Some people are born financially savvy, some learn from their parents. Even more, however, may never learn - and hence struggle for years, living paycheck-to-paycheck and paying high interest rates.
When reading Kentin Waits' article recently regarding his financial awareness, I realized that there are such pivotal moments in the lives of young people, that we have got to keep doing what we do, because if Andson can provide this for even one student, then it's all worth it.
Waits, at 13, was allowed to manage the $120 per month Social Security benefit allotted him.
This article isn't pivotal, it's not as if he's a millionaire now. What it gave him, though, was even more beneficial - it gave him the groundwork to think about money; really think about it. You can "be born" with a sense of frugality, but in reality it comes from societal influences and culture - whether in the home or a little further out. Personal Finance is absolutely a learned behavior. Waits was given the opportunity to learn.
I had that same moment at one point in my life, the first time I couldn't pay my credit card off the same month it was due. It took a little longer than Waits, I was 18, but it sunk in nonetheless.
Those are the moments we want to provide to students and youth through Andson's activities. It's why we are working on The Piggybank Project, why we are expanding our reach in 2013 to High Schools, it's why we exist.
So, we ask you, have you had that "A-Ha" moment yet?
Source:
Picture via Flickr (Creative Commons license) by_evilpeacock