Money Habitudes Card Deck for Teens

Money Habitudes cards are a novel, non-threatening, hands-on activity to get people talking about money. Used with individuals, couples and groups and classes, they help people understand their own unique habits and attitudes that affect decisions and actions related to money.

This version, Money Habitudes for Teens, is designed for ages 14-18. The methodology is the same as the original, adult version of Money Habitudes, but features more contemporary graphics and evaluation statements that are better suited to teenagers; note that some of the Habitude categories have slightly different names and icons versus the adult version. Money Habitudes for Teens is often used in classroom settings (economics and personal finance, psychology, business, history, etc.) as well as camps, afterschool and youth programs like 4H, as well as job readiness seminars and life skills seminars. The cards are part of the Money Habitudes personal finance curriculum which won a 2012 Excellence in Financial Literacy Education Award from the Institute for Financial Literacy.

Effective money management is really about making choices, balancing impulsive behavior, seeking acceptance, avoiding rejection and feeling empowered to plan for the future. The positive way the cards present these issues help teens develop a healthier relationship with money so they are able to use their financial skills more successfully to manage money now and in the future. They can be used in conjunction with courses in financial literacy, couples/family counseling, career development and life and relationship skills.

To use the Money Habitudes deck of cards, you or your client will simply complete an easy sorting process that takes less than 15 minutes. Interpreting and discussing the results can take just a few minutes or may be structured from 10 minutes to many hours. At a glance, you will get an easy-to-understand but powerful understanding of the user’s Money Habitudes. By using the interpretation cards, you will gain valuable clues about thoughts, feelings and patterns of behaviour.

Generally, what people like about Money Habitudes cards is they:

• Are easy to learn and easy to teach.
• Are interactive and make for a welcome alternative to lectures, workbooks and PowerPoint.
• Get beyond budgets to begin important conversations about the interaction between lifestyle, values and finances.
• Complement other programs (e.g., budgeting, communication skills, debt reduction, etc.) and can be used as an icebreaker, integrated module or standalone activity.

Often described as an instructional game, flash cards or a training tool, each deck of cards is a complete, self-contained toolkit and includes:

• 3 blue cards: One side has Thinking Points/Discussion Ideas and the reverse has sorting cards for playing Money Habitudes solitaire.
• 1 green card: One side has directions to play Money Habitudes solitaire. The other side has questions for additional discussion and taking next steps.
• 8 yellow interpretation cards for understanding the six Habitudes and what they may mean. Each Habitude has its own interpretation card which includes a motto, a description of how others may see a person with that Habitude and typical advantages and disadvantages associated with that Habitude. On the back of each card are suggestions for next steps.
• 54 white statement cards – Each of the six Habitudes has nine corresponding cards. Each is coded on the back with a colorful picture to identify the Habitude with which it is associated.

Best results come from using one deck of cards per person so everyone participates and has his or her own personal sorting/assessment results. Therefore, use two decks for a couple or 10 decks for a group of 10 people.

Designed to be used over and over, individuals and couples may revisit the activity a few times a year as a conversation starter while those facilitating classes or counselling sessions frequently reuse the cards on a weekly basis.

Used by tens of thousands of people around the world, Money Habitudes is endorsed by the Institute of Consumer Financial Education and included in the national Jump$tart Clearinghouse.