Paying it Forward

As a mom and former Business Teacher, I am passionate about building students’ financial literacy. Building knowledge and developing habits early on will greatly benefit young adults throughout their lives, and I want to help them create building blocks for their financial journey.

I am providing pro bono services to set up and manage investment accounts for 5 students each year that meet the following criteria:

• Must be a resident of NYS
• Must be a junior or senior in high school
• Must be working sometime throughout the year and receiving a W-2
• Must be willing to contribute to their investment plan
• Must have the approval of their parent or guardian

My goal is to provide a real-life experience for students to learn about saving, budgeting, the value of delayed gratification, and investing. If you are the parent or guardian of a high school student who meets this criteria, and both you and your child are interested, please contact me to set up an initial phone meeting.

All meetings will be held virtually. Parents/guardians are always welcome to join any meeting. This is the general process and time commitment needed from the student. Please note, if practical I would like to work with the students as a whole group for Meetings 4-6.

• Meeting 1 – Initial introductions with parent(s)/guardian
• Meeting 2 – Initial introduction with student/parent(s)/guardian
  • Focus: get to know the student and their view of money, saving, wealth, and their commitment to contributing
• Meeting 3 – Prepare for initial client onboarding process
  • Parent(s)/guardian is required to attend this meeting
• Group – Meeting 4 – Focus: various securities; pros and cons
• Group – Meeting 5 – Focus: various vehicles; pros and cons
• Group – Meeting 6 – Focus: budget and funding strategies – goal 10-20% of income
• Meeting 7 – Focus:
  • their financial commitment and how they’ll make it happen
  • what investment vehicle and security(ies) to focus on
  • fund their account and agree on how/when the contributions will occur
• Meeting 8 – Focus (approx. 1 month after initial investment once account is set up):
  • review results to date
  • discuss what’s impacting the market and their individual results
  • discuss what could be done to reduce risk
  • discuss the impact of making changes
• Group – Meet quarterly to review challenges, what’s occurring in the market, and their personal commitment