CFEF recognizes the importance of financial education – both in the classroom and real life. In April, our organization was invited to educate students at Trinity College’s Finite Mathematics class, a course designed to teach students about mathematic subjects that are most relevant to their lives.
Finite Mathematics professor Martha Whitty reached out to CFEF after she noticed that students were most interested in the financial literacy chapter. “The topics I cover are immediately useful in their lives, such as budgeting, saving, borrowing, interest…” Whitty says. “However, the students often have specific questions that I can’t answer. I realized it would be helpful to have a guest speaker who could answer the nitty-gritty financial questions better than I could.”
Besides answering questions Whitty frequently receives such as, “Where is the best place for me to open an account?”, or “What credit card should I start with?”, or “Why are credit unions better than banks?”, CFEF gave students tools, resources, and knowledge that they could use immediately. Whitty says she appreciated the sessions because, “I liked how the CFEF speakers spoke to the students as equals. They didn’t talk down to the students. Rather, they spoke to them as peers who just wanted to share their financial hints and advice with others.”
