Money 101: Building a Solid Financial Foundation
“When wealth is gone, you’ve lost nothing. When health is gone, you’ve lost something. When character is gone, you’ve lost everything.” (Sahil Bloom)
The PF workshop introduces basic aspects of understanding and managing personal finances. Each lesson offers practical applications and hands-on tasks which demonstrate key ideas and promote implementation.
This workshop is inspired by the life of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, a young girl who died at the age of 18. One day Chiara took the money that she had received for her eighteenth birthday and gave it to help the children in Africa. She said: I don’t need this money, because I have everything!”
Learning to manage personal finances has many benefits:
- Knowing how to budget means fewer moments of panic when an unexpected bill hits
- Good habits started earlier in life lead to a better financial situation later on
- Debt is harder to escape than it looks. Understanding how credit cards, student loans, and interest works helps to prevent many financial disasters
- Financial stability creates freedom. When the basics are handled, people have the freedom to make choices based on what they actually want, not just what they can afford in a crisis
This workshop combines the benefits of managing personal finance and the desire to thrive and be successful while giving what we can to help and be of service to others.
Topics: Spending awareness | Budgets | Banking Basics | Debt | Interest | Investing | Credit Card Use | Credit Score
- Workshop 1 – Aug/Sept, 2026
- Workshop 2 – Jan/Feb, 2027
Virtual on zoom, Ages 18 to 35.
“Thank you for running these workshops. They were helpful and encouraging as I start my financial life as a working adult.”
Sign up for workshop 2 opens December 2026
Presented by:
Sami Beirouty – Mechanical Engineering Graduate. Focus: analytical thinking and efficient problem-solving. Interests: creating automated tools that help and simplify complex work for others.
Joe Vasquez – Working professional with over 10 years of combined expertise in law enforcement and financial management. Focus: continuous improvement, team collaboration, and the betterment of the community. Skills: organizational skills, fast-learning aptitude, and hard-working ethic. BS, Business Administration and management. Member: NATIONAL SOCIETY OF LEADERSHIP AND SUCCESS
Mike Morse – Project Manager, Lenscape Media. Former teacher; math, science and computer science. Focus: leadership skills development, finance coordinator, youth programs. BS, MS, computer science.