Today I had the opportunity to attend an event at CPS. I will not disclose the school name I will just write about my experience and what made me write this evening. So I am a banker so part of my job is to help people make decisions regarding their finances. Many times my branch will have events scheduled where we go to organizations and try to talk to people about our products and services. One of the several characteristics that separates me from others is, I have a PASSION for educating people about the importance of being bankable as well as informing others on how to manage their money. I am an advocate for Financial Literacy and talking to the parents at the school truly opened my eyes to see how much of a need this is. So I had a table with the bank name, we had some giveaways like popular character stickers for the kids, some fake tattoos and eco friendly bags. My company was the only bank there but the other businesses were Tutoring Services at least 5 - 6 different ones. When the parents got to my table many did not want to discuss opening a savings account for their minor child. Now a minor savings account only takes $25.00 to start and I was not even asking for the money upfront. I was asking them to file out an application and see if they qualify for the account and come in to my office within the week and start the account. Not ONE application!!!!! I was so surprised I had to have spoken to at least over 40 parents and more but I heard things like "I go to the currency exchange", " I keep my money under my mattress", "I don't do banks.."??? are you serious??? How do I expect the youth that are raised by these parents to teach them about finances? Its not going to happen but this is the kind of thinking I want to help change. This truly bothered me because it was my people, minorities Hispanic and African American. Its written that our people don't progress from lack of knowledge. But this is the kicker I was there trying to spread knowledge, so if you have an opportunity to learn something new, especially something we all spend everyday!! There is not a day that goes by when we are not spending money, from the time we walk outside of our homes we are spending money. Driving your car buying gas, purchasing groceries or lunch at work. We spend money everyday and we all need to know how to manage our money. I saw many parents and the students wearing air jordans or sean john clothing and designer handbags and shoes. But no one could spend $25 to start a savings account for their child. There were other businesses that attended the event but they were Tutoring Companies and I asked if they talked about finances and they all said NO, there is a great need for Financial Education in the school systems. My friend and I have started our plan to do this and reach out to the youth and educate them since they are our future. If they do no understand money management we will have another financial crisis to look forward to in the future. The thing that disappoints me is if I had a table full with designer handbags and shoes, I would be willing to bet my salary that I would of sold out and if not sold out of merchandise I would have been close. We have to stop making excuses and start being apart of society and groe beyond the walls of our neighborhoods and look forward to something better, each generation is suppose to be better than the next and learning money management will make a huge impact on you and your childs future.....Thank you for letting me vent and its past my bedtime :) .....good night and until next time..........
Today's Financial Tip of the Week ....is about your Credit Report. Your Credit Report is very important and knowing what is on your report is something that many of us do not check on a regular basis. So here is a completely free website that allows you to view your Trans Union Credit Report and the SCORE! Most companies charge a fee to receive your actual score but not Credit Karma . The website link is www.creditkarma.com I hope that you will view your report and make sure that all the agencies reporting are accurate. If you need to file a dispute or have further questions, feel free to contact me at plsassociate@gmail.com
I saw the same thing at a high school level, what I did is get with the counselors office and designed a four session financial presentation.we covered everything from the basic need of building savings and responsible management of credit to simply balancing a check register.it was amazing,40% of the kids I presented to were defiantly going to college and THOUGHT they knew how to balance a check register-several stayed after for a little extra help.... Wether we go to work, school or aspire to start a business VERY FEW of us have any idea how to work with banks, finances and credit. My opinion and experience are that we are intimidated and probably a bit ashamed that we don't know the information, but why would we? Do you know they taught my daughter how to balance a check register in FIFTH GRADE... And the school I worked with never touched on it again all through 9-12. We don't know what we don't know- knowledge us power, we need to be humble enough to say "i don't know, please help"and that is where growth begins. Yours is a noble and long term cause Patrice, keep it up and if you have any questions or I may help please feel free to reach out.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Hey Rich! Thank you for commenting on my post and I appreciate the feedback on your experience. Its funny you mention that because that is what our Non Profit will focus on educating the youth in the schools. We will start out with a few schools on the South side of Chicago and build our way up to reaching a mass number of student all of the city and suburbs. Our goal is to eventually travel around the country to schools educating the youth about Career Development and Financial Education. Thank you as always for your support and advice :)
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