A conversation with a fellow student about money left Jacob Fine with a question: How could someone understand investing but not know the basics of saving?
That realization led Fine, 17, to launch the Financial Freedom Initiative, a student-led effort providing free financial literacy workshops to young people across Nassau County.
Fine, who lives in Jericho, has conducted more than 50 workshops, reaching more than 1,200 students each year through partnerships with libraries and other community organizations. Two of those stops brought his workshop to the Merrick Library and the East Meadow Public Library.
At the Merrick Library, Fine led two workshops earlier this summer for students in sixth grade and older. For Rachel Sferlazza, head librarian of Youth & Parent Services at the Merrick Library, Fine’s approach stood out.
“He was definitely very knowledgeable about it, and the way he had his presentation organized, it looked very professional,” Sferlazza said.
The workshop was initially recommended to Sferlazza by another Nassau County librarian. She said Fine’s work demonstrates what can happen when a young person sees a need and takes the initiative to address it.
“That’s the best version of pay it forward you could possibly have,” she said. “When a teen wants to do something like that, not only are they passionate about the subject they’re looking to teach, they’re also passionate about helping others.”
Fine said his interest in financial literacy began after speaking with another student through his school’s investing club.
“We talked about stuff that’s more complex like investing, and I mentioned something that was definitely more basic, like a savings calendar,” Fine said. “They had no idea what I was talking about. I just found it mind-boggling that they could talk about investing, but they don’t understand basic concepts of financial literacy.”
The experience prompted Fine to research the issue further. He took online courses, spoke with educators and school administrators and began developing his own initiative.
What started as an effort to teach students about money soon became something Fine found personally meaningful.
“I realized I really love doing this,” Fine said. “I love teaching. I love seeing the impact I’m making on these kids and how I’m helping them build these habits and understand these concepts.”
At the Merrick Library, Fine encountered students with different levels of knowledge and learning needs. He said the experience has taught him to adapt his workshops depending on who is in the room, with the goal of making sure each student leaves with something useful.
For younger students, Fine focuses on practical examples.
“His examples were about things like saving up for your first car or for college, and when you get a job,” Sferlazza said. “It wasn’t so much about retirement, which is forever away to the average 12 or 13-year-old.”
Fine held his first workshop at East Meadow on Aug. 6.
Shanna Konowitz, a young adult librarian at the East Meadow Public Library, said Fine also made potentially intimidating financial concepts accessible.
“The topics weren’t so scary,” Konowitz said. “Topics about money could kind of be daunting and scary, especially for younger teens or tweens.”
Rather than relying primarily on lectures, Fine uses stories, simulations and conversations to teach budgeting, saving and needs versus wants. In one simulation, students receive a set amount of money and must decide how to spend it, sometimes realizing that seemingly simple purchases can cause them to spend more than they have.
Fine said the lesson is ultimately about building habits early, particularly as students approach major financial decisions after high school.
New York is also moving toward making financial literacy education a more formal part of students’ education. In March, the New York State Board of Regents approved a requirement for personal finance education for public school students in grades K-12.
But Fine believes classroom instruction alone will not necessarily be enough. That is part of why he continues to emphasize community-based workshops and has expanded his reach through digital resources.
He created Monucate, an app designed as a “Duolingo” for personal finance, with hundreds of lessons students can use to reinforce concepts after a workshop. He also offers virtual workshops and publishes a newsletter.
The resources grew out of a problem Fine noticed after his workshops: Students might be engaged while they are there but forget what they learned once they leave.
While his initiative has expanded beyond Nassau County through virtual programming, Fine continues to focus much of his in-person work on local communities.
For Fine, the mission remains simple: Give young people the financial knowledge they should have before they need it.
“They have to start being built now,” Fine said of financial habits.
For more information about the Financial Freedom Initiative, including upcoming events and ways to book a free workshop, visit FinancialFreedomInitiative.org.
