On August 13, 2016, in the downtown offices of Bell Investment Advisors, a group of Rotary Club members and their mentored scholarship recipients gathered for a Saturday morning breakfast presentation, “Financial Literacy and Behavior for Adults and Young Adults.”
Jim Bell, CFP®, President and Founder, and Heidi Stoltz, Investment Advisor, spoke with the group as a public service on the topics of budgeting, banking, credit, debt, student loans, saving, and investing. Underlying all the topics was the concept of dignity. Bonnie Bell, Director, Career/Life Coaching at Bell also spoke briefly. In addition to a breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and fruit salad, attendees received a bound booklet of the presentation slides.
The presentation was interspersed with good ideas and wise counsel from Rotary members along with questions from both young and older attendees, reflecting the concerns that young people have about their personal finances. The age of the student attendees ranged from 15 to 20, and all were beginning to think about and plan for college. Each attendee expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn about the basics of financial literacy and to garner a sense that they can develop the skills they need to behave responsibly with their money.