The Money Matters: Make It CountSM Tween adaptation strives to provide youth ages 10-12 with financial literacy skills that will help them conceptualize money in terms that are relatable to them at their stage of youth development and adolescence.
Youth will compete in a game to estimate the cost of things that are commonly purchased. Next they will collaborate as event planners to understand the importance of budgeting.
Youth will discuss the various ways they can earn money and explore the pros and cons of each method. They will practice calculating their earnings as they role-play working at a café.
Overview of Sessions
Session 1
Building Our Money Matters: Tween Group Agreements
Youth will create Group Agreements to ensure an emotionally supportive environment for all.
Session 2
Value of a Dollar
Youth will compete in a game to estimate the cost of things that are commonly purchased. Next they will collaborate as event planners to understand the importance of budgeting.
Session 3
Investing in Me
Youth will discuss needs vs. wants and the importance of budgeting. They will map out a savings plan to achieve a personal goal.
Session 4
Managing Credit
Youth will explore the concept of lending and borrowing. They will learn about credit and the importance of paying back a loan in a timely manner.
Session 5
Investing – Is It Worth the Risk?
Youth will identify the similarities and differences between saving and investing by working out several scenarios, both as a group and individually.
Session 6
The Money You Earn
Youth will discuss the various ways they can earn money and explore the pros and cons of each method. They will practice calculating their earnings as they role-play working at a café.
Primary Audience
The primary audience for these activities is tweens ages 10-12. The sessions were designed to be completed independent from one another. So, if a tween misses the first session, they should still be able to complete future sessions.
Each session in Money Matters follows a consistent format that incorporates best practices in positive youth development. Facilitating the sessions in the format written is highly recommended to implement the program with fidelity. Each component of the session is briefly described below.
Session Objective: Specific learning goals for the sessions.
Time Requirements: Time needed to implement the session.
Group Size: Number of participants.
Handouts: Handouts and resources needed.
Supplies Needed: All items needed to complete the activity.
Links to Resources: Links to additional helpful resources.
Social-Emotional Skills: Skills needed for success in life developed in the session.
Academic Skills: Skills and transitional knowledge developed in the activity.
Key Terms: Vocabulary reinforced during the session.
Preparation: Steps for facilitators to complete in advance.
Before the Main Activity: Brief “getting-ready” experiences for the group.
Warm Welcome: A reminder to connect with each young person before the session.
Community Builder: An icebreaker to engage the group, lay the groundwork for the session, and create an environment for learning and exploration.
Group Agreements Review: A reminder of participants' commitments to one another.
Main Activity Instructions: Step-by-step instructions to lead youth through the activity.
Introducing Youth to the Activity: A few comments to introduce the topic and activity.
Step-by-Step Directions: Detailed steps to facilitate the activity.
After the Main Activity: Helpful guidelines to meaningfully conclude the session.
Reflection: A brief reflection that helps youth affirm what they’ve learned.
Recognition: A brief activity to allow youth to recognize each other’s support and help.
Closing and Transition: A reminder about closing out the activity and moving on to the next area.
Session Adaptations
While many of the session topics may bring new information and involve serious activities, the program will have the greatest impact if you complete the sessions in order, and cover as many sessions as possible. After reviewing each session, you may prefer to modify some of the activities to better accommodate the needs of your tweens. Creativity and fun should remain at the forefront of everything you do in the Money Matters program. Use your creativity and engage tweens to think of ways to add more fun to each session.
Adaptation
Adaptation Guidelines
Examples
Yes
Change names of people in scenarios to fit your Club community.
Change things people in scenarios are buying or using.
Change dollar amounts in scenarios to fit your community.
Substitute for similar materials.
Substitute items that your tweens enjoy.
Use “Jayden” instead of “Nate.”
Stephan buys a pair of"shoes" instead of a"saxophone."
Use the actual minimum wage for your state.
Use green sticky notes to represent $100 bills.
Use current items that your tweens enjoy (i.e.,instead of streaming apps your tweens enjoy online games).
Maybe
Change dollar amounts in scenarios to make them round numbers.
Share your personal financial information.
Change dollar amounts your tweens find challenging, but be aware some cannot change (pre-set budget worksheets, historical stock prices).
Only share personal information when it is appropriate for the session and situation. Sharing financial goals with tweens as they share goals is OK. Sharing your specific bank and credit card provider may bias tweens.
No
Leave out the key features of a session (e.g., the Main Activity or Reflection)
Suggest specific financial strategies that are not included in the Facilitator’s Guide or that contradict the recommended financial strategies.
Suggest specific information where it would be more appropriate for tweens to seek professional advice.
Play a jeopardy-style game instead of teaching the Investing session.
Suggest buying gold coins.
Suggest strategies for tax filing or specific financial tools.
Program Facilitation Tips
Give yourself time to plan, gather and prepare the materials you will need for each session.
Make sure you are familiar with the activities.
Review the entire program and plan for when you may want volunteers to come help with a session. There is an overview below of recommendations about when and how to engage with volunteers.
Use examples that are applicable to the youth in your Club to help make the sessions come alive.
Continue to check for understanding to ensure your youth are grasping the topic or instructions.
Use of Volunteers
Invite volunteers to your Club to help teach youth valuable life lessons, and also help volunteers learn something about themselves. Boys & Girls Club volunteers can make a difference in the lives of youth, and they also give you a chance to demonstrate how special your Club is. Clubs have used volunteers to help with homework, coach a game, help with a service project, supervise a field trip or teach an art session. Money Matters is an opportunity to engage volunteers to help you implement this program.
Since this program is supported by Charles Schwab Foundation, there could be opportunities for your Club to use Schwab volunteers if there is a nearby office. Click on the Money Matters link available at BGCA.net(search for "Money Matters") to see how to submit a request for Schwab volunteers. You need to request Schwab volunteers four to eight weeks in advance, so plan accordingly.
Overview of Money Matters: Make It CountSM
In order to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens, Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Centers focus on three priority outcome areas: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, and Good Character and Citizenship.
Money Matters: Make It CountSM is a Targeted Program in Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Education Core Program Area that supports the priority outcome of Academic Success. It is geared toward financial health through behavior change and the building of decision-making skills and confidence. A 2018 study from the American Psychological Association reported that 81% of young people aged 18-21 indicated money is their top stressor.1 As a key program supporting Academic Success, Money Matters helps teens overcome this college and career readiness gap by preparing them to succeed as they begin to manage their financial lives. The Money Matters: Tween adaptation strives to provide youth ages 10-12 with financial literacy skills that will help them conceptualize money in terms that are relatable to them at their stage of youth development and adolescence.
Since 2004, Charles Schwab Foundation has helped more than 1 million Club youth gain critical money management skills such as goal setting, budgeting and saving. Money and money management affect teens’ future work lives: career preparation and selection, managing benefits and earnings, employability, and being “present” for family and other responsibilities without the distraction of financial stressors. Equally important, through Money Matters and related programs, teens learn life skills: responsibility, self-confidence, communication, problem solving and decision making. Financial literacy can lead to workplace readiness, lifelong financial stability and overall success – a win for workers, employers and communities.
Money Matters was designed to increase the financial literacy skills of Club teens. The program aims to provide world-class financial education through the Club Experience, unleashing the full potential of teens to become productive, caring, responsible citizens. Money Matters equips teens with the decision-making skills to put them on the path to financial well-being and lifelong success. It was designed to lead to the following outcomes:
Behavioral change in budgeting, saving and investing; managing credit and debt; and postsecondary planning
Strong decision-making skills around finance
Confidence in knowledge of financial products, tools and services
Education Core Program Area
Education programs complement and reinforce what youth learn during the school day, while creating experiences that invite them to fall in love with learning. Rooted in social-emotional development practices, programs in this area enable all youth to be effective, engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future. As an informal learning space, Clubs and Youth Centers have an opportunity to offer both remediation and enrichment, all while inviting youth to discover and pursue their passions through experiential learning. Targeted Programs and High-Yield Activities in this area are linked to the Academic Success priority outcome area.
At all developmental stages, Education programs prompt youth to plan and prepare for the future. This includes observing and practicing the social-emotional “soft skills” that lead to employability, exploring career options, and engaging in programmatic experiences that prepare youth to learn and work beyond high school. Programs and experiences supporting employability encourage youth to explore career options and the postsecondary pathways to their chosen career, develop skills necessary for success in postsecondary education and the workforce, and apply their skills through real-world experiences.
Youth development practices that support teaching and learning are core to the quality of Education programs. Effective Education programs, when facilitated with high-quality youth development practices, help youth develop the attitudes, behaviors and skills needed to become effective, engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.
The Education Core Program Area develops the following key skills for Academic Success:
Identifying and Solving Problems
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Analyzing and Interpreting Information
Communicating
Collaborating
Persevering as a Learner
The Education Core Program Area also develops the following key skills for Postsecondary Readiness:
Goal-Setting
Planning
Evaluating
Ethical Responsibility
Impulse Control
Career Awareness
Postsecondary Awareness
Self-Efficacy
Perseverance
Financial literacy skills are also critical in preparing youth for postsecondary success, and the Education Core Program Area also develops the following financial literacy skills:
Money Management
Earnings, Savings and Investing
Risk Management
Numeracy
Education Outcome Statement: To enable all youth to be effective, engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.
Education Skills: In order to successfully learn and work, youth need to build not only academic skills, but social-emotional skills. Social-emotional skills help youth build healthy relationships with themselves and others, recognize and manage emotions and solve problems. All of the education programs, including Money Matters, are designed to build the academic and social-emotional skills that enable youth to become effective, engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.
Academic Skills
Effective Learners
Critical Thinking
Asking Questions
Analyzing and Interpreting Information
Designing and Constructing Explanations
Literacy
Numeracy
Working Memory
Locating Information
Engaged Learners
Love of Learning
Academic Interest
Thinking About Thinking
Creativity
On Track to Graduate With a Plan for the Future
Postsecondary Awareness
Career Awareness
Digital Literacy
Professionalism
Cognitive Flexibility
Financial Literacy
Self-Advocacy
Time Management
Social-Emotional Skills
Effective Learners
Communication
Collaboration
Identifying and Solving Problems
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Evaluating
Organization
Identifying Emotions
Engaged Learners
Academic Self-Efficacy
Academic Perseverance
Confidence in Academic Abilities
Recognizing Strengths
Social Engagement
On Track to Graduate With a Plan for the Future
Stress Management
Self-Awareness
Self-Discipline
Self-Motivation
Goal-Setting
Ethical Responsibility
Perspective Taking
Adult Connections
Conflict Resolution
Youth Development Professionals’ Role in Academic Skill Development
Positive youth development is an intentional approach that engages youth in their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive. It recognizes, uses and enhances young people’s strengths, and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.2
Youth development practices that support teaching and learning are core to the quality of education programs. Effective education programs, when facilitated with high-quality youth development practices, will help youth develop the attitudes, behaviors, and skills needed to become effective and engaged learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.
Youth development professionals can help all youth become more effective and engaged learners with the following practices.
Model curiosity and encourage youth to ask questions.
Aim for co-inquiry as a “guide on the side,” not a “sage on the stage.”
Engineer for success and allow for mistakes. While youth development professionals provide the support necessary for youth to successfully complete projects and activities, they also include enough challenges so youth have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
Help youth connect what they learn to previous experiences.
Ask questions to check for understanding and prompt youth to think about their thinking.
Teach learning strategies in addition to content so when youth learn new things, they also learn how to learn more effectively.
Attend to different learning styles with multiple options for engagement, representation and expression.
Youth development professionals help all youth stay on track to graduate with a plan for the future with the following practices.
Give youth a voice in education program activities and establish multiple opportunities for youth to make choices, have input, or share leadership roles in the Club and Youth Center’s programs and activities.
Engage community partners to serve as mentors and volunteers to enhance programming.
Model positive workplace behaviors and incorporate opportunities for youth to practice them in the Club and Youth Center.
Help youth connect experiences and interests to career opportunities.
Positive Youth Development Supports Character and Social-Emotional Development
All Boys & Girls Club and Youth Center programs offer opportunities for youth development professionals to model, recognize, reinforce and reflect on character development. Positive youth development provides direction for how you interact with, engage and model behavior for youth. You get to shape the lives of young people every day. As a result, you set the expectations and show youth what essential character traits (e.g., caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness) mean, and how they look. These character traits come to life when youth practice social-emotional skills like teamwork, conflict management and emotional regulation.
Youth can start to build character using “caught and taught” approaches. Youth “catch” social-emotional skills when they observe youth development professionals modeling them, and when they interact with peers. Youth can also be “taught” skills to build good character when the skills are explicitly introduced and practiced during program sessions and activities.
Use this formula to understand how character develops over time:
Youth Development Professionals Model Good Character + Youth Practice Skills Regularly = Character Development
Youth development professionals facilitating Money Matters can model good character in the way they support all youth, offer feedback rather than criticism, and encourage honesty and responsibility.
To build character traits, include many opportunities for youth to practice the social-emotional skills embedded in Money Matters. These include skills related to:
How youth feel about themselves
Their relationships with others
Their ability to regulate emotions
Their ability to solve problems
When character development is present:
Youth development professionals model and youth practice skills that display respect, fairness, trustworthiness, responsibility, caring and citizenship
Youth successfully get along well with others
Youth are better able to control their emotions and solve problems
When character development is absent:
Youth do not feel a sense of belonging at the Club and Youth Center
Youth lack skills that foster positive peer relationships
Youth lack self-control and act out in frustration
To access Practicing Social-Emotional Skills to Achieve Character Development, visit BGCA.net and search for "Program Basics BLUEprint." It will show you the specific social-emotional skills young people should practice to demonstrate positive behaviors indicative of the six essential character traits.
Practice Positive Youth Development to Create Inclusive Club and Youth Centers
Inclusion is a core component to building a safe, positive environment in Clubs and Youth Centers. In order to fulfill our mission, Clubs and Youth Centers must create safe, positive, and inclusive environments for all youth and teens – including every race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic status and religion. By creating inclusive environments, we improve the overall experience for all young people.
When youth development professionals use positive youth development practices, they help ensure all youth:
Feel represented
Have a sense of belonging
Can meaningfully participate in programming
As you implement Money Matters, consider strategies that help youth feel affirmed, safe, and engaged with Club and Youth Center experiences. To access more information on building and sustaining an inclusive environment, visit BGCA.net and search for “Program Basics BLUEprint.”
Education Programs and Resources
BGCA has developmentally appropriate programs and resources for all age groups.3
Please refer to Program Basics in the BLUEprint, by visiting BGCA.net and search for "Program Basics BLUEprint" for more details on the developmental needs of youth in each age group
Drever, A., Odders-White, E., Kalish, C., Else-quest, N. Hogland, M., Nelms, E. (2015). Foundations of financial well-being: Insights into the role of executive function, financial socialization and experience-based learning in childhood and youth. The American Council on Consumer Interests, 49(1): 13-38.
Menard, M. (2017). So Many Courses, So Little Progress: Why Financial Education Doesn’t Work - And What Does. Available at: ssrn.com/abstract=3098279
Ajzen I. (1985). From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior. In: Kuhl J., Beckmann J. (eds) Action Control. SSSP Springer Series in Social Psychology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Fernandes, D., Lynch, J.& Netemeyer, R. (2014). Financial literacy, financial education and downstream financial behaviors. Management Science, 60(8), 1861-1883.
Lusardi, A. (1999). “Information, Expectations, and Savings for Retirement,” in Henry Aaron (ed.), Behavioral Dimensions of Retirement Economics, Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press and Russell Sage Foundation, 1999, pp. 81-115.
Fox, J. J., & Bartholomae, S. (2008). Financial education and program evaluation. In J. J. Xiao (Ed.), Handbook ance research (pp.47-68).
Session 1
