Money is an everyday part of life, critical to achieving freedom, independence and success.  Unfortunately, a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that 67% of adults don’t follow a budget and 76% of college students wish they had more help to prepare for the financial futures.  Shelby County 4-H presented a program called Money Matters to 617 4-H members to help them develop a solid foundation in money management.

To tie into the goals of the Shelby County School’s College and Career Readiness initiatives, the program was designed to provide the youth an opportunity to take a monthly salary and spend it on a game board designed with a variety of needs and wants.  The occupations the youth were given also included the education requirement necessary to obtain that position.

By the end of the program, all of the youth had identified the “needs” that should be purchased first (such as housing, food, transportation, utilities, child care).  The importance of savings was reinforced by random cards they the youth drew that forced them to have to pay for unexpected things such as accidents or illness out of their current budget.  The students also observed that the higher the salary, the easier it was to pay for all their needs and to have money for savings and things that they wanted but were not necessary.  The idea that their educational choices as students will have a direct influence on their future income was the final concept presented as a result of the activity.

An evaluation of the students conducted one month later revealed students had mastered important money management concepts.  Ninety-four percent of the students indicated they learned it was important to pay for their needs before their wants.  Over ninety percent of the students felt it was important to have money in their savings.  Additionally, 100 students indicated that they had talked with someone in their family about money after the program.  The 4-H members also realized the connection to school and their future careers evidenced with 87% understanding that doing well in school will help them reach their career goals. Many of the students also began to think about their futures, as 67% of the youth thought about a future career that would help them pay for things that the need and want.

Comments from the evaluation included:

“The most important thing I learned was that you need to buy the things you need before your wants.”

“I learned that you should always save money because you never know what is going to happen.”

“I thought about a career that would help pay for the things I need and want.”

“Something important that I learned is doing good in school can help with my goals for my career.”