Mike Finley, also known as “the crazy man in the pink wig,” is a millionaire who created the UNI Financial Literacy Club. After his $100,000 contest, in which all cash prizes come from his own funds, the only thing people may consider crazy about him is his level of generosity.
For the past four years, Finley has been teaching financial literacy classes at UNI, free of charge, to students and community members. He began giving out $100 each meeting to entice the students, hoping that if they came for the money, they would stay for the education.
Finley uses “the crazy man in the pink wig” as a metaphor. Despite potentially being viewed as crazy, he encourages his students to think and behave differently from the crowd to achieve overall happiness.
“One of the secrets to whatever success I’ve had is that I learned early on that I am the answer to my life. It’s up to me, and as I took responsibility. I started seeking out the answers that I needed to live a more happy and fulfilling life,” said Finley.
Finley has chosen to take an unconventional approach to teaching financial literacy, attempting to educate more than those who take the classes by holding a contest. Those who participate have a chance of winning up to $25,000.
The contest, held April 29, entails a test consisting of 100 questions in the form of multiple choice and true/false. The test also features an essay, which will be taken into account if any ties are in need of being broken. All the answers are found on Mike Finley’s website and his book, “Financial Happiness.”
“If they go through the effort of studying and learning the information, they have won. No amount of money is going to equal what that financial education will do for them for the rest of their life,” said Finley.
Cash prizes, starting at $1,000, will be awarded to those who answer the most questions correctly. Overall, ten prizes will be awarded, totaling in $100,000 worth of cash prizes.
According to Finley’s rules, the contest is open to the public, with those ages 13 and over eligible to participate. Those registering must bring a photo ID and $5. Registration begins Monday, April 27 in the Mauker Union Main Ballroom starting at 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. or when maximum registration has been met.
The contest will also take place in the Main Ballroom April 29. Those participating may sign up for one of the six times slots with each test taking about one hour.
Finely noted that the participants will not have a great deal of time to answer. Each question is only posted for 30 seconds before the next one appears on the slideshow.
Finley’s book can be found online or at Barnes and Noble. For more information about the event, visit his website, www.thecrazymaninthepinkwig.com.
