Saving, Investing and Building a Business - Important Lessons Learned at Boys and Girls Club “money Matters” Program

Designed to promote financial responsibility and independence among pre-teen and teen club members, the Money Matters program helped the kids to build their money management skills.
Over the course of five weeks, eight Boys and Girls Club members learned how to manage a checking account, budget, save and invest. They also learn about starting a small business and paying for college.

“The Money Matters program goes beyond the basic elements of earning money and saving it. The kids learned about credit cards as well as about a variety of investment vehicles that would put their money to work and give them a good return. They also learned how to budget and better control their spending. When kids learn these lessons at a young age, they become financially successful adults,” noted Joanna Degnan who is a CPA at Price Waterhouse Coopers and led the program.

“I have learned so many things in this class.  I have even taught some to my family. The thing I enjoyed the most was learning about the credit cards,” said 12-year old Marshfield resident Ben Quimby of the Money Matters program.

According to 10-year old Sydney Eastman, also a Marshfield resident, “I enjoyed learning different ways to save money.  I just started earning an allowance and Miss Degnan gave us great ideas on how to save and spend our money the right way.”

The kids utilized special program tools which included a Teen Personal Finance Guide containing practical tips and activities to help kids learn the important skills of balancing a checkbook, creating a budget and saving and investing for college and retirement. They also utilized the Money Matters website, an engaging online tool for building money management knowledge and skills through interactive activities, games and tools like a savings and financial aid calculator to plan for college.

Greg Langer, 12, of Marshfield said, “I think the Money Matters Program will help me in the future to plan goals and spend my money more wisely.”

The Money Matters program will be held again in May for club members who are age 15 and older. To learn more about the Money Matters program, contact Kathleen Newcomb at the Boys and Girls Club (781) 834-2582.

About the Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield’s purpose is to establish a safe haven for recreation, which includes a variety of supervised activities for greater than 4,000 youths (between the ages of 6 to 18 years old) within the town. The Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield has five Core Areas: Character and Leadership; Education and Career; Health, Sport Fitness Recreation and Life Skills; The Arts; and Technology. These Core Areas serve as the foundation for all programming.

As a privately-funded, non-profit organization, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield relies tremendously on the generous philanthropic support of individuals.  Financial gifts assist in providing the financial strength necessary to continue the club’s mission “to enable and inspire all young people to realize their full potential as productive and responsible citizens, as well as become tomorrow’s capable leaders.”

For more information about the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield, please contact (781) 834-CLUB (2582) or visit the website at www.MarshfieldBoysAndGirlsClub.com or write to the club at P.O. Box 311, Marshfield, MA 02050.