SEATTLE—BECU here closed its offices yesterday so that more than 1,500 employees could help teach financial literacy classes.
It was the second year BECU has conducted the “Closing for Good” initiative in which students were given a crash course “on the financial realities of adult life.” In all BECU closed 40 locations.
“As a credit union, a crucial part of our mission is giving people the tools to build strong financial foundations,” said BECU CEO Benson Porter in a statement. “Helping students leave high school with a solid understanding of budgeting and finances is crucial to securing our community’s financial future.”
BECU noted that a study it funded in 2015 in conjunction with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling showed that one in four American adults do not save any of their household income for retirement. One in three say they carry credit card debt from month to month.
At this year’s Closing for Good event, hosted at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle, BECU worked with students from three schools: Highline High School, Global Connections, and the Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment. The schools also suspended regular classes for the day so their students could participate in BECU’s financial reality simulation. Participants were assigned a job and income and then set off to make the financial decisions adults face every day: car buying, living arrangements, pets, clothes, electronics, entertainment and more.
The event kicked off a full week of future-focused workshops for the schools, where students will consider options for college, work and post-high school life.
“The number one thing we hear from participants is ‘being an adult is expensive!’” said Sara Moorehead, BECU’s vice president of co-operative affairs, in a statement. “Giving students a tangible way to see how quickly monthly expenses add up is a great tool to create a healthy outlook for financial decisions.”
BECU reported it is also planning additional financial reality simulations for Spokane area high school students in early 2017.