In October, each crew of River Watchers participated in a Workshop at the EcoHouse with volunteers from the Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas. River Watchers talked through fundamentals of credit/debit, saving, interest, and investing. They enjoyed discussing the differences between things we need and things we want as they explored the topic of a spending plan and budget. They thought through what makes a credit union or bank want to lend money to someone and learned about strategies for establishing good credit. This lead to a discussion of the differences between credit and debit and highlighted the importance of shopping around and keeping track of spending. Finally, we talked about saving and investing; how to set aside money consistently to save up for a big goal, a SMART goal (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time). Basically, the earlier you start, the better off you will be. It is important to define your goal, to make it reasonable – it must be for something really important so we feel like it is worth the effort and we must give ourselves time to reach our goals. We want to thank our community partners at the Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas for tailoring a curriculum for the needs of the River Watchers, for their time and for sharing resources like the guides that they put together for the River Watchers to take home. We are especially grateful to the volunteers who gave their time and energy in the hopes of improving the financial livelihoods of the River Watchers as they embark on their adventures of life after high school.
