I have a new idea and this is where it came from…
I think the goal of a lot of people, especially young people, is to get rich. I say young people because young people aren't jaded, they have a lifetime to get rich, and older people have generally found other values in life that are more important to them than money.
These same young people usually do the exact opposite of what it takes to get rich… they spend all the money they earn (and sometimes more), they're more interested in buying a new car than buying stock in a company, and they feel they have a better chance of winning the lottery than of working their way to becoming rich.
These same young people login to Facebook everyday and play Mafia Wars and other crappy games. There's something addicting about these games. The idea behind it is really ridiculous, if you think about it though. You spend "energy" to perform "jobs" which earn you points. Then with these points you can purchase weapons, real estate, etc… which earn you more points, so you can level up… so you can spend more energy, etc.
All of this stuff is virtual. It's all nothing. But people spend hours a day playing this.
My idea is to create a new Facebook game which ties into your financials. When you get a paycheck, you will get the number of points your paycheck is worth. You will also be able to purchase stock with your points, and those points you invested will go up and down with the market. When you purchase something on credit, your points will go down by that much. Along the way, you'll attain certain level statuses - poor, middle class, rich, top 1%.
I really do think this would help young people do better with their finances - if it was a game. But in reality, this game already exists - it's just not on Facebook.