A new mobile web application that will help high school students develop financial literacy skills will be launched on Monday, Feb. 4, at Holy Heart High School in St. John’s.
The FYI Expense Tracker is a financial planning smartphone application that allows users to track and review their expenses on the go. It was created by Enactus Memorial, formerly known as Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), and will be introduced into high schools provincewide this year as part of the career development curriculum.
“FYI was initially developed in 2010 as a series of financial literacy and entrepreneurship sessions that were delivered using traditional teaching methods in classrooms,” said Jessica Fleming, FYI project manager with Enactus Memorial. “Through that process we identified a gap between the traditional teaching methods and the modern technology that students use on a daily basis – meaning they weren’t going to carry around a pen and pencil to write down all of their spending.”
Developed in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union (NLCU), the app is the latest phase of the FYI project, which aims to increase financial and entrepreneurial education for secondary students in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union is very proud of the partnership we’ve developed over the past three years with Enactus Memorial, formerly SIFE Memorial,” said Allison Chaytor-Loveys, chief executive officer, NLCU. “One of NLCU’s core co-operative values is education, so finding ways to educate our youth on how to manage personal finances is an important goal for us. We think it’s crucial that our students have access to as much financial guidance as possible so that they have the knowledge and tools they need to make wise financial decisions now and for their futures. We are confident that this new curriculum and app will help make that possible.”
The launch will take place from 9-10 a.m. in the audiovisual room. Clyde Jackman, minister of the Department of Education, is expected to attend.
Enactus is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Participating students form teams on their university campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.
“Enactus Memorial has demonstrated that it is not only able to positively influence the lives of people in our community but to astutely identify and address the needs of specific groups of people,” said Dr. Wilfred Zerbe, dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, which supports Enactus Memorial. “We are pleased to support Enactus in its efforts to increase the financial literacy of young people in this province as such understanding is crucial to personal and professional success throughout their lives.”
The 60-member Enactus Memorial University team, which includes students from the Faculties of Business Administration, Arts, Education, Science and Engineering and Applied Science, currently runs 11 community programs.
