Can you remember sitting in a classroom in grade school and thinking “when will I ever use this?”
Over 51% of young adults said a course on money management would have been the most beneficial to their lives post-graduation1. Yet only a third of U.S. states require any personal finance education, and only 5 states require a semester-long course to graduate high school. These students are then often taking on high amounts of student loan debt and asked to take control of their financial futures without being armed with the basic knowledge to do so.
We believe the financial industry has a responsibility to bring financial education to our schools and communities. The EP Wealth Financial Literacy Initiative is how we’re getting involved.
We believe it’s never too early to teach children the importance of making healthy money decisions. From first grade to seniors in high school, we lead interactive conversations on the following topics:
Members of the EP Wealth Financial Literacy Committee are often invited to speak in classrooms or to larger student audiences as a supplement to their scheduled math, accounting, economics, or general elective class curriculum. Presentations can be adjusted to fit different education levels and varying class structures. We pride ourselves on making this an easy and seamless process for teachers to integrate into their busy day!
The EP Wealth Financial Literacy Committee is a group of employee volunteers who are passionate about delivering financial education to local schools to help students develop smarter money habits.
At the high school level, we see money habits already starting to take shape as they get their first jobs and paychecks, start driving and potentially pay for their own insurance, and start thinking about college. This allows the Literacy Committee to engage in a more “real-world” discussion and usually entails a more in-depth presentation. Our goal is to give high school students real takeaways that they can start implementing in their lives immediately.
For younger students, we get back to basics and take a more interactive approach through hands-on games and collaborative conversations. We may discuss different perceptions of money, how to earn money through chores/tasks, wants vs. needs, why their parents might say “no” due to their own family budgets, etc. We hope students in this age group leave the presentation with a better understanding of how money affects everyday choices.
In addition to the literacy presentations, the committee is often called upon to appear at school-sponsored career days to discuss the various opportunities in the finance industry. This presentation is typically for students making decisions about college or about their future careers. Topics may include careers in Operations, Client Services, Financial Advisory, Human Resources, Financial Planning, Investment Management, Compliance, Marketing, and Finance.
The career presentation may also include an explanation of externships and internships available at EP Wealth, and how these programs may lead to employment post-college. For more information on EP Wealth’s internships and externships, click here.
If you’d like to learn more about bringing the EP Wealth financial literacy committee to your local school, please contact us.