LBS Financial Credit Union Hosts Financial Education Events for over 300 High School Students in Long Beach
Long Beach, CA – June 13, 2022 — LBS Financial Credit Union hosted two Bite of Reality financial education events for Long Beach Unified School District students on April 12, 2022 at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and on May 26, 2022 at Millikan High School.
Bite of Reality is a hands-on app-based simulation, provided by the Richard Myles Johnson (RMJ) Foundation, that teaches teens how to make financial decisions and gives them a better understanding of the challenges of living on a budget. Students are given a fictional occupation, salary, credit score, spouse and a child, student loan debt, credit card debit, and medical insurance payments. The students then walk around to various stations to “purchase” housing, transportation, food, clothing, and other needs. LBS Financial Credit Union Employee volunteers were tasked to sell the students cars, homes, clothing, and other expensive items to make them run out of money. The program also features a credit union station to help with their financial needs and unwind any purchases towards the end of the simulation so they can stay within their budget. The RMJ Foundation provides the Bite of Reality app and tools to credit unions to host at local schools.
“The Bite of Reality program is a great way to teach teens basic money management skills in an interactive and safe setting,” said LBS Financial President and CEO Jeffrey Napper. “Our team really enjoyed working with the teachers at Long Beach Poly and Millikan to host these events for their juniors and seniors.” Jeffrey Napper who was also a volunteer at the Millikan High School event, is an alumnus of Millikan High School and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in his senior year.
About LBS Financial Credit Union
LBS Financial, founded in 1935 as the Long Beach School District Employees Federal Credit Union, is a member-owned cooperative providing savings, checking, Visa®, money markets, certificates, IRA, insurance and investment services. LBS Financial also offers personal, vehicle, boat and home loans. Their field of membership encompasses fifty cities surrounding the greater Long Beach area, as well as Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego Counties. They currently service over 140,000 members with eight branch office locations, convenient electronic access (ATMs, online banking and mobile banking) and are part of the CO-OP ATM and Shared Branching Networks. LBS Financial Credit Union has over $2 billion in total assets.
About the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation
The Richard Myles Johnson Foundation, established in 1958 as the California Filene Foundation, provides financial education resources for credit unions in California and Nevada. Never has there been more of a need to reach young people with vital financial decision-making information than now. The RMJ Foundation’s hallmark program, Bite of Reality®, targets teenagers ages 15 to 18 with much needed information and context. Bite of Reality® provides solid financial education, such as car buying, home buying, and budgeting, using experiential learning. Funding financial education programs is a positive public advocacy tool and helps credit unions fulfill their mission of serving their community. The Foundation is able to fund these vital programs because of the generous donations from credit unions and credit union organizations. For information about the RMJ Foundation, or to make a donation, please contact Tena Lozano at 909.212.6057.
