Mogo’s Adulting 101 Mixes Fiscal Responsibility and Fun

Eat, drink and be financially responsible at Mogo’s Adulting 101/The Price is Wrong classes

If you’re going to come face to face with your finances, you might as well have a glass of wine in hand when you do. That’s the idea behind Mogo’s “Adulting 101/The Price is Wrong” classes, where fiscal responsibility meets fun.

Mogo, Canada’s leading socially responsible online lending platform, is launching a nationwide tour with help from Holler For Your Dollar’s Chantel Chapman Vancouver Urban Winery sommelier David Stansfield (we’ll let you guess who instructs the financing and who’s in charge of the wine). The class is a great way for those inexperienced in managing their money to dip their toes into the world of personal financing.

Here’s how it works: Led by the charismatic Stansfield, everyone participates in multiple rounds of blind taste testing, where they’re given two options of the same varietal from the same region, only one is easier on the wallet and one is more expensive. As a group, you pick a favourite and then try and choose which you think is the more expensive. It’s a fun way to explore new wines and, in keeping with the adulting theme, a more sophisticated version of a drinking game.

In between rounds, Chapman quizzes the group about financial matters, offering nuggets of advice about things like maintaining good credit or keeping a personal finance journal. And if you think that Chapman gets the roll of playing the heavy, know that she keeps things lively with games and cash prizes.

While the fusion of wine tasting and finances might not seem like a natural partnership at first blush, it’s actually kind of ingenious. The casual vibe of the affair lowers any anxieties that often surround the discussion of one’s own money (or lack thereof) and the inclusion of alcohol and snacks infuses the monetary conversations with an energy and fun that you’re not going to get at the bank.

The event is a lot of fun, and Stansfield and Chapman know what they’re talking about and their authority about their respective topics is apparent. But they also know how to keep the crowd engaged and to keep things moving, so there’s always a new flight of wine in front of you or a new game to be played. And hey, if the sobering facts of your financial standing get to be too much, at least there’s a drink close by.

Tickets are available online.