The Financial Education Trail: A Mile by Mile Guide
iQ Credit Union shares its targeted approach to financial literacy for kids throughout the Pacific Northwest.
For many kids, getting a good financial education is like navigating a rough trail without a map. Thanks to a targeted approach on financial literacy, iQ Credit Union has been a trail guide for more than 27,000 K-12 grade students in Oregon and Southwest Washington since 2016.
Financial education, much like our beloved Pacific Northwest, can feel like a wilderness. We all need a guide. Someone to help us along the path – and iQ aims to help lead the way.
Trailhead: Establishing Footing
One size does not fit all. Financial education needs to meet students at their level and include information that builds on what they know, but also expands their thinking about money, investing and finances.
Our trail starts with “Financial Footings,” which includes a K-2 grade and a 3-6 grade program. The youngest explorers learn to identify currency, make decisions and set goals around managing and saving money. By third grade, they’re ready to learn how to create a budget, use a financial institution, and start talking about credit and interest.
Classroom presentations in middle and high school build on these foundational concepts and add relevant content that helps students navigate their own financial life more successfully.
Mile 1: First Steps
All along the path, our program engages students through games, activities and instruction.
One of our most popular programs for middle and high school students is called “Reality Fair.” We know teenagers need to start thinking about the world of rent, taxes, utility bills and car payments. Those worries can seem years away. iQ built an immersive simulation that puts students in the middle of real-life financial situations. The simulation makes them think about money management, budgeting and other financial responsibilities – it’s engaging and makes a significant impact.
“The kids love this activity,” Marcy Sprecher, executive director at Rocksolid Teen Center in Brush Prairie, Wash., said. “We invite iQ back every year to get our students thinking about these important issues.”
Mile 2: Encouragement
Besides the intrinsic reward of successfully hiking the trail of financial literacy, we built a program that encourages motivated students to learn the basics of working in an iQ branch right in their high school.
Students can start by working in one of six campus branch locations across Southwest Washington. The branches are student-run and operated. Students learn in-branch best practices, how to perform member transactions and how to balance a cash drawer, along with credit union policies and procedures. The campus branches are open to students and staff during the lunch period, allowing members to access their accounts and perform basic transactions. Instructors guide the students who work in the branch, which is connected to a class, and the team has the support of the iQ campus branch coordinator.
The campus branches take us back to our roots. iQ began as a teacher’s credit union in 1945 and that commitment to hands-on education is our focus in this program.
Students who work in the branch also have the opportunity to be hired as a paid intern at their local iQ branch. Since 2015, we have hired more than 40 high school interns and just over half have gone onto successful careers with our team.
Mile 3: Opening Trails
Students who don’t have a traditional educational path or hit a rough spot on their journey also need the financial literacy information we provide. But often the access to the trail is blocked. We open the path and take our programs to kids from all walks of life – teen centers, juvenile detention centers and non-traditional schools all benefit from our classroom-style presentations and activities.
And we know the journey certainly doesn’t end at 12th grade. In fact, many adults need a boost to ensure their financial success. Our community education programs make financial topics more accessible to adults through programs like “Budgets and Brews” and “Pumpkin Spice and Financial Advice.”
These events at local coffee shops, bars and pubs lower the barriers to participation and create important connections between iQ and our community.
Summit: Enjoy the View
Across all our programs, we know success depends on people tuning in, engaging with us and gathering info that will impact their financial success. That means we must make the experience fun. Too often money management feels mysterious or confusing. iQ demystifies these financial unknowns by making the path to financial success accessible for everyone – from the youngest explorers to those well on their way.
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a disinterested and bored student light up when they see financial education can be fun and engaging. As credit unions build and bolster their financial education programs, we recommend finding unique and creative ways to make an impact for the long-term success of their young members’ financial journeys.
Tim Walley is Education Programs Supervisor for iQ Credit Union. He can be reached at 360-759-3007 or tim.walley@iqcu.com.