Patriot Bank Teaches Financial Literacy To Stamford Students

STAMFORD, CT - From Patriot Bank: Continuing its “Commitment to Financial Literacy 2018” initiative, Patriot Bank, N.A., recently held several seminars on creating a budget, determining goals, and saving money with students at Academy of Information Technology & Engineering, following on similar programs at Stamford High School and Trinity Catholic High School.

To explain the concept of budgeting to the more than twenty student participants, bankers David Malloy and Sharissa Ryan of Patriot Bank presented example of how a high school student could save money obtain from an allowance or a part-time job to meet their expenses, from dining out and going to the movie to saving for college and making car payments.

The seminar also discussed the enormous benefits of investing from an early age, demonstrating how small but consistent contributions to an investment portfolio could generate enormous returns after several decades. An investment of $200 every month into an account that earns a 7% average annual return, for example, will grow to almost half a million dollars in forty years.

“In many families, money comes in and money goes out each month, without a clear sense of what the goals are,” Malloy said. “As a result, major investments such as buying a home or sending children to college becomes much more difficult, if not impossible. We want to provide high school students with the financial literacy tools to control their earning and spending decisions and achieve their goals.”

Ryan added: “We want to have a program that actually connects with the experiences of the students. Rather than discussing home buying – a rare experience for a high school student – we focused on the kinds of financial issues they encounter in their own lives, such as earning enough at a part-time job to enjoy a night out with friends. The same principles these student use to create budgets for their teenage years will still apply in adulthood when they need to create a household budget that accounts for their needs.”

Judith Corprew, Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance and Risk Officer at Patriot Bank, who leads the bank’s financial literacy programs, explained the purpose of the program.

“Children who understand financial literacy will grow up to become adults who have their ability to handle their personal finances, from creating a monthly household budget to investing for retirement,” Corprew said. “These skills are invaluable for families and for individuals in their careers. At Patriot Bank we are honored to have been a part of this learning process.”

Patriot Bank has hosted other financial literacy event throughout Fairfield County, with students from Trinity Catholic High School, King School, New Canaan High School, Westhill High School, St. Luke’s School, and Housatonic Community College, as well as veterans of the armed forces.

About Patriot Bank, N.A.

Patriot Bank, N.A. is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut and provides consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, government and nonprofit entities, small and medium-sized businesses and professionals. Patriot Bank currently operates 9 full service branches, 9 in Connecticut and 1 in New York. Patriot Bank was founded in 1994.

Image via Patriot Bank