When my 5 year old son started asking me questions about money, I did what (I think) most moms would do, I started digging on the internet and researching programs, books, activities, camps, that would support me as a parent to give him the answers he was looking for.
I was shocked and frustrated that I couldn’t find smart, age-appropriate resources. I realized that I was not alone and other parents needed it too. This propelled me to take on the challenge and launch iPiggiBank.
Here are couple of facts to keep in mind:
Families are living beyond their means and our country has over a trillion dollars in credit card debt.
Two-thirds of Americans cannot pass a very basic financial literacy test.
Two in five U.S. adults give themselves a C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal finance.
According to the University of Cambridge, kids’ money habits are formed by age seven.
Motivated by these facts and staring at an uncharted space, my journey over a year preparing iPiggiBank Money Management 4 Kids curriculum introduced me to exceptional people in the education and finance world.
How are we doing it?
Our curriculum, iPiggiBank Money Management 4 Kids, is aligned to common core and teaches fundamental money management skills using art, writing, literacy, play and music to teach topics from “needs and wants” to “Business in a Bag.” My company only hires and trains State Certified Teachers on iPiggiBank’s curriculum to lead our classes. No volunteers. Only trained professionals.
Our curriculum is customized for in-school instruction and after-school enrichment programs, as well as serving students with special needs; and we have the capacity to teach multiple classes on a given day and reach hundreds of students. We are bringing financial literacy into the classroom! Empowering, right?
Since 2014 when we launched, we have grown steadily proving the need and demand for our unique program. iPiggiBank has impacted thousands of children and their families in Northern Jersey and New York -- and are scaling to new locations in 2019. So yes, we are hiring!
Whenever I tell people what I do ‘for a living,’ inevitably, I hear, “I wish I had a finance class when I was younger.” It breaks my heart because I get it. Most people have learned about money from trial and error. It’s hard to dig out of debt and bad financial decisions.
As parents we want the best for our children. But, for a society on a whole, it benefits all of us to support children learning HEALTHY financial habits. Let’s eradicate financial ILLiteracy together!
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Shara Nadler is the Founder and CEO of iPiggiBank, a company dedicated to teaching kids financial literacy. Led by state certified teachers, hired and trained by iPiggiBank, students in grades K-8 learn fundamental money management skills using art, writing, literacy, play and music. Click here to learn more about iPiggiBank’s programs.