I could not be more excited to announce this partnership with Yanely during Financial Capability Month! She brings a new perspective and incredible passion to educating young people about money management. To learn more about Yanely, check out her recent podcast. Let's hear from her now about this new initiative and the students she recently visited in New York City.

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About four weeks ago, I wandered through the halls of Frederick Douglass Academy I, a public school serving grades 6-12 in West Harlem, NY. I was looking for the library, where I was about to facilitate a personal finance workshop that would kick off a series of Friday workshops for high school students. While many adults I know might find themselves feeling lost and out of place in the halls of an urban public school, I felt right at home.

Growing up in Brooklyn, I was raised in a low-income, immigrant household. This meant I would attend some of NYC’s lowest-performing schools. My friends and peers were all black and Hispanic, and shared my socio-economic class. We never talked about not having money. It was a painful, unspoken truth we all shared.

This is the personal story I bring to each workshop. It’s unique and my presence as a personal finance educator may even appear to be ironic to some! But, for the students who see themselves in my story or share a similar story, it’s critical that they’re taught personal finance in a fun and engaging way so they can visualize themselves with a healthy financial future.

It’s a lesson that everybody needs to learn: how to manage money. But, only 1 in 6 students attend a high school where personal finance is a required course. In low-income communities, it's 1 in 12! That's why I'm so excited about teaming up with NGPF so I can “talk about money” with students in communities like the one that I grew up in. And so students can see and hear from someone who talks about money in ways they can relate to and understand.

Yanely with a group of high school students after a workshop.

What I’ve learned in the past few weeks from conversations with students is that they’re left with so many unanswered questions about money. Each of them had a story to share about tough financial situations they were navigating, whether it be paying for college applications, prom tickets and attire, graduation fees, class trips or deciding whether or not to buy senior photos.

My goal with these workshops is to share personal finance best practices through stories of my missteps and the bumps I’ve had along the way. I want to create a space where lacking formal finance education or not knowing technical terms isn’t a roadblock for young adults to learn about money.

After the workshop, I shook hands with individual students and spoke with many of them about their questions. I shared my email address and told them to reach out to me with any additional questions or comments. So far, a handful of them have reached out with very thoughtful questions such as:  

• How trustable is an online bank vs. a physical bank?
• How do you start building a credit score at age 17?
• What type of investments can someone who is in high school do?
• Where does stock market money come from?

I’ve even revised one student’s resume after she asked for guidance with her job search! It’s been amazing to see some students engage with me on social media and even subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Yanely with Ms. Viau, a teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy I

It’s with the utmost excitement and urgency that I’ll be visiting new high schools every Friday through the end of the 2017-2018 school year. I love meeting new teachers, students and school communities that are interested in engaging with financial education!

Up next: I’m headed to Newark, NJ!

I want thank the team at NGPF for their commitment to helping under-resourced students make smarter money choices, by giving them the information, tools, and resources they need in a way that is relatable for them! NGPF's website is used by over 10,000 teachers in all 50 states and can be accessed at www.ngpf.org.

If you’re interested in having me visit your school in NY/NJ/CT area this fall, please email me at missbehelpful@gmail.com.

More to come…

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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