Elev8 Parents Get Lessons in Budgeting

This past holiday season, Elev8 New Mexico provided a much needed and timely support for families through its financial literacy program.

Gadsden Middle School is located in Anthony, NM, in the southern part of the state, bordering Texas. The community hosts a number of new immigrant families, many with limited English language skills and employment opportunities. Gadsden parents look forward to the holiday season, though it can also be a time of added stress, especially in the current economic climate.

With this in mind, the Elev8 Gadsden team took a hands-on approach to working with parents in "Stretching Your Dollar" classes. In these sessions, they learned about budgeting techniques, common pitfalls associated with credit card use and other important money-saving tools.

Participants were then given the opportunity to apply what they learned when the group took a field trip to a local grocery store with a budget of $100.00. In preparing for the field trip, parents reviewed store flyers to find the best buys and arrived at the store with a grocery list and calculator in hand. Their goal was to stretch their dollars to the max while staying within their budgets.

The class and the field trip were a big success. Not only did parents gain valuable, real-world skills in money management, but by offering the $100.00 grocery incentive as part of the class, Elev8 was able to respond to a concrete need, which helped foster good relationships between the school and the participating parents. By providing a supportive environment, Elev8 hopes to encourage deeper parent involvement in the school community.