Legacy, Hi-Lite partner to host financial seminar for teenagers

Legacy Events for Education and Hi-Lite Coaching + Consulting are partnering to host two financial literacy interactive workshops for teens.

The How Money Works seminars will be presented by Legacy Academy, led by president and founder David Terry, and powered by Hi-Lite, led by founder Jessica Villegas. 

The free, 90-minute workshops are sponsored by educational partner McCoy Cares, the charitable arm of McCoy Federal Credit Union, and hosted at the Roper and Dr. Phillips YMCAs.

The events are for middle- and high-school students, as well as college students, looking to understand the basics of money management.

The seminars will include conversations about how basic checking and savings accounts work; credit cards, loans and interest; building and protecting credit; creating budgets; and understanding the total cost of ownership for big purchases, such as cars and homes.

“I think this topic of conversation is important because money is energy,” Villegas said. “Money is a translation of your time and effort that you’ve put in, and not always is it an accurate translation, but it is something that we’re getting in exchange for giving away a piece of our life. We want to protect that, and we want to manage it well. It’s really important that we’re learning good financial hygiene practices and understanding. When you’re a young adult, it’s very easy to get taken advantage of when it comes to money. I think the more we understand how to do that at a younger age, and the habitats that we build at a younger age are improved, the more we can change our legacy and our mindset around money as we become adults.”

DISCOVERING A NEED

Legacy Events for Education is a nonprofit public charity with a mission to inspire students, teachers and communities to leave their legacy on the world. The organization believes it’s important to encourage involvement, as well as showcase the significance making a difference in the local communities holds.

Legacy Academy, born out of Legacy Events for Education, is dedicated to providing opportunities to students and families in the community to learn from local experts. Several times throughout the year, Legacy Academy partners with various individuals and organizations to provide quality education and information at little to no cost.

The financial literacy workshops launched in partnership with McCoy in 2022. Villegas was invited in by Terry to help with the workshops soon after. 

“We brought Jessica in to really help the workshop, and this year we took it a step further by bringing in Hi-Lite to really facilitate the program for us,” Terry said. “We wanted to have that level of experience in running team seminars that she brings to the table.”

Based in Horizon West, Hi-lite Coaching + Consulting challenges teens and young adults to know themselves in a way that empowers them to effectively navigate change, leverage their strengths and hold themselves accountable in areas that require improvement. 

INSTILLING CONFIDENCE

The seminars will cover a multitude of important topics when it comes to dealing with money.

“You get your first job, you’re paid $15 an hour, but it isn’t going to translate to exactly $15 an hour on your check,” Villegas said. “You’re going to have taxes, and you’re going to need to start thinking about how to save and invest. 

“We’re going to keep it basic and talk about things like a savings account, checking and credit cards, and how to write a check and sign your name in cursive,” she said. “We’re mainly going to focus on how total cost of ownership works when it comes to buying a car, preparing for unexpected expenses, the importance of wants and needs, home ownership and how you can use that as wealth creation for your future, and then we will do some hands-on activities and games. … The things that kids are choosing to do now to fill the gap on things they don’t know how to do is kind of dangerous, and it goes back to money. For example, something as simple as Uber Eats. The cost of one Uber Eats delivery is the same amount as eating for three or four days if you know how to budget properly.”

When it came to understanding money growing up, Terry was lucky, as his father was the president of a board of a credit union for about 30 years.

“He was able to talk to me about a lot of those things that are important for teens and young adults when it comes to understanding money,” he said. “I was very blessed, and what I realized was that I had that, but a lot of kids don’t. A lot of things that we’re focused on at Legacy Academy are things that are ... substantially different than they were when today’s parents were young. Things like getting into college, résumé writing and financial literacy have changed so much, and they’re going to continue to change. ... We just want to be a part of making sure that it doesn’t get lost in translation.”

Terry and Villegas hope participants leave the seminars feeling more confident about how they can use money as a tool to get them where they would like to go in life.

“I want kids to stop and think the next time they agree to a payment on something,” Terry said. “We all struggle with it — even as adults.”

The workshops aren’t just about teens and young adults. The founders hope also to take strain off of parents, so parents can feel more confident their children have what it takes to survive. They hope to encourage parents and children to connect in a meaningful way and to enjoy the last few years of living together at home.

“At McCoy, we are committed to making a difference in the communities we serve, and that includes supporting students at local schools and financial education programs offered by community organizations,” Alvin Cowans, president and CEO of McCoy Federal Credit Union, said. “Community partnerships, like the one we have with Legacy Events for Education and Hi-Lite Coaching + Consulting, allow us to connect with local youth and talk about the basics of finances and money management in a fun, engaging way. It is our hope that these workshops will help participants build confidence around this topic and be the foundation for a lifetime of financial success.”

In the future, Villegas envisions working with Terry to create more workshops pertaining to teaching valuable life skills.

“Kids aren’t really getting the progressive education they need in what will be in an AI-controlled environment and working world by the time they get there,” she said. “They’re not getting the education or the critical- and creative-thinking skills, or the clarity and confidence that they need. They’re being fed into a college system that is there to prey on them financially, and kids are leaving college and not even working in the major that they just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years of their life working on. They’re leaving college just as confused as when they’re leaving high school, and that doesn’t feel good. Our young people shouldn’t be feeling these things. They should feel empowered."