At America First Credit Union, our mission is to help our members achieve their financial goals, and financial literacy is an essential part of that and an undeniably important skill at virtually every stage of life. It allows those who have and apply it to more effectively manage their money, build wealth, and make informed decisions about how to prudently borrow, save, spend, and invest. It also helps them to increase their financial stability, reduce their stress and anxiety, fortify themselves against scammers and fraudsters, and better map out their futures.

America First has an amazing financial literacy outreach team that plans and leads events, and collaborates with schools and other service organizations in the community on how to best provide financial education and resources to people of all ages.

If you’re looking for fun ways to help kids learn more about personal finance at home, or if you want to help them open youth and student accounts and develop the skills and habits that come from managing—or co-managing—their own funds, you can do that at americafirst.com/fundamentals. There you’ll find an outstanding library of videos, activities, handouts, and other teaching aids that provide in-depth but easy-to-understand information on almost two dozen different subjects.

For older teens and young adults, our team has recently been leading a series of workshops on topics ranging from how to pay for higher education, to comparing credit cards and other payment options, to understanding the pros and cons of owning a home versus renting. At that age, where the seemingly small financial decisions one makes can have a very large impact down the road, being able to build upon a solid foundation is invaluable.

We also partner with businesses and human resources departments throughout the states we serve to provide financial literacy education to employees. Last year, one such organization polled its staff as to what their biggest stressors were, and the overwhelming response was personal finances. So, they invited us to come once a quarter to lead a series of workshops for their employees and asked us to do so during the workday so they could all more easily attend. After only a few sessions, they asked us if we’d be able to come every other month instead of once a quarter because their employees were enjoying the workshops so much.

Those are just a few of the ways we’re trying to help improve financial literacy and health in the areas we serve. We also host many events throughout the year that are open to the public. And our members can always take advantage of free financial counseling, which can be especially helpful in times of change or during challenging circumstances. Whether someone chooses us as their financial services provider or is just looking for access to reliable education and resources, our goal is still the same—to empower and strengthen individuals, families, businesses, and communities, and to support their long-term financial well-being.

Thank you all for being members of America First Credit Union and for trusting us to help you reach your financial goals. If you ever have any questions about any of our financial literacy events or initiatives, or about anything else we can do to help you as you work toward greater financial freedom, please give us a call, chat with us online, or stop by your neighborhood branch and let us know how we can help.