Fortune Avenue x Boston Student Advisory Council: Money Management 101

A couple weeks ago, Fortune Avenue was given the opportunity to conduct a workshop with the Boston Student Advisory Council – a distinct group of high school leaders from Boston Public Schools who advise the Boston School Committee. 

Fortune Avenue delivered a budgeting workshop to over 30 students, where they learned not just the basics of budgeting, but how to apply it to their life right now.

Firstly, to give students a foundation, Fortune Avenue taught students about the importance of budgeting, different budgeting categories, and how to “break” a paycheck in an effective way. After this, students analyzed their own paychecks and got individualized help from Fortune Avenue facilitators. It was highly personalized, with facilitators taking the time to engage one-on-one with the participants. 

“The students who came were very helpful and funny. They taught me a good way to break my checks in a good way.”

Participants also learned the difference between adult and teenage budgets, as well as the importance of taking advantage of their limited needs as a teenager. Fortune Avenue values deliverables, so participants were also given a budget tracker that could be used to track their key recurring expenses, needs vs wants, and money set aside for investing. 

Fortune Avenue also went further than just budgeting and taught students about various ways to grow money passively, such as through investing or using a savings account. Overall, the BSAC workshop was highly successful. There was constant discussion throughout the session, with students wanting to learn, engage, and grow. Fortune Avenue looks forward to working with similar organizations to expand and deliver more workshops!