Episode•August 31, 2023•16 min

How Kudosy Is Revolutionizing Kids' Financial Education | Ep. 259

Looking to teach your kids about money and financial literacy? Tyler Nicholls, the creator of Kudosy, has the perfect solution. Kudosy is an innovative education app that helps parents give their children points for good behavior they can use as a financial playground. With Kudosy, parents are able to help their children learn about saving, investing, and overall financial concepts in an easy-to-use interface. Learn more about Tyler's development roadmap for this revolutionary app and how it encourages family economics while teaching important financial lessons. Tune in now to learn about Kudosy and how it can help you raise financially literate children! About Our Guest Tyler Nicholls, a dynamic and seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for making a significant impact, is dedicated to serving people on a large scale through innovative software solutions. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Business Strategy, Tyler possesses a strong academic background that has informed his entrepreneurial pursuits. His dedication to education led him to a teaching career in 7th grade math at inner-city schools through the Teach for America program. To further expand his expertise, Tyler pursued a Master's degree from Boston University. As an avid investor and personal finance aficionado, Tyler has been deeply influenced by his father, a life-long financial advisor. This familial connection to finance has fueled his passion for financial literacy and its importance in today's world. Tyler's love for inventing software that creates a meaningful impact inspired him to establish Kudosy, a groundbreaking platform designed to empower individuals and families with financial knowledge. Visit Kudosy at https://kudosy.com/ Connect with Tiffany Website: https://moneytalkwitht.com Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Financial literacy education is failing despite massive spending because it focuses on concepts rather than habit formation and starts too late
US spends $3.8 billion annually on financial education yet literacy rates continue declining
Research from Purdue and Brown shows money habits are largely set by age 7
Kudosy addresses this by creating experiential learning opportunities for young children
2
Personal finance is actually a family/team endeavor rather than an individual pursuit
Financial decisions within families affect all members, not just the individual making them
Kudosy creates a 'family economy' where parents and children interact around money decisions
The app facilitates conversations about collective earning, spending, and saving
3
Money decisions are psychological rather than purely mathematical
Tyler references 'The Psychology of Money' as key to understanding financial behavior
Kudosy gamifies financial concepts to create emotional connections and memorable experiences
Kids learn through real consequences like buyer's remorse on small purchases
4
Experiential learning through simulated environments is more effective than theoretical instruction
Tyler shares how his own childhood stock market simulation in daycare shaped his financial understanding
Kudosy allows kids to make mistakes with fictional currency before real money is involved
The app creates a 'financial playground' where children can test concepts safely

Intro

Tyler Nicholls joins Money Talk with Tiff to discuss Kudosy, an innovative app that teaches children financial literacy through gamified experiences and family-based reward systems.
Tyler Nicholls is a BYU Business Strategy graduate, former Teach for America educator, and Boston University Master's degree holder. Influenced by his father, a lifelong financial advisor, he founded Kudosy to address gaps in children's financial education through software solutions.

Kudosy Website Tyler Nicholls Email Kudosy App Store

– Tyler's Journey to Creating Kudosy

Tyler explains his background growing up with a financial planner father and his observations about the disconnect between financial education spending and actual literacy outcomes.

Every year the United States spends more and more money on financial education. And this year in 2023, actually, It's projected we'll spend $3.8 billion on it. So a lot of money. But if you look at financial literacy rates over the same time period, essentially our financial literacy rates are going down.
– Tyler Nicholls

– Why Financial Education Is Failing

Tyler outlines three key observations about why financial literacy efforts aren't working despite increased investment.

Habits are set by age 7, but education happens much later
Finance is treated as personal/individual rather than family/team-based
Money decisions are psychological, not just mathematical

– How Kudosy Works

Tyler explains the app mechanics: parents award points for good behavior, kids redeem for rewards, and the system creates a family economy with fictional currency.

Kudosia acts essentially like a financial playground where kids can explore and try different things and learn these principles through experience.
– Tyler Nicholls

– The Fictional Currency System

Tyler clarifies that Kudos points don't cost real money - parents determine their value and can customize rewards including Amazon items, experiences, and family activities.

As a parent, you can go in and you can change the cost of anything that's there. You can hide anything that's there if you don't want your kids to see certain rewards, or you can even add your own rewards.
– Tyler Nicholls

– Teaching Financial Concepts Through Experience

The conversation explores how Kudosy teaches concepts like opportunity cost, budgeting, and value assessment through real decision-making scenarios.

You'd rather have someone learn that principle on a $10 item than on like a $30,000 car or something.
– Tyler Nicholls

– The Power of Experiential Learning

Tyler shares his own childhood experience with a stock market simulation and emphasizes how experiential learning creates lasting financial understanding.

Books Mentioned

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Resources

Kudosy Family Wallettool
Kudosy App Store Listingtool

Topics

Financial LiteracyKids and MoneyFintechParentingFinancial EducationGamificationFamily FinanceBehavioral FinanceMobile AppsMoney Habits