Would you rather be rich or wealthy?
Caleb Silver, chief business editor of People Inc. and editor in chief of Investopedia, opened a session at the VCU School of Business last month with that question.
One student answered in terms of generational wealth. Another said being rich could mean more than money. Silver offered his own answer: Wealth, he said, means being able to afford your time.
Silver visited the school for two presentations — one open to students across VCU and another for a class — and met with the Student Managed Investment Portfolio, or SMIP, a student-run fund. Across those sessions, he urged students to think about money before graduation, when many will begin making financial decisions on their own.
The event was organized through the VCU Financial Success Center by Virginia Credit Union, which offers students financial education and one-on-one coaching. Silver said the appearance was part of a broader effort at Investopedia to bring conversations about money out of browsers and social feeds and into classrooms.
“College is the last stop where you have the opportunity to learn how to become the CFO of your own life,” Silver said in an interview during his visit. “Nobody teaches us that when we get out of here.”
His visit came as financial education has gained more national attention. Thirty-five states require a personal finance course for high school graduation, according to the Council for Economic Education, even as financial literacy among adults remains low.
Silver said he was not trying to frighten students into investing. Many young adults, he said, are entering what he called “adulting, life-stage planning and management” while coming from families that may view investing as risky, unpredictable or off-limits.
He often starts by asking students what kind of life they want and what is important to them.
In class, he put it this way: How much does it cost to be you now, and how much will it cost to be the person you want to be later?
The discussion turned to housing, spending, saving and the gap between what life costs and what many young adults expect to earn. Silver told students that waiting until they feel fully ready can be a mistake.
“You don’t need $100,000,” he said. “You need $10 to get started. $5 to get started.”
He returned often to the same point: Students may not have much money yet, but they do have time. “The magic in the market is time,” he told them. “And what do you guys have? Plenty of it. Plenty of time.”
Later, in his meeting with SMIP, students walked Silver through their holdings and explained how they were thinking about different sectors in the portfolio.
Liam Baumgardner (B.S. ’28), a finance major and sector leader in SMIP, said Silver pushed the group to think more carefully about consumer discretionary companies and where those businesses were making their money.
“He knew almost all of our companies, which is very impressive, and showed broad market knowledge,” said Baumgardner.
Baumgardner said Silver’s comments were useful because they were specific. The discussion, he said, gave students a reason to revisit some of their assumptions, including how they were thinking about consumer spending and sector definitions.
For Baumgardner, the meeting also offered a view of the kind of work he hopes to do.
“I was looking at him sitting in the front and I was like, I would love to do this one day,” he said. “I’d love to have his knowledge and be able to help others like he is to us.”
Silver said he hopes students remember the moment financial concepts begin to click, whether that means understanding compounding or seeing themselves not just as consumers but as investors.
“It would be fantastic to learn that at the age of 21,” he said. “Not 41.”
Students interested in financial coaching can schedule an appointment with the VCU Financial Success Center by VACU. To hear more from Caleb Silver, follow him on social media and visit Investopedia for additional financial news and advice.