Money isn’t math. It’s meaning.
TEDx speaker changing how kids think about money.
Keynotes supported by The Awesome Stuff™ system.
The problem isn’t money
It’s the story we attach to it.
Most kids learn money through rules, pressure, or shame.
So they grow up believing spending is bad, saving is sacrifice, and giving is guilt.
That story doesn’t just shape money.
It shapes how we see ourselves.
I teach a different way.
One simple question that turns money into a values conversation.
Is this my Awesome Stuff?
And once kids start asking that question, everything changes.
bring this to your school or home
- Help kids pause before spending
- Build decision-making and self-control
- Spark deeper conversations about money
Start with the system or a live experience.
The lessons are the same. Choose what fits best for you.
The Awesome Stuff™ system
The simplest way to start.
Read a graphic novel.
Pull a card.
Play a game.
Designed for Grades 5–8, and just as powerful for families, classrooms and adults of any age.
Grounded in learning science from Harvard’s Project Zero, this is a complete, ready-to-use financial literacy system built on storytelling, reflection, and play.
Speaking
A deeper, shared experience.
Keynotes and workshops for students, parents, and educators.
Live sessions deepen understanding, create shared language, and spark honest conversations around spending, saving, and giving, without shame or pressure, across the whole community at once.
They give the ideas emotional weight and momentum that accelerates real behaviour change.
What families are noticing
This gave us conversations in our house we didn’t even realize we were missing.
Just last week, my son wanted a $50 basketball at a game. He stood there for a moment, then put it back and walked away without me saying a word.
It hasn’t felt like a lesson or a program. It’s just changed how we talk about money, and that’s made a bigger difference than I expected.
Mom of three (ages 9, 12, and 15)
Shared during a TV interview
I read it all the way through because it’s like a comic book.
It’s fun, and you learn about money and the awesome stuff.
Maddox, age 7
Watch Maddox’s review
See the conversation in action
Book David to Speak
Tell me a bit about your school or event, and I’ll reply personally.