On this episode of Overdue Advice, MetCredit’s podcast focused on cash flow strategies and financial literacy, host Bryn Griffiths talks with Noah Booth, a now-third-year student at Dalhousie University and author of the best-selling book “A Rich Future: Essential Financial Concepts for Youth”.
As someone who wrote a book on personal finance before graduating high school, Noah brings a fresh, relatable perspective to young people (and parents, educators, and business owners) on how to build strong financial habits from an early age.
Whether you’re navigating your own financial journey or helping your kids avoid common pitfalls, this conversation is packed with practical advice for managing money, budgeting for life changes, and understanding the importance of starting early.
The episode explores how basic financial literacy can make all the difference in avoiding debt, achieving stability, and setting up a “rich future,” no matter your age. If you’re a business leader or a parent worried about your youth’s financial readiness, or a young adult wanting a head start, Noah’s story and simple strategies are a powerful, one-of-a-kind guide.
Get copies for young people you care about!
Noah’s website: ARichFuture.com
Episode Highlights:
- 00:00:59 – Noah’s passion project sparks his personal finance journey and reveals a gap in youth-targeted resources
- 00:03:02 – Why financial literacy is missing in schools and why that matters for young people
- 00:04:03 – The challenges of digital spending and practical tips for mindful money management
- 00:05:31 – How a school presentation evolved into a published book, and partnering with RBC
- 00:08:07 – Family support, early lessons, and using real-life examples—including siblings—in the book
- 00:10:31 – Opportunities and impact since publishing; advice for teachers amplifying financial lessons
- 00:14:23 – Financial concepts apply at any age—breaking the silence on money conversations at home
- 00:15:36 – The power of starting early with budgeting, saving, and compound interest
- 00:16:05 – Overcoming procrastination and taking action for your financial future
- 00:17:32 – Feedback from students and the influence of social media on money management
- 00:19:57 – Budgeting tips for life’s big transitions, like moving away for school
- 00:20:10 – How to find more resources, connect, and apply these lessons via MetCredit and Noah’s website
Whether you’re just starting out or recalibrating your finances, this episode offers overdue advice that can shape your path to security and success … at ANY age! Be sure to share the book with a young person.
Episode Transcript:
Bryn Griffiths:
My name is Bryn Griffiths. The world of credit and credit collection is always changing, mostly because the world is always on the move too. Part of change involves great people. For example, Noah Booth joins us on the podcast today. He’s a third-year student at Dalhousie University in Halifax and recently wrote a best selling book called “A Rich Future: Essential Financial Concepts for Youth”. Now, the book is aimed at helping teenagers learn about the value of money, how to earn it, how to keep it, how to invest it, and how to use it with purpose and smarts. But for many kids, when it comes to financial literacy, there is a huge knowledge gap here.
Well, Booth knows exactly what he’s talking about because when he wrote the book, he was a teenager. So what got him interested in a topic like this?
Noah Booth:
It was something that I started just as like a project of personal interest. Back in beginning grade eight, our teacher has to do this thing called a passion project. And the idea behind a passion project is you take say, 10 weeks outside of school time to focus on what you’re interested in and haven’t necessarily done too much of before. But the goal is to learn something yourself and also share what you’ve learned with your class. So I’d always been kind of interested in money, but I decided for that passion project I was going to do personal finance investing for young people. Over the course of those 10 weeks, I read all sorts of books on the topic, interviewed experts when I had the chance, and I ended up creating a presentation that I shared to my class. And it went pretty well. But I noticed two big things over these 10 weeks.
And the first was the more I learned about money, the more I realized how important it is for everyone to learn, but especially to begin doing so while you’re young. Now. The second thing I realized was while giving the talk to my class that nobody had heard of what I was talking about before. It wasn’t something that most kids were reading books on. It was something being taught in schools. So sort of realizing those two things, I carried on in life for a few months. And then I think I was complaining to my mom one day about the lack of a good book on personal finance for young people.
Bryn Griffiths:
Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. What grade was that?
Noah Booth:
This would have been grade eight, going into grade nine.
Bryn Griffiths:
And you’re asking about a book like that?
Noah Booth:
Yeah, I’d read some books for this project and I just found there was Nothing for kids my age, there was stuff adults, which was a bit of a struggle to get through, and then there was some stuff for younger people, but it wasn’t the most engaging, to me at least. So, yeah, I found there was a bit of a lacking problem there, needing something that hopefully would teach what I learned thought was so important with other young people.
Bryn Griffiths:
So you’re at Dalhousie University in Halifax right now, but I have to ask you this question, looking back, and I’ve had this complaint here with the school system in Alberta. I just don’t think we’re doing a good enough job teaching our kids “regular people” finance, that kind of thing. Is that fair to say? How would you feel about that?
Noah Booth:
I completely agree. What I find is so many of these concepts are very simple. They’re things that most people can learn at a young age. The issue is they’re just not being taught. So it’s not all bad. It’s starting to get a little better. In Ontario, where I’m originally from, they’ve started to incorporate some financial literacy into math courses in high school. But the issue still is most teachers haven’t been taught this themselves, so they don’t feel super comfortable teaching it to their students.
And even though it’s a unit in the curriculum, it’s usually overlooked and not really focused on. So I think it’s starting to go in the direction where it needs to be. But we’re still not teaching kids or anyone for that fact. Enough about these basic foundational skills.
Bryn Griffiths:
There’s good spending, there’s bad spending, and a lot of people, hey, I’m old. I still don’t know how to handle that. I don’t know how you’re handling it at a younger age, but is that one of the things that you wanted to address is that, you know what, we can all get steered in a more positive direction?
Noah Booth:
Definitely. What I do in the book is I sort of start from the beginning. I start talking about how are you earning money as a young person? And then once you start looking at that, you start looking at what you’re spending it on. And the issue, I think today is that it’s way too easy to spend money. I think in some ways more than ever before with the amount of time people spend online, it gives access to so much direct advertising to you. And these companies, like social media companies that you’re on, like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, when you’re on it, they track the type of content you like and engage with, and then they send that information to marketing companies and then market you products that are specifically targeted towards you. So it can be really hard to resist as a young person online, seeing all these cool things that are related to your interests and avoiding spending money on it. So it’s just.
There’s so much I can say about that. But it’s super important to just start thinking about where your money’s going, think about what you’re spending it on, look at things like how much joy, happiness, value that purchase is going to bring to you, and then just make decisions. Be aware you’re being marketed to, and try and maybe cut back a little bit.
Bryn Griffiths:
Okay, so Noah, you’re going through high school and you’re thinking about this, but at some point … I gotta ask you this question: when did the interest go from being just an interest to writing a book? I could read books. I could never imagine myself at this age even writing a book. But you, you’ve done it.
Noah Booth:
Yeah, well, it was sort of. I didn’t think I was going to end up doing it at the beginning, but it started with that grade 8 project, just making a presentation, giving it to my class. And then I was sort of thinking, reflecting on how I like a lot of the books I was reading, but they just weren’t super relatable to me. And most kids were never seeing them in their lives. So it was around in grade nine the following year that I decided I just wanted to give it a shot. I wanted to see if I can make something to share what I’d been so privileged to learn with as many other young people out there in a way that would be easy to read, understanding and hopefully relatable. The voice of sort of one young person to others. And I took out a co op period in grade nine.
So I had 70 minutes every day in the library. And with that time, my goal is just to write this book and see where it went. And when I was in grade nine was 2019 to 2020, and that’s when Covid hit. And Covid, sort of like in a bittersweet way, just canceled all the sports I was doing. Schools were shut down for a period of time. And that gave me a lot of time to really focus on this project. And then as I was drafting it, with a bit of luck and some good connections, I ended up getting a copy into the hands of someone who worked at RBC. And I just wanted some general advice, some like, feedback on the nitty gritty financial things, just to fact check it, make sure everything was legit.
So I did that. And he was super generous in giving me some edits and some advice. But he also passed it to his supervisor, who ended up passing it to his supervisor and so on. And it landed in the hands of the vice president of all of RBC Wealth Management. And he reached out to me saying he was really supportive of the book. He thought it aligned really well with RBC’s financial literacy initiatives, and that if I was to make it a real thing, because this was before I had been published, that he thinks RBC would like to partner with me in getting into the hands of their advisors across the country. So that was sort of like the initial boost where I realized I can make this a real book and actually get it out into the hands of people and RBC, for a period of time, I was under contract with them, but they’ve been great to me and giving me plenty of speaking opportunities, getting the books into the hands of advisors to give it out to their clients with kids.
And that was sort of the initial step that made me realize I wanted to invest the time and the money into “Creating a Rich Future”.
Bryn Griffiths:
I’m kind of curious to know how your family responded when you said you were going to write a book at your age, not to take anything away from your age and what you’ve accomplished. It’s amazing stuff for me.
Noah Booth:
Thank you. Well, they’ve been super supportive. A lot of the times people ask me, are your parents really into finance? Was it them that told you all this stuff? But they’re sort of, like, removed from it. They’re smart with their money. They always would tell us, like, live within your means, and if you want to buy something, go out there and work for it. So, growing up, I did all sorts of odd jobs, like mowing lawns, shoveling driveways, just doing whatever I could to earn some money.
But overall, they’re not super into investing or the finances themselves, but they’re always super supportive. Funnily enough, it’s my nana who really is into investing. And when I was younger and just starting to get interested in this stuff, she would sit me down every month or so, and she got me a spreadsheet, a real paper one. And I’d write down the shares of the companies I’d bought, how many stocks I had in each one, and together we’d look at them and see what they’re doing over time. So, been really lucky to have a lot of support from the family and everyone in my community.
Bryn Griffiths:
Always kind of worried and concerned, and wondering how many times you heard, well, you’re too young to do this and that’s got to annoy you.
Noah Booth:
You know, I feel like in most cases I’ve been pretty lucky. I think that to my advantage, being young was something that allowed me to market my book in a unique way. There’s lots of books on personal finance out there and there’s some for kids. But the fact that it was a young person speaking to other young people I think really did well in helping me get this book out there and promote it. People like the idea, the kids like it. I go into classrooms. I’ve done a lot of work in schools and it just seems to be something kids are more interested when someone around their age comes in to talk to them about this stuff instead of a teacher. So I think, I know it can be hard and a big barrier for a lot of people.
And I think a good part of my process was I didn’t really see this going anywhere. So I had no expectations and so I wasn’t putting a lot of time or effort or energy spent worrying about whether I was going to make it or not. It was just a bit of luck and I knew I wanted to create it, so I worked hard at it. But I didn’t have the expectation where I would have been super bummed out if I didn’t end up selling more than a few copies to my nana.
Bryn Griffiths:
You may have answered this already, but I’ll still ask it. And how much has the book changed your world?
Noah Booth:
It’s been great. It’s been something since releasing it, I’d say four or five years ago now, that has been sort of my main part time job focus since being in high school. So I’ve had the opportunity to work with RBC, my book’s in Indigo stores across the country. And I’ve been lucky to speak on different podcasts, being the Globe and Mail. And really it’s just my favorite part of it is just doing the speaking and getting it out into the hands of kids and it’s really great to see. I was fortunate to work with a teacher from my high school, Ms. Gregory, who once she saw the book thought, wow, this really could align well with what I’m teaching. So she spent a ton of time and energy into making these lesson plans, sort of a guide for teachers using the book and getting these lessons into the hands of kids.
And so I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of work like that. And overall it’s just been an amazing experience. A way for me to earn money, learn a lot of things about business, and just get what I was so interested and passionate about at a young age into the hands of other kids around that same age as well.
Bryn Griffiths:
So often when I’ve talked to authors, I say, was there any personal experiences or friends experiences, that kind of stuff here that you put into the book? But I don’t know. Is that applicable to you?
Noah Booth:
Yep. Yep. I have three younger siblings. Two of them are my sisters, and I put them in examples in the book. You’ll see there’s a few different examples because I think examples are a good way to, like, show basic concepts and principles in a not so boring fashion. So I use them in a way where they make different spending choices and one ends up doing way better than the other, even though it just seems like a small difference. But a lot of these things I talk about the ways I grew up earning money, how that can be applied to other people, and just some other ways I think that young people have been successful in starting their own businesses or pursuing things they enjoy and making money from it.
So some of my friends who have been successful in that aspect are included in the book. And a lot of it’s just stuff I’ve learned. So it’s very personable. It’s in my voice, sort of me talking to other young people.
Bryn Griffiths:
Sisters okay with it, though?
Noah Booth:
You know, I think they didn’t care when I asked them. But now the book is being taught in all the high schools in Kingston. So they’re in class and their friends are reading it and their names are in it. So I’m not too sure if they’re happy about that.
Bryn Griffiths:
The other thing too about this is when you are starting to hear from teachers and. And they’re taking what you’ve done and trying to include it in, you know, in teaching programs, class programs, that kind of thing. It’s going to make you feel great.
Noah Booth:
Yeah, I feel really lucky to have Ms. Gregory, who’s really spearheaded this because having the perspective and the voice of a teacher, getting it into the hands of other teachers has been super helpful and she’s been working hard. The lesson plans are amazing because again, like I mentioned, I think a big issue of why this isn’t being taught is because most adults weren’t taught it themselves and feel comfortable passing along to other students. So I think the resources that Ms. Gregory offers, which, if anyone’s interested in having, can reach out to me through my website, which is arichfuture.com but they’re just a way for people to sort of get these lessons out there. And even if they don’t know much better themselves, the book and the lesson plans help them do so.
Bryn Griffiths:
So I’m not saying I’m old here or anything, Noah, but I graduated in 1978 and I just worked it out. The last time I used calculus was in 1978. So I don’t know if I was taught the right way. But, you know, based on your book, I think anybody can learn at any age. It’s not over just because you’re getting a little more gray hair.
Has anybody reached out to you, and it’s been a little surprising?
Noah Booth:
I agree. I think, yeah, at any age, if you haven’t learned this stuff, the basic concepts are the most foundational and be applied to anyone. So I think it’s important to just start having these conversations, whether it’s the children, whether it’s to the parents, getting them involved and just reaching out. I think there’s a lot of sort of like, sort of a veil over money. It’s not talked about a lot. Yeah, it’s not something that most people talk about at the dinner table or with their friends, and there’s various reasons for that.
But I think what’s important to start talking about is just these basic principles. Start making it clear that thinking about your spending can impact your saving. Thinking about what you’re saving and what you’re putting into through investments and so on can really make a big difference in your life. And usually it’s the small, most simple things that make the biggest changes. So I think, yeah, anyone can be applied to anyone. And no matter what age you are, whether you’re young, whether you’re older, it can be a good thing to learn.
Bryn Griffiths:
One of the things, and, you know, obviously MetCredit and Overdue Advice, we’re concerned about collecting money because sometimes people get themselves into difficult positions, that type of thing. But if you have the basics early, it’s got to be really helpful.
Noah Booth:
Definitely, definitely. I think all of this is just trying to set yourself up for a rich future. Certainly giving yourself that, like, financial base where you’re in a spot where you don’t have to be the richest person in the world, but you just are comfortable with your money. You know what you’re budgeting for. You live within your means and you’re able to afford the basic things that you want to do.
Bryn Griffiths:
Some people wait too long, right. They wait too long to get things done. Are you a get it done kind of guy like right now or are you, you know, do you procrastinate a little bit?
Noah Booth:
I’m a bit of both. I think it’s hard for everyone sometimes when you’re procrastinating, but what’s important with your money is just to do it now. Like, don’t wait 10 years down the line, don’t wait two years. If you have the opportunity to start learning about this stuff, just take a little bit of time. It might be painful at first to start applying some of these basic habits into your life, but once you do, it’ll make a big difference. And in my book, I talk a lot about the power of starting early, how the impacts can be huge. Just a few dollars saved here and there on a regular basis add up over time. And even looking into things like investing and the power of compound interest, which is then the opposite with when you have debts, your money can compound in the negative.
Bryn Griffiths:
Yep.
Noah Booth:
If you start early, start putting your money into things that can grow and give it a lot of time, the results can really be great for you.
Bryn Griffiths:
Are you a problem solver too? Because one of the things we talk often about on this podcast is the fact that if your phone rings, pick it up, answer it, because it might be somebody who can solve a problem for you.
Noah Booth:
Yeah, I like to think of myself as a problem solver. I’m in a environmental science degree at Dal, and I think what sort of spoke to me with that is that compared to some other sciences, I was leaning between biology, environmental science. It’s a little bit more big problem focused. It’s focused on the grand picture of things and solving these environmental problems and stuff. So, yeah, I find it interesting and something important to think about.
Bryn Griffiths:
What kind of feedback are you getting from young adults?
Noah Booth:
It’s been great. Whenever I’m in the classroom, the kids love it. The kids actually like to talk about money in these days and I think social media has played a bit of a role in that. And they see different people with different lifestyles and there’s pros and cons to this. It’s getting kids interested in money. They’re starting to learn about it, they’re starting to invest. But there’s a lot of sort of clickbait, get rich fast quick schemes out there online. So it has its pros and it has its cons.
I think it’s great that kids are getting interested in this stuff. Whenever I’ve been in the classroom, there’s so many questions. People just like it. It’s a nice Break from the calculus or the algebra or whatever they’re learning. It’s nice to learn about how they compare, potentially have some money and be well off in the future. So I think that kids are keen to learn this stuff and the issue is just giving it to them, giving them access to these lessons and advice.
Bryn Griffiths:
Tell me about Dalhousie University and how’s it going for you?
Noah Booth:
It’s great. I love it out here. I’m from Ontario, but I had to get out of Ontario and going out west was just a little bit too far for me. So the east coast is a shorter flight, like an hour and a half back to Ottawa, which is near where I’m from. And being out near the ocean is amazing. Me and my friends, we go surfing a lot, which is a blast out here. And then, yeah, Halifax is a nice city.
Bryn Griffiths:
The other thing too, you talk about moving away from home. Another thing, budgeting. So it’s a huge thing, right?
Noah Booth:
Definitely, yeah. Budgeting is something, I think that no matter what your financial goals are, can be a super useful tool in achieving them. And basically budgeting is just having an idea of the grand picture of your finances. Where your money’s coming in from, where it’s going out to, what are you saving, what are you doing with it. And if you can get a grasp on that, you can start having the idea of how you’re doing financially and then making decisions on how to improve that. So it’s super important to start thinking about it, I think, whether you’re a high school student looking to go to university or college or any sort of post secondary thing that costs money, or whether you’re an adult looking to save for a car, put down a down payment on a house. Budgeting is huge. And just having your goals and seeing what you can do to get you.
Bryn Griffiths:
There at your young age. Are you sick and tired of doing interviews like this?
Noah Booth:
No, I love it. I think the speaking ironically more than the writing is what I like about the book. I like going to different talks, I like giving presentations and I like interacting with people. So I’m always happy to hop on any sort of call.
Bryn Griffiths:
Podcast, do you have one?
Noah Booth:
Not currently, I’m too busy with school. But it’s something I’ve thought about, so maybe in the future.
Bryn Griffiths:
Gotcha. And once again, your website?
Noah Booth:
It’s arichfuture.com.
Bryn Griffiths:
Hey, that’s it for today’s episode of Overdue Advice. We’re easy to find online. MetCredit is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X @MetCredit. And you can also check out Brian Summerfelt’s blog. It’s easy to find too. It’s blog.metcredit.com The website also includes numerous helpful tools and calculators to assess your business debt risk. And we’d also love to hear from you.
So subscribe, like or leave us a review on this or any of our podcasts and make sure you share that podcast with your friends and business associates. You can drop us a line at overdueadvice@metcredit.com. Overdue Advice, the podcast about cash flow strategies to grow your business. I’m Bryn Griffiths.