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>> ♪ >> This is "NJ Business Beat" with Raven Santana.

Raven: Thanks for joining me.

April is financial literacy month in New Jersey.

It is a topic crucial to financial success but often goes ignored in schools.

In New Jersey, students must take 2.5 credits a financial courses to graduate.

Many advocates say that is not enough.

According to research by Ramsey education, 88% of Americans say high schooler did not leave them fully prepared for financial growth.

Just 70% said they took a finance class in high school.

Two out of four adults say they often or sometimes feel stressed because of money issues and lack of financial education.

Financial illiteracy costs families $1500 a year according to the national financial educators Council.

This week, we are talking to financial education experts about the importance of financial literacy in early education and beyond.

We start with the founders of a New Jersey-based charitable organization that works with students K-12.

Tell us more about it and why you decided to start this.

>> FinLiteracy came with the opportunity we noticed growing up in New York understanding everyone does not get the educational piece of financial literacy.

We know that is important.

I was fortunate enough to major in accounting and go to school for finance and accounting.

Though skill sets are applicable to everyone for personal finance but you know everyone is not going to study those subjects.

Starting with kids, the foundation, the route, how can we develop them to be successful long-term and transition to adulthood with the correct financial knowledge?

We thought, how can we make it engaging as well?

It is an opportunity where we note students are sponges.

They learn early.

How can we set them up for success long-term?

Also, just the opportunity to better the conversation around finance and investing within the household, especially for children of color.

Growing up, you do not know what you are experiencing.

Your family is working multiple jobs.

You don't know the struggles of how you get birthday gifts and Christmas.

It is just the opportunity where we hope we install good practices within children that they will transition to their parents.

Increases the conversation.

It makes it a healthy balance within the household.

Raven: It goes back to also trying to create generational wealth.

What I like about you is you are a schoolteacher.

In Jersey City.

Tell me about how that helped with the program and getting kids involved and engaged.

>> The correlation is astonishing.

I have been doing it for over a decade.

I feel it naturally I have learned to scaffold instruction and make engaging activities and make sure children of all ages are able to walk away having fun but also walking away with the knowledge that we set as our objectives.

It is in my blood.

If you like it seeps out when we work with our groups.

It is everything I ever learned, a combination of all of that.

Raven: What does a typical session look like?

How does it work?

What are the ages of the children you are engaging with?

>> We do not like to go into a session and start talking.

We are big on icebreakers, some form of activity, typically something that lets us start a dialogue around the topic we are going to introduce.

We like to gather what they know about the topic before we pour information into them, so it becomes an open dialogue.

What typically happens is it lessens the pressure they may feel to know something or have the right answer.

We start off with an icebreaker and then we transition into video paired with an activity.

We like to end with an activity as well and come back and hopefully talk about what we did and what we learned and gathered from the session.

That is typically the way our sessions look.

It really works for us.

It is a successful format.

Raven: You only know what you know.

That can be intimidating to a child.

What is the goal of all of this?

It seems obvious.

>> The goal ultimately is to set these children up for success and transition into adulthood and create the generational wealth you discussed.

To my earlier point, how do we make talking about finance engaging, fun?

But also something healthy, a healthy balance of financial health pretty we talk about mental health.

But how do we instruct these people to have good financial health as well?

Ultimately, setting up generations for success in the future as well.

Typically, a lot of us are starting behind the eight-ball.

How we are able to meet our peers and start at the same time for future success.

Ultimately, we want them to have fun.

That is why we make it very engaging but fun, learning, and ultimately build generational wealth.

Raven: You said fun.

What is an example?

How would you engage my five-year-old daughter?

What is an example of how you would start an icebreaker?

>> The last I breaker -- icebreaker we did, we blew up a beach ball.

We had two beach balls.

We had a different set of questions on each one and we tossed it.

Wherever your right thumb lands, you read the question out loud and answer it.

That gets the ball rolling on the topic we are talking about.

Raven: Right now, it is New York-based.

Are you planning to expand?

What is the plan?

>> I grew up here in Newark?

We started with an area familiar to me.

We want to expand it.

We understand our communities beyond Newark where children of color are marginalized and have the opportunity and want to learn more.

Yes, the foundation was built in Newark but we want to take this further throughout the state of New Jersey, whether it is Jersey City, Patterson, all these other communities throughout as well too.

As we continue to grow, the hope is to take it throughout the United States.

We know this is not just an issue within the communities here in New Jersey.

But there are issues across the globe with financial literacy just based off statistics and data we have seen over time, especially within children.

Raven: Thank you.

I appreciate it.

I hope to see more expansion with the program.

Hopefully, one day at my own daughters' school.

>> Thank you for having us.

Raven: Economic inequality persists in New Jersey.

According to a report by the New Jersey Institute for social justice, the media network was more than $322,000 compared to Latino households and Black households at just under $18,000.

Financial literacy is one of the major factors in building generational wealth.

Operation Hope is hoping to close those gaps through financial education.

I spoke to the founder, chairman, and CEO about their mission.

Tell us about how it got started in 1992.

>> I found out every problem we have is in certain credit scored neighborhoods.

When I realized those facts, I realized what my mission was for the rest of my life.

It is to turn the lights on in America for those at the bottom half of the economic.

Meant -- economic pyramid, including those struggling like families.

If you are living in a five credit score neighborhood, you see the same things.

Title lender, liquor store, pawn shop, all the same stuff, because they are targeting financial literacy and poverty.

A lot of things happened when I founded Operation Hope, this vision of mind that is now the largest organization of its kind in the country.

Raven: Operation Hope has many initiatives aimed at advancing financial well-being in the U.S.. Let's talk about those programs.

>> Yes.

Hope inside is the core.

And I have advised three U.S. presidents for both parties.

We created policies around financial literacy and we are the only nonprofit allowed to operate inside a bank branch in U.S. history.

When you walk into a Wells Fargo branch or Bank of America branch, it is easier for me to tell you which bank we are not in than tell you which banks we are in.

The banks have to tell you know often because your credit score is too low, your bet is -- debt is too high.

We know what the credit criteria is, so we sit inside the brain -- bank branch.

We have different rules.

We can get your credit score up 54 points in six months.

We can get your debt down to $3800.

We can get your savings up $2200 in six months.

For somebody making $48,000 a year.

That changes your life.

If you are watching this program and you make $38,000 and you are a teacher and you have three kids, the question is, why don't you have $6,500 in your account from the federal government?

It is the earned income tax credit.

If people are saying, what is that?

Congratulations, this broadcast just gave you a check because you qualified, if you work in America, you qualify, and it is retroactive three years.

That is almost $20,000.

In that example just in this broadcast, we can prove we can take the average working family and give them enough money for the down payment for a house or condo or resolve the debt crisis, increase savings, increase their credit score, lower their debt so the bank says yes.

That is program number one.

That is the thing everybody loves and has transformed the country.

We are also Hope Inside the workplace.

We coach Delta airline employees as an example.

Half of all Delta employees have gone through our program.

UPS, Harley Davidson, the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

We are increasingly going into Fortune 500 companies to give people what I call the civil rights issue of this generation which is financial literacy.

We are trying to do with financial literacy what was done with health care 50 years ago.

Hope Inside the banks and community groups and organizations.

Hope Inside the workplace.

Hope Inside disaster.

After 9/11, we created that.

We also created public policy around that merging disaster policy.

We are in Maui right now after the fires.

Hope Inside the kids.

That is cool in 4000 schools.

When we cool about that is in Atlanta, we give every kid in kindergarten a savings account.

Somebody watching Mago, ok, he said that.

What does a kid in kindergarten need with a savings account?

Studies have proven if a kid has a savings account in kindergarten, they are percent more likely to go to college.

If you have $25 and that account, your 75% more likely to graduate.

Every kid in kindergarten in Atlanta has a hope savings account.

Now banker that he says financial literacy can serve as a role model.

We believe this is the civil rights issue of this generation for all Americans.

We think it will add to GDP and transform the nation.

Raven: You are definitely spreading financial hope in different aspects for different ages throughout the U.S..

I guess now the goal is to eradicate poverty in our lifetime.

Is that the biggest goal here?

>> It is the biggest goal.

It is also to prove you can do well and good at the same time preview can have good capitalism.

It is sad to say people hate rich people.

I say you do not, you hate rich people until you become rich.

What you hate is a game system.

We want people to admire success and aspirations as long as it is honestly pursued and everybody gets a shot at the latter.

It started with eradicating poverty.

Now it is about rebuilding the ladder for the American middle class.

Everybody can go from the bottom to the top.

The colors not red, white, brown, but green.

We can all participate in that.

Raven: You are doing that rebuilding the ladder.

Thank you for joining me on "NJ Business Beat."

>> Thank you.

Raven: The American financial services Association is one of the groups helping educate people of all ages in our state.

They offer online courses to help improve financial literacy and those are being used by thousands of New Jersey students, workers, and even government agencies.

I spoke to the Executive Director of the education foundation about what students and adults can learn from these programs.

You are educating people of all ages on personal finance.

Tell us about the education foundation's mission.

>> The foundation is focused on educating consumers of all ages on financial concepts.

Everything from budgeting to retirement.

The part of the mission I like the best highlights to consumers that through responsible money management, it is going to make a difference.

I think that gives the consumer incentive and they can see the what is in it for me piece, if you will.

Raven: Let's talk about the free online financial literacy program.

How is it being used in New Jersey schools?

>> Yes.

I am happy to report New Jersey has over 7600 students, those were the statistics for 2023.

Of that, you can break it down at the high school level.

There are about 56 schools using it.

That equates to 7000 students in the state.

At the middle school level, we have eight middle schools with close to 400 students.

There are a couple of colleges with 35 students.

The remainder, we have nonprofit organizations, businesses that choose to offer it for employees and customers, and in some cases, government agencies.

That is our miscellaneous category.

New Jersey has historically been a high user.

If you look at the overall national statistics, we are about 81% for high schools.

Followed by around 8% middle school and 4% at the college level, and then the other category.

1.4 million since inception in 2002.

We are on target to reach 1.5 million by the end of this year.

Raven: Here is the thing.

It is expensive to live in New Jersey.

Right?

Many times, kids have no idea what is in store.

Give us some examples of how you are teaching students, what does that look like, what is that program look like in schools?

>> Most importantly, it is free.

You know, many states, including New Jersey, have chosen to have a state requirement.

I think in New Jersey, it is 2.5 hours.

We are able to offer it to the school for free.

That is due to the generosity of the American financial services Association members.

It is a well vetted curriculum having been started years ago.

Teachers are provided with ready to go resources within the curriculum so they can customize the modules.

A teacher at the middle school level, we would encourage them to select the 12 designated for that age level.

A teacher could choose to have all 37 modules.

They can supplement with many resources we have on our site with a variety of different brochures.

We partnered with the federal trade commission and the National automobile dealers Association for one.

That is popular with high school students because it is a teachable moment.

Many times, that is when they choose to get a car.

The good thing is teachers do not have to be experts.

It is online and ready to go.

It is less pressure for them.

It is a hard content area to teach because of the diversity of the curriculum.

To your point about the standard of living, yes, obviously New Jersey, it is costly to live there.

We have a tool within the curriculum called "reality check" where students complete a survey helping them think about the career they want to be in, what the salary will be, and considering their expenses that they will encounter.

Are they going to have a roommate?

Are they going to build or buy utilities?

What are all of those costs?

Raven: what I also love about the program is it is not limited to English speakers.

It is also offered in Spanish.

Why is it important to also offer access to Spanish-speaking students?

>> Well, you know, many times in schools, that is the predominant language.

It is a smaller percentage of our users.

But our board back in 2015 established that as a priority.

We have maintained that.

Students that have Spanish as a first language, it is available.

Teachers can enable it.

It is very user-friendly.

It helps that audience.

With us also addressing adults through different business relationships We have, that is important, I think even more important for adults.

There are more adult Spanish learners than students.

It is important to offer it and we are thankful that we can.

Raven: When is it available for parents to teach financial literacy at home?

I am dying to teach my daughters this as well.

>> Yes is the short answer.

We welcome parents viewing to sign up.

Code-2 money -- go to moneyskill.org.

We protect the integrity of the curriculum.

They can list the show today and how they learned about it.

The more parents involved, the better.

The better we start with young people, it is so important.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance.

We are able to show through our research it does make a difference.

We conducted a study in 2023 with Dr. out of Montana State University.

She was able to illustrate the improvement looking at the test differences.

There is on average a 65% difference.

We know the knowledge levels are positive.

Also from a behavior standpoint, students exposed at school are more likely to submit for a FAFSA application, demonstrating they are aware of financing options and opportunities within that.

Raven: I like what you said.

Financial literacy should be a family affair.

Thank you so much for joining me on "NJ Business Beat."

>> Thank you.

We appreciate the opportunity.

Raven: Before we leave you, here is a look at the top business headlines of the week.

New Jersey gets its day in court to argue against New York City's controversial congestion pricing plan.

Lawyers for both sides were in court in Newark this week.

Attorneys argued federal authorities green lit the project before environmental review making the process flawed.

They argue New Jersey will get no financial gain from the project while bearing the brunt of the negative impacts.

But lawyers representing N.T.

argued New Jersey will benefit.

>> New Jerseyans will be paying the price tag and experiencing a lot of the adverse environmental effects of this plan.

There's something fundamentally unfair about all of that, especially when the impacts in New Jersey will be so severe and there is not a single dollar yet committed in this plan.

Any respect for mitigation in New Jersey.

>> The papers make clear money is going to be sent to mitigation to those who need it.

Raven: Lawmakers introduced a package of bills to address problem gambling while also raising taxes on casinos.

According to the Council, helpline calls have spiked 200 Sunday 7% -- since online gaming was introduced -- 277% since online gaming was introduced.

The self-exclusion program prohibits them from betting and casinos.

A second bill would raise the tax rate on casinos to 40% which is still below neighboring states paid the casino Association of New Jersey says it strongly opposes the tax increase.

A new report finds while New Jersey's unemployment system has improved since the massive failures during the pandemic, there still hundreds of thousands of people who are eligible but left out of benefits.

The report was issued by the Center for popular democracy.

It found even though New Jersey does deliver benefits to at least half of those eligible, more than 700,000 people are left out of benefits.

The groups often left out include students, undocumented workers, freelancers, and caregivers.

The report says the state needs to take the initiative on closing gaps because of an action at the federal level.

The U.S. is seeing a boom in renewable energy even as offshore wind has taken off in New Jersey and other states according to analysis from the nonprofit.

It shows in the last decade, electricity generated from wind has more than doubled and solar power has increased more than eightfold since 2014.

In New Jersey, energy generated by solar jumped by more than 100 62% over the last decade.

Last year, New Jersey generated enough electricity from solar to power nearly 500,000 homes.

That does it for us this week.

Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get alerted when we post new episodes and clips.

I am Raven Santana.

Next week, we look at New Jersey as the Hollywood of the East Coast with recent expansions and incentives.

Thank you for watching.

We will see you next weekend.

>> Funding for "NJ Business Beat" provided by NJMEP, focused on productivity, performance, and strategic development.

More on njmep.org.

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