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Money Habitudes 2® for Young Adults

Program Length: 3 Lessons
Age Group: 16-24
Authors: Syble Solomon and Jessica Pool

What Money Means, and Why it Matters

Money Habitudes 2® is a quick program introducing vulnerable youth to the non-technical, human side of money – a critical element of successful money management.  These three practical lessons about the psychology of money are an essential precursor to financial literacy education for at-risk youth. The lessons are ideal for grant funded and community settings.

Note: Training is not required but encouraged to facilitate Money Habitudes for Young Adults. There is an On-Demand option for the 3-hour facilitator training available starting at $49 here.

Overview

Money Habitudes 2® contains 3 active lessons that explore how hidden attitudes affect the ways people – especially those with few financial resources – actually behave around money. Topics include:

  • Why money management is important in our lives.
  • Different approaches to handling money –spontaneous, practical, carefree, security, generous, and more.
  • The symbolism of money– as a sign of power, status, love, safety, independence, loyalty and more.
  • The influence of family, media, culture, and life events.
  • The advantages and challenges of different approaches to money.
  • The interplay between money and relationships.

A key goal is helping young people identify their personal financial patterns – and why these matter. The award-winning Money Habitudes® card game, integrated into the lessons, makes the process fun and engaging.

Money Habitudes 2® is written specifically for at-risk or low resource youth in community programs, including pregnancy prevention, teen parenting, and workforce development. The scenarios are realistic, reflecting the students’ limited resources and lack of financial know-how.

Ideal for grant-funded programs, Money Habitudes 2® is practical, affordable, and easy to teach. Course materials include a teacher’s manual with 3 lessons, reusable card decks (one per student) and reproducible work sheets.

Syble Solomon, M.ED

Syble Solomon, M.ED is the creator of the acclaimed Money Habitudes® card games and an international speaker on the psychology of money. Her professional experience includes more than twenty five years as an educator, university instructor, and executive leadership coach. She was named Educator of the Year by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, and earned the Smart Marriages’ 2009 Impact Award for creating a tool that fosters healthy relationships. Introduced in 2003, Syble developed the original Money Habitudes® self-assessment cards as a simple, non-threatening way for adults to discover their attitudes about money and see how these affect their relationships and life goals. Since then, the cards have been adapted for specialized audiences including teens, young adults and couples. Endorsed by the Institute of Consumer Financial Education and numerous other independent groups, the cards are used by educators and counselors in a wide range of settings worldwide.

Jessica Poole, MS

An award-winning teacher and communication specialist, Jessica Pool, MS, joined The Dibble Institute® in 2004, and currently serves as Director of Programs. An expert in teen curricula, Jessica has authored or co-authored several Dibble programs including PREPARE-ENRICH-INSPIRE for Teens (with Amy Olson-Sigg), Money Habitudes® (with Syble Solomon), Why Buy the Cow?, about cohabitation and What’s Real about the myths and facts of marriage. Jessica also served as editor for two of Dibble’s best selling curricula: Relationship Smarts PLUS and Love Notes by Marline Pearson. Among her many other responsibilities, Jessica is a master trainer for the Love U2, Love Notes, and Connections programs, as well as leader of numerous other trainings and seminars on relationship education. Prior to joining Dibble, Jessica taught Family and Consumer Science in Alabama and earned several prestigious awards for her innovative work with pregnant and parenting teens. Jessica holds a BA from the University of Alabama, and Masters of Science in Family Studies from Texas Woman’s University. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and four children.

What Others Have to Say
“As every personal finance teacher knows, the topic of managing money can make some people’s eyes glaze over. They know it is important and necessary, but they would just as soon have a root canal than plan for or follow a budget. Even if you told them that it is possible to like the process of becoming good money managers, they aren’t likely to believe you. But they’re wrong.The surprise is that getting smart about money can be full of fun, self-discovery, and adventure. And that is just what Money Habitudes®: How to be Rich in Love and Money will help you accomplish with and for your students. Following the lessons in your teacher’s guide will soon inspire students to tap into their own money psychology: step-by-step with facts and enjoyable exercises, until—voila! They “get” their strengths and weaknesses and “see” their values, and that’s not all. They re-discover their financial role models, recall what they learned from them, and understand how they formed their “habitudes” in the first place. For many, it just isn’t possible to become emotionally savvy and competent money managers without laying this necessary groundwork.Adventure, of course, always requires curiosity and determination. So to enjoy the process of becoming financially capable, your students will first need to be curious (“What do I need to know and do?”) and determined enough (“Where do I start?”) to become smart about money. If they come into your course without these traits, soon enough they will acquire them. That’s the promise of Money Habitudes® and it delivers! Students learn that knowing how to manage, save, and invest their money is giving themselves a gift of self-efficacy. They experience that inner spark of excitement when they discover, “Yes, I can do this!” and “Yes, I want to do this!” And little else can be more satisfying for your students than that—except, well, managing their finances successfully in a romantic relationship.Anyone who ever worked on a project with a schoolmate, a co-worker, or the boy or girl-next-door, can recall that however boring or difficult the project, just working together on it made the job easier and fun to do. The key in joint money management is always communicating honestly and respectfully. Working together—while establishing valued goals and benchmarks—then practicing to get it right is how mutually satisfying money relationships happen. Again, Money Habitudes® delivers. Exercises prod students to think critically and to develop the relationship skills that can make jointly managed finances enjoyable and rewarding for years to come.This Guide does not promise students a high credit score or perfect relationship, but it will help them lower, or better yet abandon, money stressors that are rooted in childhood and lurk as future anxieties and relationship destroyers. As such, it goes beyond the numbers—a necessary place to build real financial security.”

Lois A. Vitt, Ph.D., Founding Director,Institute for Socio-Financial Studies, Charlottesville, VA