How different would your life be if you had learned financial literacy earlier in life?
What if you knew about taxes, credit scores, and even student loan payments before you even entered high school?
One program believes that helping youth change their financial mindset early on can help them see the benefits of budgeting and managing money as well as create opportunities to create healthy habits.
The Community Builders (TCB) is a mission-driven company that develops high-quality homes for families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Their Community Life initiatives create resident-led initiatives and strategic partnerships that build pathways to opportunities through early education, economic mobility, youth development, voter engagement, and healthy living.
This summer, the organization presented a Youth Financial Literacy Camp for kids of all ages.
The “Make Cents” camps took place at two sites in July where Comerica Bank Vice President and External Affairs Market Manager Kevin A. Watkins, and Kimberly Cooley TCB’s Education and Resource Manager, led sessions like “What Do You Want vs What Do You Need?” and the “History of Bartering and Money.”
Participants were also able to earn “Buy Store Bucks” when they answered questions correctly and use them to purchase toys.
“We believe if we start with our children, we can equip them with tools to be successful later in life,” said Theresa Mitchell, Director of Community Life in Detroit, explains. “We also teach them how to be good stewards of the things that they currently have.”
The relationship between TCB and Comerica and the evolution of the “Make Cents” camp was purely organic. Ms. Cooley notes that as a long-time customer of the bank, she approached Monica Greer, the Banking Center Manager at her home locations who connected her with Kevin Watkins. From there, the partnership bloomed.
For Watkins, his fascination with the banking industry and financial literacy began early in his life. “My parents opened a bank account for me early on. The experience of going into the bank, making deposits, and regularly talking about finances influenced me. In high school, i had a co-op job and worked at a credit union before joining Comerica after college as a management trainee.”
He adds, “Even then, I saw my role as more than selling products but sharing knowledge with individuals so they can buy homes and cars. That’s where my motivation comes from.”
TCB’s mission, led by its CEO Bart Mitchell, is “to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive.”
For Cooley, the “Make Cents” camp is a manifestation of that mission.
“When it came to the Buy Bucks store, it was challenging because you may have to explain to a six-year-old that they don’t have enough money for the toy that they really want–and you don’t want to say no to them but it is part of the learning process,” said Cooley.
She adds, “I also found that the kids would make unexpected choices. For example, one of them bought something for his sister instead of himself. So, there were a lot of enlightening moments.”
Cooley notes that the youth were not the only ones who learned while at the camps. She learned how the children view “wants vs needs.”
Cooley explains, “I learned that for little kids, snacks are a need–while I would have called them a want. It helped me understand their point of view.”
She notes that understanding the motivations of their children can help parents improve communication around money.
“We don’t just stop with the children, we do programming for adults as well helping them improve their incomes, credit scores, and even take steps toward homeownership,” Mitchell said. “Because it’s never too late to get on the right track.”
