When the bank he was working for in Tampa, Florida, eliminated its private wealth unit in 2019, Mac Gardner chose an unorthodox path. The certified financial planner decided that rather than take another job as an adviser — a career to which he had devoted 20 years, with stints at TIAA, USAA and Raymond James — he would pursue his passion for financial literacy.
“When I was an adviser, I wrote a book for adults, ‘Motivate Your Money!’ and ‘The Four Money Bears’ for children, which has two boy bears and two girl bears of different shades,” Gardner said. “People told me their kids really liked the book, and they started asking me for an app to go with it.”
That encouraged him to create FinLit Tech, a company he says builds a bridge between financial literacy and financial technology.
With funding from eMoney, which continues to support his efforts, Gardner worked with financial educators and a tech group in Tampa to build the app, gamifying financial education for children in grades K-5.
The tool teaches financial ABCs and then analyzes and tracks the habits, behaviors and traits of each player regarding the lessons they learned about spending, saving, investing and giving. Parents and teachers have been using the program, and the firm sells it to local and regional banking institutions to sponsor in their communities.
“Imagine the paradigm shift if kids started to save and invest when they were 7,” Gardner says. “We could close the wealth gap.”