Hi! I’m Rob

I’m a high school math and personal finance teacher in Maryland with a huge passion for teaching kids and adults about money. It’s not about helping them to get rich though. It’s about Financial Independence and the ability to live life on your own terms with autonomy over your time and energy. I want students to be able to have the life they dream about now and in the future, without having to work all the time and never getting off the hamster wheel of modern society’s “normal” way of doing things.

I wasn’t always into money. When I was in my mid-twenties, my fiancé (now wife) was the money person in our house. I knew nothing and she took care of our household finances. The awesome thing was that she didn’t want that power. She wanted balance and encouraged me to become more financially educated so that we could make decisions together.

At the same time, I was asked to teach a financial math class. It was so…BORING! Traditional financial literacy curriculum was so dry and made a really relevant thing like money feel so disconnected. I wanted to change the way I taught personal finance and I began by collaborating with other educators to create a PreK-12 Personal Finance Curriculum with ChooseFI Foundation.  I also became a Certified Financial Education Instructor, and shortly after started my own business, The Simple StartUp where I helped teen entrepreneurs start their first businesses, because building income is such a key part of personal finance.

In 2021 I wrote a children’s money book, M is for Money to help 3-8 year olds get an early introduction to money vocabulary and give caregivers a platform for discussing money topics with their kids. See more about it below!

Around the same time period I started FI Educator. I found I really liked creating alternative ways for kids and teens to learn about money. I love games and activities that are fun and we don’t even realize we’re learning along the way! The brand has grown and my resources have helped thousands of classrooms across the country to learn financial skills and behaviors that will aid the journey to financial independence, and I get excited every day to continue doing that! I even started taking this grassroots style of financial education to adults too through my public speaking events, because who doesn’t like having topics broken down into exciting, engaging, and easy-to-understand lessons

M is for Money

Raise your hand if you have ever felt embarrassed, guilty, awkward, or uncomfortable talking to someone about money? I know my hand is raised! We live in a society where money is placed alongside politics and religion when it comes to the level of appropriateness to bring up in conversation. This is why many adults report feeling shame or embarrassment around their finances, and don't ask questions or seek help when they don't understand something or need help.