Jerome was a likeable student. Other students at our small rural high school appreciated his carefree manner. His sister and brother had been in classes I taught. So I knew Jerome through them. The family moved away. About a year later, students in my personal finance class told me that Jerome had committed suicide because he was over $70,000 in debt. What started as credit card debt became payday loan debt which became gambling debt. He saw no way out. What is a 19 year old life worth? I wish Jerome had been required to take my
personal finance class. Maybe he'd still be alive today if he had been taught to avoid the addiction of spending money.

Today we Inspiring Young Adults to be Life Long Givers. One of my passions is helping young adults gain the heart to be a life long giver while developing a functioning knowledge of personal finances.

Think for a moment about your own financial decisions. At some point, your life goals changed. You became passionate about giving back to others. Remember when that happened? How did that feel? When you changed, how did others change around you? Did they catch the vision that inspired you? Can you imagine a child at an early age learning to give to others with an open hand not expecting anything in return? What kinds of changes would that make in our world?

Unfortunately, we as a society have taught our children to be selfish takers instead of thrifty, wealthy, generous givers. Media brainwashes our children with the desire to buy more stuff. The credit industry markets to college students and has enslaved many in spend-more-than-you-earn habits. Most divorces in America occur because of money problems. Almost no high school or college requires a comprehensive course in personal finances even though this is one of the most critical issues facing our young adults today.

My high school personal finance students thought I was nuts when I taught them that the way to wealth is paved in part by giving at least 10 percent of their income to causes that personally inspire them. There is a natural law of the universe: give and it shall be given to you in abundance. Why would the Giver of all good things wish to financially bless those who have overcome the addiction of spending money? I believe it's because those that give with an open hand, expecting nothing in return, will be given more so that they can in turn give even more.

What a simple message - Spend less than you make: Give 10 percent, save 10 percent, invest 10 percent, and live happily on the remainder. With technology we have the means to get this message out to high school students at a very nominal cost per student. How many students do you want to touch with this message?

I propose a pilot program with 10,000 private school students. With that positive research data and the enthusiasticsupport of the donor list at those private school involved in the pilot program, we could (with the help mof technology) leverage our initial success to another 100,000 at inner city public schools.