s Jewelry store.
Mark Peterson | Getty Images

Becoming a titan of business does not require giving up your personality or humor, as Charlie Munger proved repeatedly in his long and successful life.
Munger, who died Tuesday at the age of 99, leaves behind not just an illustrious career as an investor but also a string of jokes and stories that entertained Berkshire Hathaway watchers for decades.

Many of the quotes below come from annual meetings of Berkshire Hathaway and are chronicled in CNBC’s Warren Buffett archive. Those events — sometimes called “Woodstock for Capitalists” — allowed Berkshire shareholders to ask Buffett and Munger questions about the company. They also gave the investing titans a chance to share wisdom and jokes, often at their own expense.
Here’s a collection of some of Munger’s funniest quotes and life advice, starting with his musings on aging and the proper goals for your own funeral.

2017:

“What you don’t want to be is like the man who, when they had his funeral, the minister said ‘now’s the time for someone to say something nice about the deceased.’ And nobody came forward. And nobody came forward. He said ‘surely somebody can say something nice to say about the deceased.’ And nobody came forward. And finally one man came up and said, ‘Well, his brother was worse.'”

“Sometimes when I am especially wistful, I think ‘Oh, to be 90 again.'”

Munger was an active commentator on different investing topics until the end, including more modern topics like cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. But some of his sayings fell somewhere between the categories of general business and personal life advice.

2000:

“If you mix the mathematics of the chain letter or the Ponzi scheme with some legitimate development like the development of the internet, you are mixing something which is wretched or irrational or has bad consequences with something that has very good consequences. But you know, if you mix raisins with turds, they’re still turds.”

2004:

“You particularly want to avoid evil or seriously irrational people, particularly if they are attractive members of the opposite sex. That can lead to a lot of trouble.”

Munger, who was a practicing attorney and hedge fund manager before joining Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, was often self-deprecating when discussing his professional success.

2014:

“Competency is a relative concept. … What I needed to get ahead was to compete against idiots. And luckily there’s a large supply.”

2015:

“Warren, if people weren’t so often wrong we wouldn’t be so rich.”

2017:

“I did not intend to get rich. I wanted to get independent. I just overshot.”

Given his longevity and success, Munger was often asked questions about how to live a happy and fulfilling life, regardless of professional success. Over the years, Munger showed the ability to answer that question both sincerely and with a streak of humor.

2017:

“Life is more than being shrewd at passive wealth accumulation.”

2019:

“You don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment, you don’t overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles. You deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. And all these simple rules work so well to make your life better. And they’re so trite.”

2021:

“The first rule of a happy life is low expectations.”

2011:

“That’s the way I got married. My wife lowered her expectations.”

The specter of death or illness did not take away his humor, as shown after Buffett was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

2012:

“I probably have more prostate cancer than he does. I don’t know because I don’t let them test for it.”

Munger’s good humor carried on into the final year of his life. In one of his final public appearances at the 2023 Daily Journal shareholder meeting, Munger reflected on aging with his typical mix of practical advice and sharp wit.

“I’m eating this good peanut brittle. That’s what you ought to do if you want to live to be 99. I hate to advertise my own product, but this is the key to longevity.”

“So far, I’ve had plenty of decline, but I’m pretty shrewd about the way I handle it. And so far the results have not been that bad in my old age. Now, my sex life would be a different subject.”

“I step out of my bed these days and then sit down in my wheelchair. So I am paying some price for old age. But I prefer it to being dead. And whenever I feel sad about being in a wheelchair, I think well you know, Roosevelt ran the whole damn country for 12 years in a wheelchair. So I’m just trying to make this wheelchair thing last as long as Roosevelt did.” More

Known for his quick wit and his role in Berkshire Hathaway’s success, Charlie Munger’s legacy reverberated throughout the investing world.
Mario Gabelli said “a titan has passed …all will miss Charlie.”
Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor of Allianz, spoke about the uniquely powerful relationship between Munger and Warren Buffett.

JOHANNES EISELE | AFP | Getty Images

Several investors mourned the passing of famed investor Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, on Tuesday. Known for his quick wit and his role in the firm’s success, Munger’s legacy reverberated throughout the investing world.
“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Buffett said in a press release. Buffett once credited Munger as the ideator behind the business approach of Berkshire Hathaway, saying Munger once advised him with a “blueprint” to “buy wonderful businesses at fair prices” rather than vice versa.

Ariel Investments’ Charles Bobrinskoy called Munger a “true master of investing” on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” shortly after the news was released. “He was a really important voice in value investing and all investing,” he added.
Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor of Allianz and former chief executive officer of PIMCO, spoke about the uniqely powerful relationship between Munger and Buffett in a statement Tuesday evening.
“So sad to hear the news of the passing of Charlie Munger,” El-Erian wrote. “For so many decades, the two of them led an investment powerhouse that substantially improved so many people’s lives … and, in the process, they repeatedly showcased the prowess of collaboration, synergies, and common sense.”
Mario Gabelli, chairman and CEO of Connecticut-based GAMCO Investors, wrote on Twitter: “Charlie Munger ….a titan has passed …all will miss Charlie.”
In addition, Apple CEO Tim Cook called Munger a “titan of business and keen observer of the world around him.” Berkshire first made an investment in Apple in 2016, and is one of its largest shareholders. But in the past, Munger said he wished Berkshire bought Apple shares more aggressively.

“Charlie Munger helped build an American institution, and through his wisdom and insights, inspired a generation of leaders. He will be sorely missed,” Cook wrote. “Rest in peace Charlie.”
Investors familiar with Munger also released words on his passing. Munger peacefully died Tuesday morning at a California hospital, according to the Berkshire Hathaway press release.
Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors, described Munger as “full of life” and said the famed investor “taught us a ton over the years.”
Some of those lessons went beyond investing, and were part of the reason why hundreds of investors flocked to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting each year. Value investor Whitney Tilson counts himself among them.
“He was always telling stories of how people who had it all brought themselves to ruin, [and] that really made a big impact on my life,” Tilson, research editor at Stansberry, told CNBC.
“Charlie Munger was a brilliant attorney,” Annandale Capital chairman George Seay said Tuesday evening on Yahoo Finance. “He wasn’t just a great investor with Buffett. He was a very accomplished attorney. He was kind of a renaissance man. He was good at a lot of things.”
Munger’s passions went beyond investing. He worked as a real estate attorney and was publisher of the Daily Journal. He also dabbled in architecture, was a philanthropist and served on the Costco board.
Wesley Chan, co-founder and managing partner of venture capital firm FPV, wrote in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday evening celebrating Munger’s life.
“In Charlie, I find solace that in avoiding the mistakes others make out of misaligned incentives, greed, hysteria, or peer pressure, you’re usually going against the grain,” Chan said. “It’s something that I take to heart as an investor and as a friend of many founders, who have their own lonely journeys as well.”
—CNBC’s Christina Cheddar Berk, Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report. More

Charlie Munger wasn’t just the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway: His partnership with billionaire Warren Buffett made him half of an iconic duo in the investing world.
Watch the special lookback at Munger’s life by CNBC’s Becky Quick above.

“I would say that every time I’m with Charlie, I’ve got at least some new slant on an idea that causes me to rethink certain things,” Buffett once told Quick in an interview. “And we’ve had absolutely… so much fun with the partnership over the years.”
Munger, who died Tuesday at age 99, had helped broaden the Oracle of Omaha’s focus on the search for high-quality, undervalued names – a hallmark of their value investing style.
See CNBC’s full obituary of Charlie Munger here. More