In the spring of 2019 the Junior League of Greenwich launched pilot project, Money $ense, a 5-week course for high school students at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich. The program follows the curriculum of Junior Achievement but is led by the volunteers of the JLG. Junior Achievements unique, volunteer delivered programs aim to show students all of the possibilities that lay before them, and how decisions they make today can affect their future financial security.
The JLG repeated the 5-week program in the fall 2019 for teens at the Boys and Girls club but noticed another opportunity. Always looking for ways to expand our programs to reach more youth in our community, our members identified the need of financial education for younger girls. The JLG hosted its very first Money $ense for Girls session with 25 enthusiastic 6th – 8th grade girls attending a one day program.
After seeing the strong results from the one-day course, the Money $sense team decided to offer a one day co-ed program to teens who may have not been able to commit to the 5-week program in the past. The new condensed program for HS students was another huge success with 25 teens attending. The one day session taught boys and girls interrelations between today’s financial decisions and tomorrow’s financial freedom.
Ways to create financial security early:
Tip 1 - Create the habit of saving money starting in elementary school. This will help ingrain a lifetime habit.
Tip 2 – Credit cards will help you build a credit history but, beware of credit card interest rates.
Tip 3 - Creating a budget is an important skill that can be learned at a Money $ense session.
