Teaching Life Skills with Foundations and Personal Finance

As a teenager, your main job is learning the core curriculum that provides a foundation that will lay groundwork for further study. But how do those classes in high school help in real life? According to CNBC.com the average millennial has about $33,000 in debt and that statistics keeps growing. We live in an age of instant gratification and our personal finances are directly impacted. We plummet into debt, sometimes it seems insurmountable, to have that new, hot item that after a few weeks it sits in the corner collecting dust. Or, we take out several loans to finance a lifestyle we cannot afford.
For nine years, Brendie Heter has helped adults, as a financial coach, change the rocky relationship they have with money. She encourages families to fight for a better financial future. “Every time we hosted Personal Finance we heard ‘I wish they taught this in schools” so after hearing it so much we decided do something.”  In 2014, Noah and Brendie Heter personally paid for Foundations in Personal Finance, a comprehensive course for Canyon High School students.
Foundations and Personal Finance started with a small group of students on their lunch break. It has grown into a widely sought after curriculum now taught in 15 schools throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.  “In the beginning, it was offered at Legacy Christian Academy and Canyon High School. It was incredibly popular with students and parents.”
As the program gained popularity, Heter reached out to local realtor, Sam Neylan with Neylan Group International.  Sam and Brendie partnered together to help sponsor more local schools. “We want to change the financial makeup of our country and we are starting with SCV,” says Sam.
When people have financial freedom, they have more choices and opportunities.  Brendie and Sam’s goal is for ”the next generation to have choices so they can contribute to the world with their individual, unique gifts.”
Sam and Brendie regularly visit local classrooms in Santa Clarita encouraging financial literacy and encourage students to think about their financial future. To date, over 3,000 local students have taken this class.
If you’re interested having your local student take, Foundations of Personal Finance, please have them speak to their school counselor. It’s offered at all comprehensive local high schools.
Also, Sam and Brendie want to give a special thank you to William S. Hart District Governing Board, Dave LeBarron Director of Curriculum and Canyon’s High Kim Arnold, for their role in furthering this program.