You may know him as Oscar on the sitcom "Call Me Kat" but Christopher Rivas is so much more. Learn all about him in this NGPF Podcast with Yanely. 

In honor of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Yanely spoke with author, actor, podcast host, and storyteller Christopher Rivas - who you may know him from his role as Oscar on the FOX sitcom “Call Me Kat.” Christopher talks about what motivated him to write his new book Brown Enough; why he wants more kids and teens to learn about money; and how his identity as a half-Dominican and half-Columbian kid from Queens has shaped his work and life. He also shares excerpts from his book about student loan debt which he refers to as the Ameri-CON Dream.

Details:

• 0:00~2:22 Introduction
• 2:22~9:00 Christopher’s background 
• 9:00~15:35 Identity and intersectionality
• 15:35~22:56 Early money lessons and the Ameri-con dream
• 22:56~27:20 The lack of information about paying for college
• 27:20~27:43 A word from NGPF
• 27:43~30:18 The burden of high college prices
• 30:18~36:01 Teaching paying for college in the classroom
• 36:01~38:41 Important personal finance topics to teach
• 38:41~40:12 Decision to pursue a career in acting
• 40:12~42:26 Ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month
• 42:26~43:05 Conclusion

Resources:

• Christopher Rivas
• His book: Brown Enough: True Stories About Love, Violence, the Student Loan Crisis, Hollywood, Race, Familia, and Making It in America

• Call Me Kat

Quotes:

• “I am not anti-education (attending college). I am anti-the-lack-of-education-around-education.”

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Did you know NGPF has been doing podcasts before they were a thing? Check out all of the episodes since 2015 in the podcast library! 

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.