The yourcashcounts.com website is designed to help young adults ages 17-24 years old. Obviously the benefits of the material can relate to younger and older people who wish to be financially literate and build wealth.

The younger end of the age continuum represents people who are finishing their high school experience or who have chosen to drop out of school. Therefore, high school teachers, counselors, and students alike can benefit from the many resources and insights found within the website. Motivation is a key element for high school aged students who are learning about financial principles, issues, and challenges. Research has shown that the greatest educational impact comes when the learner is actually involved in financial matters. Consequently, building interest using materials that connect to the student’s current experiences is critical. To help create interest, select the application topics and insights that directly connect to what is going on in the student’s lives at this time. Topics such as: do I graduate from high school, after high school plans, buying a car, falling in love, and applying for a credit card should generate a great deal of interest and motivate younger learners to pay closer attention to the building a financial literacy foundation and decision making guide resources. 

As practice makes perfect, allowing the students to use the decision making guide often and then discuss their insights with others in the class will generate huge learning dividends. In addition to seeking input from peers, it is important that students identify and utilize the many community resources available to help build financial literacy resulting in financial freedom. Bankers, financial advisors, counselors, retailers, credit bureau personnel, to name a few, can be guest speakers or field trip sites. Finally, the unique Facebook feature of yourcashcounts.com can further peer involvement. 

As stated earlier, the material found in this website is designed more for people just leaving or out of high school. Therefore, it is a perfect resource for post high school instructional programs. Community colleges, technical schools, colleges and universities, employee programs, and the military can find a great deal of value using the website material as organized. Instructors in these environments should focus early on the decision making components and content sections of the website. These sections will help create the proper mental framework for making good financial decisions that fit each student’s life’s goals. Once a framework is established, students will find working through the applications that fit their own lives interesting and helpful. In addition, students should be encouraged to seek peer input and use community resources.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS

1) Table of Contents: Site Map
2) Personal Finance 101: Sample Syllabus
3) South Dakota State University Personal Financial Course Syllabus
4) South Dakota State University Benchmarking and Investment Activities
5) Dordt College Personal Financial Course Syllabus