Teaching JMU students how to get rich (and what that actually means). Go Dukes!

I can’t wait to get back in the classroom this semester!

Every year on day one, I start with a line capturing everyone’s attention:

“This class is going to teach you how to get rich.”

And I mean it! We literally lay out a realistic, 40-year path for them to build $16M for retirement. It’s entirely achievable, and you can see their wheels starting to turn. But modern personal finance has changed. While we still cover traditional products and financial facts, this course is built on a different foundation:

• The Science: Anchored in neurobiology, behavioral psychology, finance, behavioral economics, and mathematical intuition.

• The Application: Powered by weekly simulations where students practice real-world financial choices.

• The Industry: Connected directly to the field through guest experts and pros.

But then I drop the real question:

What does “rich” actually mean to you?

That’s where the fun begins. We dive into Adam Smith and the idea that everyone values different things. For some students, being rich means grinding to build financial capital. For others, it’s about family, strong community, or having the freedom to feed their curiosity.

By the end of the day, we land on the real lesson: being rich is a mix of all these things, and their weight changes as we age. The entire semester is really about learning how to make the best trade-offs so they can get the absolute most out of their own version of "wealth."

Ready for another great semester!

The Aristotelian Principle:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”