Article submitted by Sarah Stubee

A month ago I was standing in front of a group of students at West Linn High School talking about Budgeting.  I had finished the volunteer orientation a month before, read through the materials and reviewed the power point.  However, I was still pretty nervous to say the least!  It has been a rather long time since I was in high school, so I was not sure what to expect from the students.  What I found out is that teaching a Financial Beginnings course is one of the most rewarding activities I have done in quite some time!

Being in the financial industry and having made my own budgeting mistakes as a youngster, this was a topic I felt passionate about.  I wish someone had showed me how to make a budget when I was this age instead of learning the hard way.  As I shared my own experiences and those of folks I have come in contact with throughout my career, the kids got more and more engaged and excited.

When I asked them for examples of types of income and expenditures, they were ready with lots of creative but applicable answers.  I found the power point easy to follow as well.  The material really teaches itself and allowed me to relax and enjoy engaging with the students.

Once we had finished the basic lesson, I had the kids break up into groups and analyze the budget of a character in a story and then make recommendations of how this character could better manage his finances.  Again they had lots of great suggestions and were completely engaged and excited.  I think they sensed that this was something they could really use in their lives going forward.

I wrapped up the class with some thoughts on my own career, as the kids were interested in what my job entailed.  I thanked them for being my “guinea pigs” as well as their teacher who was extremely accommodating and helpful.

As I drove back to my office, I felt excited and a sense of accomplishment.  I get it now… this is really important!  A lot of kids will not hear these lessons at home, and yet this is some of the most important information that will affect them the rest of their lives.  I am now looking forward to teaching my second and third classes as a local Junior High in just a couple of weeks!