In this episode of The WPI Podcast, we explore why sticking with your money goals is harder than it seems.
Alexander Smith, associate professor in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, explains how personal finance is deeply influenced by behavioral economics, or the psychology of decision-making. He describes how emotions and a focus on short-term goals can make it hard to follow a long-term financial plan, and how commitment devices and tapping into motivation can help.
Smith outlines six essential rules for building wealth and shares why financial self-awareness is just as important as financial literacy.
Aedan Bingham, a student majoring in robotics engineering and economics, also shares his findings from a research project that surveyed college students about what they know and want to know about personal finance.
The pair discusses how this research is helping to empower students with knowledge about topics including saving, investing, taxes, and credit.
Related links:
Alexander Smith’s personal finance website, Follow The 6
“What WPI Students Know about Personal Finance,” by Aedan Bingham
In this episode of The WPI Podcast, we explore why sticking with your money goals is harder than it seems.
Alexander Smith, associate professor in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, explains how personal finance is deeply influenced by behavioral economics, or the psychology of decision-making. He describes how emotions and a focus on short-term goals can make it hard to follow a long-term financial plan, and how commitment devices and tapping into motivation can help.
Smith outlines six essential rules for building wealth and shares why financial self-awareness is just as important as financial literacy.
Aedan Bingham, a student majoring in robotics engineering and economics, also shares his findings from a research project that surveyed college students about what they know and want to know about personal finance.
The pair discusses how this research is helping to empower students with knowledge about topics including saving, investing, taxes, and credit.
Related links:
Alexander Smith’s personal finance website, Follow The 6
“What WPI Students Know about Personal Finance,” by Aedan Bingham
For Fatimah Daffaie ’25, the path to studying at Worcester Polytechnic Institute involved early years living in Iraq, exposure to engineering while in high school in Worcester, and a pre-collegiate experience on the WPI campus.
In this episode of The WPI Podcast, Daffaie shares her experience as a biomedical engineering student, including how she completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just four years through the BS/MS program, an accelerated degree pathway.
She talks about the support she received as a recipient of a Great Minds CoMPASS Scholarship, which is available to eligible first-generation students from Worcester Public Schools who attend WPI. She also discusses the lessons she learned through serving as a member of Crimson Key, a group of student tour guides who assist prospective students and families during campus visits, and in the Engineering Ambassadors program, which allows college students to share their passion for STEM and inspire future engineers by engaging with K–12 students.
You may also read the transcript below.