Description

My Money Camp in Fairfax, Virginia is a Summer Camp format

The My Money Camp financial literacy program in Fairfax, Virginia includes 20 hours of instruction. The camp runs for four days, three hours per day, with one age group in the morning and the other in the afternoon. That's 12 hours of in-person small-group instruction, plus an additional eight hours of virtual and remote learning materials that can be completed at home and shared with family. The instructors at this and all other My Money Camps are licensed teachers from your local area, specially trained in the My Money Camp curriculum. 

What will be covered at this financial literacy camp in Fairfax, Virginia?

Day 1: Making Money

Before teenagers can learn about managing money, they have to learn about earning money. The first day of My Money Camp focuses on career choices, salaries, and everything that goes into and out of a paycheck. We discuss why a paycheck might look different for two people with the same jobs in New York City and Jacksonville Florida. 

• What do different jobs pay?
• Educational requirements for different jobs.
• What does a pay stub look like?
• Introduction to taxes.
• What are jobs in the “trades”?
• Employee vs. Contract/Gig worker: The differences.
• Keeping a job, losing a job, changing jobs.

Day 2: Spending Money

After teaching teens all about earning money, we help them understand how to spend it responsibly. Most teens have no idea how much anything costs, from a Big Mac to a car or house. We include fun games that helps them build a responsible budget, introducing real life scenarios that force them to make difficult choices based on the salaries for the jobs we discussed on Day One.

• How much do things cost?
• The basics of supply and demand.
• Cost of living differences across the United States.
• What is inflation and how does it affect spending over time?
• How to build a budget – and stick to it.
• Accessing your money: using payment apps and writing checks.
• Traveling: Vacation costs, foreign currencies and exchange rates.

Day 3: Saving Money and Investing

This is the day that teenagers attending our financial literacy camp see the rainbow at the end of road. Establishing responsible saving and investing habits early on can result in everyday Americans retiring with millions of dollars. This isn't a stock market trading game, we don't give specific investment advice, and we don't have any partnerships with companies to push. Teenagers see how a small amount of money saved and invested regularly can turn into a mountain later in life.

• Using the Rule of 72.
• The magic of compounding interest and capital gains.
• How to retire as a millionaire.
• Using banks.
• Introduction to stocks, bonds and cryptocurrency.
• Saving for college
• Investing for retirement

Day 4: Debt and Credit

Just as important as learning how to build wealth over time, it's imperative that teenagers learn at a young age how to avoid losing it. The final day of My Money Camp focuses on good debt vs. bad debt, and the importance of using financial tools like credit cards and loans responsibly. Falling into debt at a young age can result in a life-altering spiral from which recovery is difficult. 

• Understanding interest rates historically and current, and what affects them.
• Financing large purchases.
• Credit cards and debit cards, the good, bad and ugly.
• Introduction to college loans.
• Credit scores and their effect.
• The dangerous trap of Payday Loans.
• Avoiding a debt spiral.
• Bankruptcy.

See A My Money Camp In Action

If you are considering sending your teenager to a financial literacy summer camp or spring break camp, check out this short video to see a camp in action. The video contains clips from My Money Camp sessions and testimonials from parents and students who have attended. Watch the My Money Camp video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEvPWuKC-B4.

More questions about My Money Camp in Fairfax, Virginia?

Parents who have additional questions about this financial literacy program for teenagers can find many of those answers on our Frequently Asked Questions page. You can view those here: https://mymoneycamp.com/faqs.

Take the My Money Camp financial literacy quiz!

Test your knowledge, find out if you are already a financial literacy whiz kid. Our 50-question quiz  takes about 25 minutes and covers much of the material included in the financial literacy program at Fairfax, Virginia. How many questions can you answer correctly? Give it a try here: https://mymoneycamp.com/quiz.