On Wednesday April 17, 2024, the Hustle PHX team, powered by AmeriCorps AZ, continued their journey with 16 justice-involved youth, becoming the next generation of (restorative) Hustlers through the all new YEP 101 course.

One of our volunteer facilitators opened up with some expectations, encouraging the youth to engage and ask questions, and then moved on to a recap of the Hustler’s Sweet Spot. They briefly quizzed the class to see if they remembered what it was and the various aspects that comprised it. Various examples were then given from the lives of the team and also the youth, to reiterate on the importance of the youth having businesses/jobs that they actually enjoy; the impact their lives and businesses can have in the future; and also the importance of knowing oneself and how it can play a part in figuring out what you want to do in life.

One of our team members also took some time to tell some of their story, to better connect with the cohort and also share about their personal journey in finding their sweet spot. They shared information about their abilities, aches, part of what they do at Hustle and how it has benefited them. 

After that, the team then took some time to review the SMART goals exercise from the previous week. They quizzed the youth to see what they remembered, asked them about what some of their SMART goals were and also gave some advice and encouragement, helping them to better refine some of their goals(to those whom it applied).

The team then gave information concerning things like: income(passive/active), assets, liabilities, investing and budgeting. Time was taken to break some of these things down for the cohort and examples were given from the lives of the team detailing our: relationships with money, money practices and financial literacy. Additional information was given concerning things like: student loans/grants, Roth IRA’s, crypto currency and also inflation.

Something of note is that: even a couple of the site staff shared some information about their money practices and things they’ve learned in regards to the handling of it. Some additional information was also given about assets, letting the youth know about certain ones they may need to invest in before entering the business world.

After that, one of our volunteer facilitators then took some time to further dive into the topic of budgeting. A definition was given for the sake of clarity and an example was given, in which the cohort worked through a situation together and then thought about it in relation to their own lives. The class was then given a hypothetical situation, in which they were given a fixed monthly income, along with some wants(which had variable amounts) and needs(which had fixed amounts). Because of this, each youth, with the person next to them, had to then work through this situation and add up to the costs to see how much money they may have had left. By the end of it, several of the youth realized that they were either broke or in debt. And so they were given a bit more time to come up with solutions for their problems. Some of the youth then took times to share some of their answers, which consisted of: 

• Cutting costs in clothing
• Cutting costs in gas, entertainment and clothes
• Cutting costs in entertainment

With all that was said in regards to financial literacy, and specifically investing, I would like to encourage you to invest in the YEP(to whom it may apply). While investing in stocks and bonds may be beneficial/important, I’d like you to think about the importance of investing into the youth because they are the future of the business world and entrepreneurship.

To all our donors and volunteers, thank you for all your help and support! And to those who would like to become a part of this journey, press the button below: 

This publication was made possible by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family (GOYFF) through grant number 24AC265250. The views, opinions, or policies expressed belong solely to the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the GOYFF.