Financial Literacy & Money Management - 1 hour workshop
FINANCIAL LITERACY & MONEY MANAGEMENT
Make Smart Money Moves. Build Your Future.
Grade Level: 9-12 | Format: Interactive workshop | Duration: 1 Hour
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Learn how to manage money, make informed financial decisions, and build healthy financial habits for life. This interactive one-hour workshop helps high school students understand budgeting, banking, paychecks, taxes, credit cards, interest rates, debt, and saving for unexpected expenses.
Through real-world scenarios and hands-on money challenges, students will explore the difference between debit and credit cards, learn how to live within their means, understand the basics of filing taxes, and evaluate the true cost of major purchases such as cars. The workshop concludes with an introduction to saving for retirement and understanding how starting early can support long-term financial security.
Students will leave with practical money management strategies, a stronger understanding of everyday financial decisions, and actionable steps toward building a more secure financial future.
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
- Money Moves: Needs, Wants & Choices
Explore the difference between needs and wants and discover how everyday spending decisions can influence financial priorities. - Build a Budget & Live Within Your Means
Learn how to create a basic budget, prioritize expenses, and understand the consequences of spending more than you earn. - Banking Basics: Checking, Savings & Direct Deposit
Explore checking and savings accounts, understand how debit cards work, and learn how direct deposit helps employees receive their paychecks. - Paychecks & Taxes: Know Where Your Money Goes
Understand gross pay versus take-home pay, common paycheck deductions, W-2 forms, basic tax-filing concepts, and how to find legitimate tax-preparation assistance. - Debit vs. Credit: Understand Borrowing
Compare debit and credit cards, learn how credit cards work, and explore credit scores, interest rates, minimum payments, and the risks of accumulating debt. - Interest, Debt & Saving for a Rainy Day
Discover how interest can increase borrowing costs or grow savings over time. Practice preparing for unexpected expenses and identifying ways to build an emergency fund. - Big Purchases: Can You Really Afford It?
Explore the true cost of major purchases, including car loans, interest, insurance, and maintenance. Learn why affordability involves more than a monthly payment. - Your Future Self: Saving for Retirement
Get introduced to long-term saving, compound growth, employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, and the potential benefits of starting to save early. - Money Challenge & Personal Action Plan
Apply financial decision-making skills to a realistic money scenario and identify one practical financial habit to begin developing.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Distinguish between needs and wants and explain the importance of budgeting and living within their means.
Identify the basic purposes of checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, and direct deposit.
Explain the difference between gross pay and take-home pay and identify basic steps involved in tax filing.
Describe how credit cards, interest rates, minimum payments, and credit scores can affect borrowing and debt.
Identify strategies for saving for emergencies and making informed spending decisions.
Recognize the costs associated with major purchases, including car loans, interest, insurance, and maintenance.
Explain the basic purpose of retirement savings and identify one potential benefit of starting to save early.