I was so inspired by this story posted on the Operation HOPE blog of a 13 year old teaching a class on financial literacy:

On Tuesday, March 29th, we had the youngest person in Operation HOPE history (I think) to teach Banking on Our Future! 13 year old Zachary Oshin, who attends Viewpoint School in Calabasas, CA, commenced his instruction of Banking on Our Future to a group of 20 middle school students at Vista Middle School in Van Nuys, in collaboration with After-School All-Stars.

Over 4 sessions, Zachary taught the students about the basics of personal finance, from the unique perspective of a middle school student.

At age 13, Zachary already invests, gives to charity, and operates his own car-washing business, for which he gave out his business cards to a few select students. This is silver rights in action, for a new generation.

I love seeing people helping their peers - no matter what their age :) Keep up the great work Zachary!

Happy Financial Literacy Month!

April is National Financial Literacy Month. As the website notes, “National Financial Literacy month represents a national challenge to observe the month of April with programs and initiatives geared at helping individuals and families improve their understanding of financial principles and best practices.”

There are lots of great tools on the website including:

· Free Webinars - Sign up for free webinars designed to help you on your path to financial wellness. Topics include goal setting, credit reporting, managing credit, debt repayment, and budgeting.

· Income Worksheet - Use the income worksheet to help you determine the amount of income you can realistically count on.

· Net Worth Worksheet - Calculating your net worth is as simple as comparing what you owe (liabilities) and what you own (assets).

· Debt Load Worksheet - Create an accurate picture of your debt obligations.

· Financial Priorities Worksheet - Creating a list of needs and wants can help you establish your financial priorities.

· Financial Goal Worksheet - Smart financial goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Rewarding, and Trackable. Use this worksheet to identify short-, mid-, and long-term SMART goals

· Goal Certificate - Create a "fridge friendly" personalized goal certificate to help you stay motivated.

· Record of Daily Expendatures - Knowing where your money is going is critical for a successful budget. Track your daily expenses and then ask yourself if you're spending your money wisely.

· Expense Worksheet - Create and follow a spending plan. A realistic monthly spending plan is a valuable tool to guide your spending and saving decisions.

· Tips for Change eBook - Download the eBook to read tips submitted by financially savvy consumers

There are also plenty of ways to show your support for National Financial Literacy Month using social media (“like” the Facebook page, follow @moneymanagement on Twitter and watch money management Youtube.com videos).

Good luck with your financial literacy goals!

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