Friends of Finance

Today’s session focused on building real financial habits through strategic saving—anchored in the SMART goal framework.

Students explored what an emergency really looks like, learned how to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and applied that structure to build their own savings plans. From organizing money into buckets to understanding where to keep it, every decision was tied back to clarity, strategy, and control.

Next up: Credit—where we break down how credit works, how scores are calculated, and how to use it as a tool, not a trap.

Today’s session focused on building real financial habits through strategic saving—anchored in the SMART goal framework.

Students explored what an emergency really looks like, learned how to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and applied that structure to build their own savings plans. From organizing money into buckets to understanding where to keep it, every decision was tied back to clarity, strategy, and control.

Our next workshop, in this 6-part series, introducing students to their Credit Score.

This workshop equips students with 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 for real life—before decisions get costly. In the 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄 session, they learn to set 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝. Hands-on activities include calculating 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬, and 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰. By session’s end, students have strategies for financial security and future readiness.

April is Financial Literacy Month, and Friends of Finance is actively partnering with organizations committed to expanding access to practical financial education.
If your community is ready for real-world money skills, let’s build something impactful together.

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This session focuses on everyday spending through guided practice. Students use a mock paycheck to identify needs versus wants, analyze spending habits, and see how their choices impact what’s left. The session closes by introducing basic budgeting as a tool to plan ahead and make intentional decisions.

This session focuses on everyday spending through guided practice—tracking transactions, recognizing patterns, and understanding how small choices add up.

Students at the learned how to read a paycheck, understand deductions, and plan ahead—one real-life scenario at a time. From earning to saving, today’s lesson is tomorrow’s stability.

This workshop gives students the tools to manage money in real life—before mistakes become expensive. Participants learn how to read a paycheck, track spending, build a budget, and plan for emergencies using realistic scenarios. Through hands-on activities, students practice making informed financial decisions and understand how everyday choices impact their future.

Student Outcomes:

Analyze key components of a paycheck and paystub
• Identify taxes, deductions, and take-home pay
• Distinguish between wants and needs
• Review and record transactions using a mock bank statement
• Categorize spending across common expense types
• Learn and compare different budgeting methods
• Set SMART financial goals
• Build an emergency savings plan
• Apply all concepts using a realistic mock profile to simulate real-world financial decisions

🛑 Registration can be completed on site.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞—𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞. • 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

🛑 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞.