At least once a month, Kriti Sarav logs into a Zoom call, ready to talk with a complete stranger — sometimes for over an hour. With a microphone recording above her head and a sheet of notes in front of her, she talks with a field-professional about a topic of finance that interests her. Her podcasting goal: help teens like her learn about financial literacy. 

Kriti: In like, December 2019, we moved houses, and that was, like, my first kind of glimpse into the world of like finances, and, like, I realized I had a stark lack of financial literacy knowledge, and I thought maybe my peers would also, so I thought it was gonna be a good, like, subject to podcast on so I could learn while listening and talking to my guests and then also my friends and whoever listened to the podcast can also learn.

Kriti has been operating her podcast “WhyFI matters” since early 2020, and her work has been included in national initiatives like “Dream Hustle Code,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “My CHI. My Future” and “Arts Conservatory for Teens,” based in Florida. Most significantly, she was recognized by Money Magazine as one of their 50 changemakers among CEOs, politicians and culturally influential figures like Bad Bunny and John and Hank Green  — people who are generally influencing and shaping America’s finances. 

Kriti: I, like, opened it and was, like, “Oh my God.” And then I just saw, like, Elizabeth Warren and then there’s this entrepreneur on there: Alexis Ohanian, who’s Serena Williams’ husband. That was like crazy because I love Serena Williams. And so I think I was just kind of in shock because I didn’t realize, like, who else was going to be on the list, and I’m just really honored that they, like, chose me to be a part of this really amazing group of people.

Kriti was one of the youngest of the 50 and one of the only podcasters on the list. This isn’t her first podcast success, either. She won NPR’s student podcast challenge in 2021 with a project centered around her struggle to embrace her Indian American identity.

The podcasting process involves many steps: scriptwriting, cold-emailing guests, recording, editing and uploading. Kriti said she encountered time management challenges while balancing the podcast, her school work and activities such as varsity tennis. 

Kriti: It’s definitely a lengthy process, but the final result is, like, really nice. But, like, I had trouble, like, especially during junior year and, like, leading up to senior year just releasing a lot of episodes. So I used to do, like, once every two weeks, but then it became like once a month, kind of because it just took so much time.

Despite this, Kriti said that watching how her podcast has impacted her communities and the people around her has been very rewarding. 

Kriti: A lot of these communities, they don’t have the opportunity in their high schools at home, and giving them the opportunity to learn about these things that are going to be really important in their adult lives. That’s the impact I see with WhyFi matters. Then also, like, my friends who  listen to podcasts, like, I know one of them started thrifting more because of it. And then because I did an episode on, like, fast fashion, and then another one of my friends actually started her own, like, thrifting thing at her school. 

She also said that the experience of podcasting has broadened her perspective. 

Kriti: I think also, it helps me see how everyone has, like, a unique story because, like, in every podcast, I asked, like, the same question, like: ‘What advice would you give to your 16, 17, 18 year old self?’ And they all have, like, really different responses. Some of them might be related to personal finances or, like, an econ topic, and others might say something about, like, how do you want to spend your time and what are your values… So I think it’s cool to, like, hear people’s responses to very similar questions that I’m podcasting.

As a senior, Kriti is uncertain what the future holds for WhyFI Matters, but she said she wants to adapt it to her changing interests and continue to utilize the skills she’s learned from it. 

Kriti: So I definitely want to continue podcasting in college. I might tweak the subject of the podcast a little more to fit with what I might want to do later on and in the future, because I like personal finance, but it’s not necessarily my favorite thing. I gravitate more toward, like, econ or maybe shifting more of the focus towards those type of topics. But definitely the skills that I’ve taken from podcasting, I’ll be able to use in pretty much anything I do, because a lot of it’s like communication, a lot of, like, research skills. 

No matter what WhyFi matters becomes, the lessons Kriti has learned and shared on those zoom calls have definitely changed her life.