Four subjects, no jargon

Every session is built around questions people actually ask. We keep the slides simple, we talk slowly, and we leave time at the end for anything the group wants to raise.

1. Spotting scams

This is the topic most groups ask for first. We go through the scams that target older people most often, what each one sounds like, and the one or two signs that give it away.

• Calls that claim to be from a bank, the IRS, Social Security, or the police
• The "grandchild in trouble" call, and why it is so convincing
• Fake tech support pop-ups and phone calls
• Prize, lottery, and sweepstakes letters
• Why a real organisation will never ask to be paid in gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency
• What to do and who to call after a scam, including if money is gone

The short version of this is on our scam guide page, which you are welcome to print and hand out.

2. Staying safe online

For people who use a phone, tablet, or computer and want to feel less nervous about it.

• Passwords that are strong and still easy to remember
• What two-factor codes are, and why a real bank never asks you to read one out
• How to look at a link before you tap it
• Telling a real bank email or text from a fake one
• Public wifi, and what not to do on it
• Keeping a phone or computer updated, and why that matters

3. Everyday money

The practical side of managing money on a fixed income.

• Reading a bank or card statement and spotting a charge you did not make
• Using online and mobile banking safely
• Setting up alerts so you hear about unusual activity quickly
• Simple budgeting on a fixed income
• Who to call first when something looks wrong
• Where to check whether a company or charity is real

4. Making sense of modern investing

Groups keep asking about the things that get talked about constantly and explained rarely. So we explain them — what they are, how they work, and what the risk actually is. We describe. We do not recommend.

• What a stock, a bond, an index fund, and an ETF actually are
• Certificates of deposit, and how the rate and the term relate
• What cryptocurrency is, why it moves so violently, and why scammers ask to be paid in it
• What "robo-advisers" and AI investing tools do, and what they cannot do
• What leverage means, and why it increases losses exactly as fast as it increases gains
• The one rule underneath all of it: higher return always means higher risk, and anyone promising otherwise is lying

How a session runs

A session runs 30 to 45 minutes, and two student volunteers come to run it. There is no minimum or maximum group size — we have done small tables and full rooms, and both work.

We bring a laptop and an HDMI cable. You need to provide a screen or television we can plug into, since the session is built around a slideshow. That is the one thing we cannot bring with us — worth checking before you pick a room.

It is a talk with plenty of room for questions. People can bring a phone or tablet if they want to follow along, but they do not have to bring anything at all.

In half an hour we can cover one topic properly, or take a lighter pass across two or three. Tell us which when you book and we will build the session around your group.

Can you cover something else?

Possibly. If your group keeps running into a particular problem, email Oliver.futurefinance@gmail.com and tell us about it. We would rather teach what your group needs than what is on our slides.