Center for Smart Financial Choices

Center for Smart Financial Choices has transformed our students lives as it pertains to money. Students have gained skills preparing them for the real world of budgeting and spending money. They realize that making money doesn't mean recklessly spending. Wise counsel is critical as decisions around money is made. The wise conusel of CFSFC respresentatives helped our students understand how money works and why it is essential to know when, why, and how to spend the money you make. Thank you CFSFC for your continued work of preparing our students for a success life.

Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County has worked with the Center for Smart Financial Choices. Their professionalism, compassion and knowledge are unmatched. Financial literacy for students is an important tool to improve the financial capability of our youth and communities.

Ms. Moser provided a great experience with Mount Tabor. We had fun learning about real world finances and the different credit scores.Fun activities relating to future life is very helpful.

This experience have helped me realize that the real world is hard and that you have to learn how to save up money . I appreciate Mrs. Moser helping us. I would recommend this work shop to other students my age.

Maddie
Mount Tabor High School

Very fun time and learn a lot of ways to handle money

Great Class & very informative! I really enjoyed all the sessions!!

The event titled "Don't Let Success Slip Away - Secure the bag" was powerful event for women. I especially liked how the guest speaker, Timoji Jackson, explained that women undermine themselves when negotiating salary or fees for services. We have been taught to shortchange our worth while men will be more adamant about not negotiating what they charge for their time. The talk was followed up by a financial activity on knowing money habitudes. Participants walked away with an understanding of how they spend money and the strengths and challenges behind these money personality types.

Working with these ladies was an incredible experience. They have so much knowledge and information to share!!

Offered their new day dawning course to my company. It has helped me be more mindful of my spending , being saving for my future. It’s also a very inspiring class in general, and helps you feel more confident.

The "Adult For A Day" program was a great way to learn and actually experience handling money as I will in the future. It helped me understand how to save and make the best choices depending on income and the lifestyle I would like in my future.

I learned a lot of stuff for the future as an adult like saving money

I learned about a credit score and how important it is for me to keep the score high. I learned about the importance of saving money after every paycheck

I learned that you need to pay your bills on time in order to get a good credit score, you should save up you're money, and the financial sacrifices people make everyday.

I got to experience "Adult for a Day" at West Forsyth and I enjoyed it a lot. I learned that you don't have to spend a ton of money to get the necessities and your credit score plays a big role in the things you can buy.

The "Adult for a Day" program really helped my Accounting I students understand what a real world budget consist of. They got to float around to different stations using play money and having to make financial choices based off of their income and expenses. This program was very beneficial and I highly recommend it.

I'm a student who went through the "Adult for a Day" and I enjoyed it. It really put what we learned in class into real world scenarios that could actually happen. My partner and I were able to see how a credit score could effect you positively and negatively and how your income could multiply those effects. Overall it was highly educational, fun, and enlightening.

I learned about the credit scores an how your credit scores can get you some good things thats only if you have good credit! basically your credit is what really help you in the long run

I learned about banking simulations when I attended the 2017 Summer CTE Conference in Greensboro, N.C. I went to our Career Development Coordinator, and she was familiar with Smart Financial Choices. I began emailing Betty Ann Faulkner. She is vibrant and enthusiastic. Betty Ann, along with accounting and business majors and instructors from Winston-Salem State University along with area business owners volunteered at our school. Both of my Personal Finance classes went through the stations. I have never seen students so engaged. They are still talking about this experience and how much they learned. Career Management students participated as well. Students were thrilled with the gift bags too. I am asking Betty Ann to come back in the Spring. Every student and even adults should see this program in action. What does it look and feel like, it looks and feels like reinforcement in student's lives for for making wise financial choices and help with the final exam. I highly recommend this to anyone.

i learned that you should spend your money on the important things first(needs not wants) and then after. i also learned that depending on how high or low your credit score is, that will determine what you can get

I am a student from John F. Kennedy High School in Winston Salem North Carolina. "The Adult For A Day" activity was really fun. I had the opportunity to experience the types of spenders that someone could be.

I am a student from North Carolina and the "Adult for a day" exercise helped students in my school learn that being and adult for a day is harder than believed and that having a excellent credit score will help you a lot and that that's basically what you need in life to be able to purchase a house , car, etc

The Center for Smart Financial Choices allowed all students in our school to participate in "Adult for a Day". The students and staff had an excellent experience and learned many valuable life lessons through the activity.

The YMCA is a great program that I glad to be apart of. This is my 2nd year working with the Summer Leaning Academy which has been a joy. My interaction with the kids was great and beneficial. I learned some things from them and vice verse. I enjoy the many different activities that challenges not only the kids mind but the TA's as well through our STEM activities. The assemblies are very engaging and fun every afternoon. My experience this summer was great and looking forward to next summer.

I have loved everything about working with this program, the students, my co-lead and my directors. We touched so many little lives and helped so many who came to us struggling. I have recommended this program to so many people for their children in the future. Our students were always excited to see us and always had smiles on their faces, even though sometimes their mouths were full of marshmallows. This was a perfect balance of academics and camp/outdoor fun activities and the kids had a blast and so did we!

My mom and I met with Mrs. Falkner from CFSFC to talk about my financial future. I can't begin to describe how helpful and reassuring the meeting was! I learned more about Credit Unions and Banks, and also the best options for me going forward to college. CFSFC has also come to my High School and conducted interactive and fun financial activities, like being an adult for a day. These activities truly benefited me and I'm so thankful for this organization!

I volunteered for the Adult for a Day program through the Center for Smart Financial Choices at Walkertown High School recently, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I feel I got back much more from the experience than I gave. I’ve been in the financial service industry for 17 years, and I’ve rarely had the opportunity to provide education on topics such as budgeting, credit, and homeowners/renters insurance. It was rewarding to witness high school students grasp financial topics, while applying them to real world situations. I will continue to volunteer for additional opportunities with the Center for Smart Financial Choices as they arise.

Betty Ann and her entire staff are awesome! They care about our children and they are dedicating the time, patience, and their expertise into seeing that each child understands and are thinking about financial impacts to their lives. The interactive, real-life activities are wonderful. I attended the recent Investing in our Youth event and took my 8-yr-old great-niece along with me. After only a couple stations she had the hang of things and was beginning to talk through what she needed, wanted, and had money to buy. It was so rewarding to see her interact with the station volunteers who made the activity fun and challenging. She even had money at the end of the event, plus won a $200. Thanks, CfSFC for all you do!!!

Im a financial counselor student and was very fortunate and honored to have had the opportunity to volunteer with CFSFC. This was such a fun and educational money program. I enjoyed watching the teens engage in the Money Habituteds program. The organization is doing a great service of educating school age kids and teens on money. I look forward to volunteering with them in the near future.

I’ve been on both sides of the Center for Smart Financial Choices nonprofit organization, both as a program participant and as a program volunteer. Both instances were great learning lessons and great opportunities to learn more about financial planning and give back to my community. The CFSFC team is wonderful. They do a really good job teaching the material and engaging the students. They truly care that students understand what good and responsible financial planning is so that they can be prepared for the future. I’ve seen the program evolve and change since I first got involved 2 years ago, and I’m amazed at the results the CFSFC team has been able to accomplish since then! I’m excited to see where CFSFC will go in the future!

As a college student, the lessons I’ve learned have been very beneficial in my managing of my finances. I’m a strong believer in the importance of financial literacy. I first started budgeting when I was in high school, before I even had a job, and I’ve seen how being prepared early on in life has helped me save for things I want and be financially independent, not having to rely on my parents for money. Progressing through college, the Center has helped add onto my knowledge about credit, student loans & scholarships, and more. Speaking from a student perspective, the Center has taught me a lot, and that is exactly why I give back and volunteer when I am in town. Likewise, I would highly recommend others to get involved through volunteering or donations! You will not regret investing your time and/or money with CFSFC!

I think prezintashon was gud even tho i broke. Fun time as fun sa game stuff not cheap. teahcer giv fake muney and no likie dat. no tasty gud eider. tank u 4 da laern stuf

I am a student from the North Carolina Leadership Academy and this nonprofit organization came and shared with with my class about budgeting and what kind of money spenders we were. We practiced fun activities and I learned that I was a planner. This meant I planned for how I was going to spend my money and that I was prepared. I really enjoyed having them and learned a lot!!

We did the "Adult For A Day" activity. This experience was very helpful in opening my eyes to what spending money in the real world is really like. I learned a lot about credit cards and how to use them. Thanks!!

I am a student and this organization came to our school. It was Way better than listening to our teacher lecture. We actually got involved with hands on stuff instead of just listening to someone talk.

DUDE THIS PLACE IS AMAZING, it helps teach about credit and what type of spender you are, it also shows you what it's like to be an adult for a day, which teaches you about insurance, credit, and more.

They came to my school and let us be " grown ups" for a day and it was really fun and interesting.

Great people to help us play our credit game! They knew what they were doing and were able to help us out with everything we were confused about!

Great environment and networking opportunity! Every time I volunteer with the Center for Smart Financial Choices I always have a great time and learn something new.

The Center for Smart Financial Choices and Leslie were awesome. They really helped my students get a better perspective of college and credit card usage. I will definitely seek their assistance again.

I was a volunteer with Betty Ann for Adult for the Day classes with ICCS in New York State. I felt this is a wonderful program for these young students. I even learned some things. The students seemed to really think about what actually happens in the real world with how to handle money. This is absolutely a great class. Very informative and needed!!!

I did find one thing that should be corrected -- the money needs to be all the same size.

I was lucky enough to be invited to volunteer for one of Betty Ann's Adult for the day classes.
She is so organized and the class just flew by. I could tell that the students were really paying attention by the questions that they asked. I think they enjoyed the class as much as we did. I would love to be invited to help her again.

My name is delmario.....an my experience I took from the class was how to better manage my money an how to also keep a emergency cash stash for a rainy day......Shout Out to Mrs Betty Ann an Team

The people that work for the Center for Smart Financial Choices are wonderful! My students enjoyed them coming out to the school and playing a game with them. The students learned a lot about money and how they can change their money habits in the future.

I enlisted the assistance of the Center for Smart Financial Choices, led by Ms. Betty Ann Falkner this fall as I was developing a new general education course called an Introduction to Financial Literacy. She and her staff and team of volunteers have been great to work with. They have led two very interactive, hands-on sessions with my students playing "Money Habitudes" and "The Good Credit Game". Student surveys have indicated that they enjoyed the experience while learning valuable financial information which will help them to navigate their personal finances. I have learned considerably in the process of working with them myself and intend to continue the partnership for future semesters. THANK YOU CFSFC!!
Dr. Carol Cain, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Winston-Salem State University

Leslie was such a great help and teacher! I learned so much more about credit and this information should be shared with everyone !

Leslie was an amazing instructor I learned a lot from her and she has a bubbly personality

Helped me learn how to manage credit and gave great advice on spending!

The group I worked with was great. My instructor Leslie was amazing I really did learn something!

They did an amazing job teaching us about finances!

Eye opening education that was delightful and encouraging. Firm foundation for a better budget and spending plan that teaches how to control your money instead of it controlling you. Ms. Falkner is a delight and I am so Thankful for this class. I strongly recommend it to everyone.

This was a good solid class of financial basics and beyond. I learned from the holistic approach; we analyzed our spending styles and looked at case studies, all the while by being engrossed by the fun approach. I now have an ongoing savings plan because of this class. The facilitator was great.

This was an amazing opportunity for our students at Atkins High school. My students were really engaged and interested in the activity and were talking about it the next day as well. It really did not matter the level of the student, it engaged everyone. I highly recommend adult for a day and the center for smart financial choices.

This is a letter of thank you from the Business Management and Spanish classes at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy. Your workshop presentation and interaction with the students about 'Adult for A Day' was both informative and exciting!

I am in the process of retiring, however, I hope that your Center will continue a close relationship with our school on next year. Some contact people are Mrs. Scott, our high school counselor, Mr. Barbour and Mrs. Watts, the Middle School CTE teacher.

Again, thank you for all you do for the students at WSPA

Sincerely,

Mrs. Phyllis Penn

They did a great job sharing information and gave personal touches to everything which made it more realistic. I learned a few knew things which was surprising for me because I already knew quite a bit about the topic! The negative I have about the whole thing is that they didn't seem to offer a ton of solutions that most people don't already know about. However I am very grateful that they educate students on the many aspects of college.

Visited my school and educated me on how I could prepare myself for the expensive proposition that is higher education. Really left feeling as though I learned quite a bit from the seminar. Very well done, exceeded every one of my expectations, completely fulfilled what they set out to do.

This non profit visited my school in order to share information about smart college choices in order to avoid crippling student debt

This is a great experience for anyone of all ages. It teaches great life and money management choice. It shows me that you have to spend a little more to get a better future, in a way. The people who came to speak with us were very kind and helped my understand all the aspects of how a "real" financially stable adult should be living and going about their needs and wants with their money

I learned how to save and spend my money wisely. I learned how to invest my money and I should open up a bank account because when get older i have more money in the bank that's if i save it until then.

it was fun i like how y'all helped us the learn the way of money and was teaching us the way to save money for the future and how to start saving now y'all help me make better decisions with my money

i enjoyed the staff that came to my school & helped us figure out to manage & live an adult life. Being an adult is not easy at all, it comes with alot of work. but yes so far i loved it.

my experience with this nonprofit was good because i got to learn about how to start a savings account and how much money you have to spend when you have poor or very good credit score and how to write a check i learned a lot about saving money.

I enjoyed the staff that came to my school to talk to us about how we should manage our money and how we should mange our money when we get in older. I loved how they told us about everything like insurance, housing, transportation, and more things. I enjoyed learning new things. I think they should come back and teach middle school and some more of the high school classes so everybody can know how to manage money.

My experience with was pretty good. I'm pretty sure most people should know how to save money and make wise decision by now. I think they should have visited younger kids. Overall I had a good experience.

This non profit organization is very beneficial for anyone in high school and up. The seminar that was held at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy taught us how to manage money better. While it was a very fun activity, it was also a learning experience. I would love to cooperate more with this organization!

This nonprofit organization was very informing. It was a great experience for me, and it will help me make wise decisions with my money when i get older.

it was a great experience i belive ever kid should try this out it is a great life lession

the workshop taught you how to spend money and how to spend it on the right things the things you need in life like college funds and better car deals and house deals but also teach how to save

My students enjoyed the Adult for a Day presentation. The activities were interesting to the students and all enjoyed the the workshop. The presenters and volunteers were very helpful. I will definitely sign my classes up again.

My experience with the nonprofit charity was really fun and worth learning from. They explain everything very well and made it a great learning experience

My experience with this non-profit organization has been very challenging these past few years. Even though it has been difficult working with this company, I believe it has benefited me financially my family is more stable and that is all that matters.

My experience with this nonprofit organization was very exciting and eye-opening. they really taught us what it was like to be an adult and the responsible decisions you would have to make. i think this would be a reality check for anyone who doesn't really grasped the idea of adulthood.

The program was very good and informational about good financial choice's. I learned alot with them. I didn't know that things had cost so much. They where very good at doing one on one help.

The center for smart financial choices people were very informative and friendly.

The experience was really great the people were nice and extremely informative about how to manage money and they did it with a small and fun activity I would like the people to come visit our school again next year. Highly Recommended for schools that want to teach how to handle finances to students

Leslie from the Center for Smart Financial Choices came (along with 2 others) and gave a workshop for our high school juniors called "Counting the Costs," a workshop that had to do with helping students to think about how to pay for college. She was well prepared, had good information, and presented stories and data in a way that made sense to the students. Students overall found it very helpful. It was great for getting them thinking that they have options and they can be smart about how they navigate those options. I think it helped that she was personal in her approach and included her own story along with the facts.
---Teacher, Early College of Forsyth, Winston-Salem, NC

I've had this group come to my classes for years now, and they continue to do a fantastic job with my students! The Adult for a Day workshop is so necessary for teens to understand how expensive it is to be an adult, and how to budget their money wisely. Betty Ann is really passionate about her work with the Center, and you can tell! Great organization that truly cares for kids.

Excellent program for a hands on approach to previous units learned in Principles of Business courses. Thank you for an amazing job!

Betty Ann Falkner and her staff visited Reagan High School located in Pfafftown, NC on Dec 8th and 10th 2015. The visit was well received by both the staff members and students who participated. The Center for Smart Financial Choices presented a wonderful interactive program called "Adult for a Day".

The program was educational, informative, relevant, and most of all fun. The students were engaged from start to finish and communicated their excitement openly through active participation. As high school educators, we are continually searching for meaningful and relevant ways to engage student learning. "Adult for a Day" sets the benchmark for this type of interactive learning experience.

The program assigns students with a career, budget, and several spending choices based on their earning potential. The students travel to different stations in order to make smart spending choices within their budgets. The students were very excited to spend virtual money and to think about the best ways to make relevant purchasing decisions. When the program concluded, the students were faced with the reality that many adults face each day. Specifically, spending within a budget. I highly recommend this program for your school or organization. Please feel free to contact me with any additional inquiries.

Kindest Regards,
Thomas Norwood
Business and Marketing Education
CTE Department Chair - FBLA Sponsor - MTAC
Ronald Wilson Reagan High School
3750 Transou Road
Pfafftown, NC 27040
Phone: 336-703-6776
Fax: 336-922-1752

Norwood Website: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Domain/7169
WIKI: https://sites.google.com/site/thomasnorwood76/
RHS Website: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Domain/1153

This workshop was fun. We learned about saving money. We played games & solved about money & things like that. I learned a lot about saving money & the games that we played

This was a fun workshop. We played games, while learning much about how to manage and save money. The games we played were fun, and I feel like it would be a good learning experience for kids of all ages.

I would say that the non-profit financial choice was a great experience. Because it helps us and teaches us about money and how to use it.

well they showed us how important going to college was and by finishing you can get a job and live your live the way you want. they also noted that your job determines your rest of your life by how many years you went to college.They also had you pretend like you was out of college and getting on with your life and buy everything you would need and at the end we had to total up how much money we had left to spend on something for yourself. but i learned that you always pay your bills first then you could go out to eat and buying game systems. but the most important thing that i have learned it to finish school when you have the chance and do the very best that you can.

The group of people who came to visit my school had very good attitudes and taught us a lot about saving and making good choices.This was a great learning lesson for me. The organization is great.

I had a great experience I learned how to save money and how important life is when get out of school I really would like to thank you for all that you help me do last Friday.

it was fine it helped me learn a lot about financing

The organization was great...they had very good attitudes and i would like to see them again

I obtained great knowledge about what can affect the purchasing of items because of your credit score.

It was a very informative activity that taught me how to make smart choices when it comes to spending money

The experience was fun and taught me a lot about saving and making good choices.

I find it education for teens to learn the real world is harder to deal with than we thought. I enjoy their company they are nice and funny people. I enjoy learning that everything we would like could makes us bad spenders

this was a great learning experience that combined knowledge and fun.

The group of of people who came to visit my school taught me a lot about saving and making good choices.

This was a great learning lesson for me and it taught me alot

i had a great time with SMART Financial Choices. i learned new things. I experienced real life purchasing and selling. With SMART Financial choices i got to share with my classmates and teachers and the people of SMART Financial my experiences and my thoughts of how my adult life will go. Thank you I really enjoyed my workshop with SMART Financial Choices.

This Organization was a great . the organization taught us a lot about being Financial Smart and determining what is more beneficial to living a financially stable household.While also doing this we had a lot of fun playing a adult for a day by going to different stations. this was a amazing learning experience with interactive fun aspects as well.

The group who came and visited my school ( Winston Salem prep) was very helpful to me, they gave me great advice on how and guidance on how to manage my money, career choices and help me realize the consequences of having bad credit etc. The knowledge that they gave me is something i will never forget,

My experience was fun and gave me a lot of new info for when I get older. it taught me how to save and make the right choices in life, that could potentially make it better or worse depending on my decision. It was very interesting and actually made me think. i would like to have this type of class at my school it could be very beneficial to us when were older and have our own jobs and things like that. This experience also made me want to plan ahead and save so I could take trips and have money to spend on myself and have fun.

My experience was amazing with this non-profit group. They gave me alot of important information that i didn't know before.

I really enjoyed the adult for a day i learned lots of things . now i know that i have to make good choices to save money . I had fun thank you

I thought this experience was very helpful and gave me a view of what its like to do finances in the real world. I do suggest having a translator including teenagers when you explain how the activity works, the translations on the page are useful as well. Great experience.

i saw and learn that if you don't have a good job and good credit that life is hard and you cant buy everything that you want .but i leaned a lot thanks for coming .

The experience with nonprofit was a good life lesson it shows u the higher priced things isn't always worth the show it showed me the smart way to manage money

I'm glad they came to our school and showed us how the real world is. Personally, it showed me how to save money and to think about the outcomes of something if I did it. It showed me how taxes take some of your money and how having good credit is something you want to have. I really liked it.

I appreciate that they came i believe it was a good time i really enjoy it made me see what my mother is saying when she says money does'nt grow on trees but i thought it was real cool and i think i did a good with i think i saved enough money to spend and i think having good credit helped alot

Thank you for coming to our school. It was fun learning how to save money for when we get older and have to do things. I like how we had real money and pay checks and had to spend out money.

Thank you for coming to Paisley Magnet school and teaching us 8th graders the real world. I enjoyed the activities that we did and hope to do them again

I think it was very realistic and engaging and i'm glad we were able to partake in the exercise. Thank You. And the snacks.

This nonprofit taught me as a middle school student how to use my money wisely when I get older. I learned about credit, and how you needed to have good credit to buy cars, houses, and even insurance. This helped me understand what my parents go through daily, and why they sometimes can't afford to buy me something brand new. This was really helpful, because it taught me what comes out of bills, and how to use my money.

I like how realistic this actually was. We had to keep track of money and make our life decisions and it really showed me how hard life can be. I'm happy that they came and showed us how to do this and I really liked it.

I enjoyed the activity and thought you did a good job of teaching students important life lessons while making sure they were having fun. I would recommend this program to other schools.

I liked the things that yaw did because yaw was talking about the business plans and other great things that we have and thank you.

Thanks for coming to Paisley IB Magnet School. It showed me and my friends a lot about the real world. And once again THANKS!!!!!!

Thank you for coming to our school and showing us what it is like being an Adult

As a middle school encore teacher, we try to find many outside ideas to get the students interested in business or careers later in life. The center for smart financial choices was a great group to have visit our school. They visited Paisley IB Magnet School and the students, even the ones I wasn't sure would want to be there, were very involved and had a good time learning about the basic fundamentals of being an adult. I will bring them back every year.

"Adult for a Day" is a marvelous exercise for teaching young people the value of money, learning how to manage it, and the importance of establishing and maintaining a good credit rating. The members of our church youth group -- middle and high school students -- dove right into the activity and handled their business. Most did a great job of managing their expenses, a couple had sad faces at the end, but all learned so much in such a short time. It's a lesson that's sure to have a long-lasting impact. The two representatives of the Center for Smart Financial Choices did an outstanding job of getting and keeping the youth engaged for about 90 minutes!

The Center For Smart Financial Choices came to our school about a week ago. They taught us about net profit and how to calculate it. But most of all, how to make smart financial choices. I think they did a really good job.

When the Center for Smart Financial Choices came to our school, at first I was a little skeptical. I wasn't sure what to expect. When we started I was still a little confused, but I was having fun. As we got a little more in depth, I understood and started having a really awesome time. the Center has a really great way of engaging (rowdy) students to learn about financial choices. I learned so much about budgeting, recording data, and properly spending money. The simulation was super fun and overall I had a really great time!

The center for smart and financial choices is a wonderful way to find out how to learn to use money properly. They encourage you to save your "money". They teach you about income and profit as well as depositing. They also give prizes such as flashlights and purses. they ask you questions such as, How did you learn this, what is something that you learned? They also do raffles with your name tags. The center for smart financial choices is a great way to learn about how to handle money.

The Center of Smart Financial services is an amazing way and place to learn! They taught about economics while we got to be adult for a day! The taught about how hard it is to be an adult, save money, and have enough to buy things you want! Sometimes you want everything you see, or maybe very expensive things, but I learned how hard it is. I know that I won't always get what I want, I learned to understand that. They taught us about insurance, taxes, utilities, house, vehicles, vacations, etc. They also encouraged us to save money by this. They gave us flashlights and coin purses with their logo on it. The gave us a balance sheet to record how much money we have left ,how much we spent, and what we spent it on. That was an amazing way to learn ,and fun too. More than that, I will never forget about my chance to be... "Adult For A Day"!

The Center for Smart Financial Choices is a wonderful place to learn. I like this place very much. They came to our school and gave me and my friends many amazing advise. We talked all about financial choices and what to buy and not buy. I believe that if someone needs help with financial choices they should come here, no doubt about it! Thank You so much!!!!!!!!! : )

The Center for Smart Financial Choices came to our school and did a simulation where we got to buy things with fake money. It was fun and I learned a lot about making wise financial choices. Everyone was energetic and they gave us prizes at the end. I would like to thank them for coming out of their way to visit us.

The volunteers came to our school to do an activity with us. They were very enthusiastic and made everything fun. The activity was very educational. It was fun learning about all of the taxes and loans. The activity will help us in later life by making us prepared for when we have to do that ourselves. the program is very good, and people should support them to keep doing what they do. Every kid should be able to have this experience, not just the Academy at Lincoln. I want to thank all of the volunteers for making it a great experience.

The volunteers came from the center to our school, The Academy at Lincoln, to give an interactive activity regarding finance. They taught me and the other students about taxes, and expenses, and how to manage our money properly. The activity was fun and educational and taught us a lot about money. I give them five stars for a fun and educational opportunity.

The Center for Smart Financial Choices team came to visit my four Social Studies classes and gave my students an experience with money and budgeting. Our classes were engaged in the learning process and realized being an adult was harder than it looked. I enjoyed watching the student interact with the team. They did such a great job. We would love to have them back!

"Adult for a Day" was a wonderful workshop for our juniors in high school. Many of them had no idea what went into just getting through the day financially as an adult. The team we had was flexible and helped our students get the most out of the workshop. It is always better to have a hands on "game" to teach skills.

Adult for A Day was a wonderful way to get our K-5 students thinking about smart financial choices. We have been covering college and career readiness and this was a great activity to get them up and moving and make it a little more real. I loved watching the kids count their money and get excited about their career for the afternoon. Our students are still talking about how much fun it was.

"Adult for A Day" was an excellent activity to end our Personal Finance Unit in our Civics/Economics class at Parkland High School. This hands-on activity was thoroughly enjoyed by my students and it especially changed their views about the importance of "hard earned money". It opened their eyes on how to use money wisely and that included saving for the future, making sacrifices, and paying your bills on time. They grasped the basic understanding of how your credit score can affect the way you live. I am relieved and elated how much my students learned from this activity:)

I am a teacher at Parkland Magnet High and I've thoroughly enjoyed this group coming to my class to do a demonstration and allow the students to have hands with the experience. The students eyes were wide open to the reality of whats called "life skills". I believed this activity allowed them to see the other side to life and how important it is to save and budget your money. As a matter of fact, it has helped me to re-alter my way of thinking. Great job!

From this experience i learned a lot about managing money. It was a great experience, i really had fun participating in the activities. I'm really glad i took the time to listen and participate. because i would have probably would have never ever been taught these things. so i really thank the ladies that came out and helped us with that activity.

I enjoyed the The nonprofit event. It was a good way to understand how the real world works. I kind of got an idea of how to budget my money wisely. I also learned that i only need to buy the necessities and if there is money left then buy thing to satisfy. Setting your priorities from most important to least important is a way to ensure that you spend wisely

My class participated in this "monopoly" game. I enjoyed playing and learning how to budget our money according to what we had as a career. I learned that we cant always buy the expensive stuff, and depending on our credit score we cant get the least either.

This activity was a great experience on how to spend your money wisely. It also teaches you how to satisfy your needs first. The most important thing about this activity is, it teaches you how to become a responsible adult.

When the Great Non-profits organization came to my school,I learned so many thing . I believed that this is a great experience that gave everyone an opportunity to be an adult for a day. This will help me make better financial decisions so when I have a job/career, i have extra money less over and save it in a saving account

The activity that we did with the money was a really fun and great idea for us student. We got to see what the " real world" was all about, we got to find out what were the needs and wants to choose from. It was a really smart idea for us to experience.

It was okay like it was entertaining. It help me from financial choices.

it was a good learning experience showing how it isnt easy in the real world and it is alot you go through being and adult .

I felt really good about the financial activity we did. I felt it was a real life experience on managing our money. I really learned a lot from it

This non-profit organization helped me in several ways. It helped me understand more about the financial basis and have a mind set prepared for when I get older. As an adult, you have to spend and use your money wisely and also helped me to understand the concept of putting your needs before your wants. It was a very informational workshop. The work shop was also carried in a fun manner.

This non-profit helped me learn alot of stuff. I learned how to budget and how to cut back on things i like to get things i need. This was really helpful to me.

yesterday this organization taught me about managing my money. And it was a great experience that would help me in the future. Also it help my decide about what I need to buy and what I don't.

yesterday my fellow class mates and i learned a lot about how to save money and use it wisely. it was a great activity to teach us how to save and use money the right way. this organization helped me realize that money can go very fast if you spend without considering your needs first.being an adult for a day was great. now i know to have a financial budget to manage my bills and expenses. thank you!

This Great Nonprofit organization volunteered to come into our class one day and they helped us understand the importance of managing money with a budget and paying fixed expenses first by getting us involved in a hands on activity. They did a fabulous job. Thank you Center for Financial Choices.

It was a great learning experience!

Jefferson Y.

The ladies that came to teach us about finance and being an adult were really nice. They made it easy for us to understand the lesson of money management.

the center for smart financial choices is a very good charity. it teaches you how to manage money and i learned that you will be better off saving your money and buying your needs instead of buying your wants. Money is a big deal and thanks to the two staff members i met yesterday they taught me the most important thing in life how to manage my money.

They did an amazing job representing how our lives would be if we were adults! plus they gave us gummy bears so that was a nice bonus :) .

The center for smart financial choice is such a great charity. It helps people get a better understanding on money management and provides information on how to make correct financial choices. The staff I met were really nice as well!

well yesterday in class we did an activity on how to manage money. We was adults for a day! i learned that being an adult can be very hard. All the bills and the expenses, i learned how to manage my money well and go for the cheap things n not the expensive things. i had a fun time in class yesterday i enjoyed our visitors they showed me a lot . i appreciate all their hard work

It helped me expand my knowledge more about money budgeting, and learn that it is very important to save your money, also it helped me understand the importance of saving your own money, because your really never know when is the next time that you will need it, in case of an emergency.

It was nice because I got to learn about financing and money

It was very fun and was very helpful when it came to money and budgeting on what you needed after you get done with school.
Khalib. P

i love it!! it help me understand that we always cant buy what we want because we have a greater price to pay! it also showed me how to save money and helped me feel like an adult it also helped me prepared for the future!!

-m.c

I really loved the activity that the ladies from the center for smart financial choice did with us. It felt like real life! It really helped me realize how fast money goes and how important it is to budget my money, and to save.

Well , to be honest i liked that, i learned a great lesson of being an adult, i had to be very careful along with my partner and decide how spend my money, Well, that was great , recommend it!!

it was nice. helped noticed some things that are more important than other expenses.

Accountants makes a lot of money. Good credit, less pay for buying anything. I liked how high the credit was and buying stuff less than the regular price. Having money left is a good thing also.

I learned a lot about saving money and how to use my money in a responsible manner. I also learned that you can sometimes spend more money then you think you have if you don't calculate your expenses the right way.

I learned that you should spend your money on your needs before you focus on your wants. also if you have a high credit rate it helps . it was a fun experience that i would like to do over . I had an Accountant an we made a lot of money so had a very good credit score an was able to get discounts on a lot of the higher priced things.

The activity that we did yesterday helped me understand more about spending money wisely based on your credit. If your credits good you'll pay less and have more choices. If its bad, you don't get a lot of choices and you will pay more.

i really think it helps you understand money in a real life perspective better

i had a fun time i thought it was gonna be boring but it was fun cause we got to walk around the class and it taught me that you can go broke very easily.

By David S.
My experience yesterday helped me realize that you need to know what things you spend your money on in order to know how to save money and budget well. The way that they showed us how to save money I found was very entertaining and very fun. Highly recommended!!

The activity was very helpful. i didn't know your credit score affected a lot of things your purchase. Adults has a lot of responsibilities

Jahsae W.

This help me understand that the real world out there is a lot harder than most people think. They don't know how easy they have it. Every choice you make in your life can change the way you live in the future because you only have one life and make a good and smart decision when you are in the real world.

Center for Smart Financial Choices program came to Reagan and we played the 'Adult for a day' game. It was such a great experience because we had to spend our money wisely based on our career. We also went to Allegacy Credit Union for a Field Trip and I saw the types of branches that make up a Credit Union. They taught me that saving up your money allows you grander choices in the future. Thank you!

the people at the cfsfc helped me learn more about financial decisions. they taught me about the many ways to get to a good place financially.




grant
Reagan high school

I thank the Smart Financial Choices for helping understand more about saving money and keeping track on spending money on your credit card.



Fernando Cruz
Reagan

This Is a great place to be . They help me all the time with my financial needs .I LOVE YOU ALLEGACY

The center for smart financial choices helped me learn about the differences between a bank and a credit union. And getting to see all the stuff the lady's there showed us with the fake money and the machine that counts money for you real fast. The highlight of my visit to Allegacy, meeting my boy Herb. I even got to take a picture with him with was very cool, he was such a trooper. I learned a lot from you guys and tell Herb hi for me!!!!!!! Hes my fav (;

Chase Monroe,
Reagan High School

this is the best place to be..... they helped me understand and start my financial life. Allegacy is the best place to start love yall. Rodrigo reagan high school

Allegacy came to our school and lead an activity where we practice budgeting our income. This exercise taught me the importance of budgeting and will help me to make smart financial decisions in the future. Allegacy have taught me several ways to manage my finances as well as maintain a good path for a positive financial future.

kktreez, RHS

This is a great place.... They helped me with all of my financial needs and questions.... I like Allegacy a



Donte Sutton
Reagan High School!

They made me understand the value that we have many financial choices`available to choice from.
Thank you, for giving me an opportunity.


siria
Reagan High school

They were so nice nice and friendly. i like how they always keep us involved and taught us everything we needed to know. They came to our school and made us adults for the day and gave us the opportunity to see what its like to be an adult and have bills.




Jake
Reagan High school

This program helped me understand the importance of keeping track of your spending on credit cards and also on debit cards. - Jacob Reagan High School

The experience I got from this was way passed what i was expecting to take from this. The eye opening situation i did has really helped me to understand what to expect from real lie situations


Dylan Reagan

My class participated in the "Adult For A Day" simulation. We had a great time while also learning about the expenses of being an adult. We learned the importance of having a great credit score and great information about the benefits of being financially conscious. Thank you CFSFC for the positive learning experience!

Alexa Halages
Reagan High School

Thank you so much for coming to our school. It was a real experience to see how it was using money from a career and trying to decide what to save and spend. A big thanks for letting us personally come and look at the credit union and see how it all works, hope other schools get to experience this as well!


Chandler Reagan

I learned a lot about making smart financial choices. I learned how to open a bank account and the benefits I can get from it. I learned all about a bank and what it does and the parts of the bank and about a credit union and other things like that. I really enjoyed my experience at Allegacy and though it was a great field trip and idea. - Tyler Carmer, Reagan High School

This was such a great experience for me as well as some of my peers. It was eye-opening to see what it's really like to be an adult and learn that it's not what we make it seem. With freedom comes responsibilities and if you don't live up to your word, you're credit score will suffer thus effecting the rest of you're life.

Great Field Trip! I learned a lot about smart financial decisions as an adult and a teenager. Thank you for providing useful information that will definitely help me in the future.

Cassie Paulin
Reagan High School

CSFSC is a very good organization. Herb is a cool cat. They have this cool machine that can tell if money is real.



Ethan Pegram
Reagan HS

It was amazing! the most fun i have had on a field trip in years! i was ecstatic to find out we were going with them! Austin Reagan High School

I learned how to manage my money. I learned how banks and credit unions work. Thank You for everything you taught me.


Parker- Reagan High School

The center for Smart Financial Choices came to our school and we did the Adult for a Day activity. It really helped me learn what it would be like to be an Adult. It has helped me financially about the importance of saving and budgeting.




Owen Blink
Reagan High School

They came to our school and we got to be an adult for a day. It was a lot of fun but it also taught me a lot too. I learned things like how many expenses you have to budget for when you are adult. The people were helpful and very nice. Our class went back to visit the people on a field trip and that was also an enjoyable experience.

I would like to thank the Center for Smart Financial Choices for giving me a great insight of the expenses and financial strategies brought to our attention. I cannot speak for others but I will be sure to use these strategies in the future to their full potential and stay out of debt. I cannot express my gratitude for you having given us your time and knowledge of various situations. The information that has been handed to us is invaluable. To conclude I give you my thanks.
from Reagan high

The Center for Smart Financial Choices program taught me a lot about the money saving decisions that our parents and other adults have to make everyday. It also showed me that a lot of the decisions that have to be made are not easy. I learned that what type of insurance, the cost of utilities, clothes, and your home is very important. I also learned about all the responsibilities that adults have to have to be successful.

This program will help me become a better adult and be more aware of my responsibilities.


-Cameron Oakes/ Reagan High School.

This non-profit heldped me alot. With its adult for a day program.I did this progarm twice and the frist time i had a high paying job but i had a low credit score. and evan thought i had enough money for it i could not aford my own home i had to live with my parents because of my bad credit score. but the second time i did it i had a low palying job but i had a high credit score so i was able to aford not only my own home byt also my own car. so the bottom line is i found out just how improtant my credit score really is.

The time that I spent at CFSFC field trip was very informative and fun. I learned things that I didn't know before like how much technology has involved and helped the banking system, how many people it takes to run one bank, how much security cautions a bank has to take, and also how easy it is to set up an account.
After the trip I talked to my mother about what I had learned and we had planned out my banking options for me in the future. And now I feel as if I'm more prepared than I was before. Overall I think the trip and opportunity was both extremely fun and educational.


- Omiah Mitchell / Reagan High School

I participated in the "Adult for a day" program at my school. It was very beneficial in teaching me the many expenses that come with being an adult. It made me start to think about what I should do to prepare myself, like watching what I spend and how I save. This program was very encouraging and I would recommend it to anyone.

Before the assembly i didn't really know how to manage my money. i didn't know about all the expenses in life and the importance of getting a good job. now, after this assembly, i understand that i need to get a good job and make smart decisions about how and when to spend my money. my friend, betty anne, really did a great job helping me out
Mark/Reagan

The experience of the Adult for a day really helped give me a real life perspective on how the world works. it shows you even if you make 70,000 dollars but have a terrible credit score you are still limited to what you are able to purchase. Really showed me a lot considering you only hear about getting a good job making good money but you never hear about what else is neccisary to live a stress free and easy going life.

The experience helped me realize how important it is to manage your money. The activity that we did in the media center was great! It showed me how many decisions are made daily regarding your money.

CFSFC was a very informative charity. They helped me to under stand many aspects of financing. It is great to teach kids now so they understand what will be coming in the future.

This experience helped me understand how to manage my money more efficiently. The people who helped me were very kind and humble. They taught me how to set up a checking account which I thought was very useful. I learned many more things on this field trip, and I thoroughly.

I went on the fieldtrip and I enjoyed learning about the jobs that can be offered there and how the job can actually benefit you besides by paying you.


Jacob G.

The activity "Adult for a day" helped me to put into perspective aspects of finances that I would have otherwise never thought about. Having a job with not much income forced me to make choices like take the bus and not have cable which I never would have thought I would have to make cuts on. It was enjoyable as well as informative. Sheryl/Reagan

This program was very helpful in allowing me to see how money is handled. Going into bank and credit union showed me how much is really behind the front desk. The "Adult For A Day" program allowed me to see just how easy it is for money to be spent on needs and other utilities. I enjoyed both of the programs and will apply what I learned about financial literacy to my future.

Chassity/Reagan

I enjoyed the experience and learned lots of things that i didn't expect to learn. - Jensen

i enjoyed this experience very much. It taught me how much expenses I would have in a month. It taught me the importance of a good credit score. Overall it was a great course and it was very much enjoyable.
Noah B./ Reagan High

They were very informational and showed us a lot of cool tricks to identify counterfeit money and they told us how to open accounts, manage them and track spending and income.

- Lane H.
Ronald W. Reagan Highschool

The People were hospitable and the activity was interesting.

My parents has been teaching me a few things here and there, but what I learned from the fieldtrip and the activity "adult for a day" gave me little more insight and knowlegde, and I hope you will continue these activities for other classes.

Thank you for taking the time to share your tips and pointers about the finacial world.

The Center for Smart Financial Choices really help me a lot. We played a game called adult for a day and it is hard. I was a firefighter and did not have a high income. I also had a low credit score. Having a low credit score limited the things I could get and do. I could not go to Walt Disney World and had to go the beach instead. This game really opened my eyes to how hard it is to be and adult. This showed why i need to be Financially smart. Also the people were nice and wanted to help you during the game. We also went to a bank to see how it works and how the check for fake money. This Program is really good and every High school student should do this program.

I went on the fieldtrip and I enjoyed learning about the jobs that can be offered there and how the job can actually benefit you besides by paying you. I liked learning about servives that are availible to a client and how money can be detected for fraud. I enjoyed the trip tremendously and I am very grateful for the oppurtunity to learn about that specific business.

The program at our school was very well put together and they put a lot of effort into making it seem like we were "adults for a day"

my name is andrew huffman i very much enjoyed the grown up for a day as well as the tour and everyone was very nice. it was a great learning experience about the different types of banks, benifits to saving and opening a account. i very much enjoyed it thank you very much.

When I participated in the Adult for a Day program they taught me many things. I learned that if I want to succeed in life I will have to learn how to budget and manage my money better than I have done in the past. I am glad I had the chance to participate and be a part of that program, they really helped me.

Center for Smart Finacial Choices was enjoyable and educational. It was very helpful to me

The Center for Smart Financial Choices is a tremndous asset to the city of Winston-Salem and the North Carolina Piedmont region. Under the leadership of Betty Ann Faulkner The Center generously partners with the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County School system to support Personal Financial Literacy instruction. This partnership has resulted in opportunitites for students to understnad and practice the valuable life skills of saving, spending and investing wisely. The Center for Smart Fianncial Choices is a model for non-profits throughout the region.

Betty Ann's presentation to our families was wonderful. She helped them identify their money habits, and become more aware of how they might need to think about money in different phases of life. There were activities that families could do together, and the children had a blast.