Who's Minding Your Money?

The Beginning of a Movement

I remember growing up in the projects of Birmingham, Alabama.  I don’t remember us having a lot of money, and there were certainly times when things were tight financially in our house but we always managed to get by. Shortly after graduating from high school I enlisted into the United States Marine Corps and spent eight years serving my country.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this story at this point, I said all that to say, when I got out of the military I had with very little of the money that I had earned during those eight years. In fact when I look back on my life I don’t ever remember when or where I was taught about money.

I’ll bet when you look back at your financial life and all the mistakes that you have made with money you don’t remember being taught about it either.  I can vividly remember my darkest hour when it comes to mine and my wife’s personal finances. In February 2001, we were two months behind on our mortgage. The sad part of the story is that during the year 2000 we had earned close to $128K between the two of us. It was then that I came to the realization that I really didn’t know anything about money and how to handle it. This brings me to where I am now; in 2003 I created Alliance Financial Ministries, Inc. a non-profit financial literacy company. Since then I have been on an unending mission to change the lives of all who hear me speak about money.

Today, financial literacy or the lack of financial literacy has reached epidemic proportions among America’s youth. In today's world, many teens work for their own money and don't know how to handle their new-found freedom. Many young people fail in the management of their first consumer credit experience, establish bad financial management habits, and stumble through their lives learning by trial and error. According to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, nearly a third of all high school seniors use at least one credit card, nearly half use ATM cards and more than three-quarters have a savings or checking account. However, just 20% of high school seniors graduate with any formal instruction in personal finance. Many are unable to balance a checkbook and most simply have no insight into the basic survival principles involved with earning, spending, saving and investing.

So I ask you what we are going to do about this problem. I realize the many times parents and other adults fail to help young people with money because they themselves are having financial problems so the cycle continues. I have decided that enough is enough, if not me who, if not now when.  I have taken necessary steps to create an event to teach high school through college age students about money using a real life perspective. As far as I am concerned this is not just an event it is a financial movement to change the lives of America’s youth.

This is where you come in; I need your help to make this event happen. What I need are first your prayers that I make wise decisions. Secondly, if you are in the Houston and surrounding areas I need for you to volunteer to help during the event, and lastly and most importantly I need funding. Alliance Financial Ministries, Inc. is in the process of raising funding to start the movement. We want to show our youth that they can have a better life and that they can achieve all the things that they are destine to achieve and that we are here for them.

So my friend if you have a teenager, if you know a teenager or if you have ever said to yourself or out loud, “I wish I had learned more about money when I was younger” now is your opportunity to make an impact in the lives of America’s youth. You can do that by joining this movement, to learn more about this live change movement that is about to happen please take a moment to visit our website. Also like our MoneyLive Facebook page and pass this message along. More importantly I need for you to take the time to make a donation to the cause. You can give whatever your heart says to give. We are trying to change generations and that starts with a small donation on your part.

For more information on this life changing moment checkout our website   http://www.moneylive2012.com/  

 Thank you for your time and thank you in advance for your support