Disclaimer: This Inside South Florida segment is sponsored by Intuit. All opinions and views are of the advertiser and does not reflect the same of WSFL-TV.
Dave Zasada, Intuit’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, and educator and mental wellness advocate Miles Williams joined Inside South Florida to discuss a powerful new educational initiative.
Dave began by explaining what Intuit has learned about the importance of financial literacy, particularly for young people. According to their research, individuals who are financially literate tend to have higher savings, better credit scores, and are more capable of managing debt. That’s why Intuit believes it’s critical that students graduate high school with essential personal finance skills, just as they begin making key financial decisions that can shape their futures.
Miles, who works directly with students every day, emphasized how financial education is often overlooked in the classroom. While schools focus on helping students build healthy relationships with people and academics, they rarely teach how to build a healthy relationship with money. Without a foundational understanding of financial concepts, students can struggle to make informed decisions post-graduation. Because financial education isn’t mandated in many states, educators like Miles are looking for engaging and practical tools to fill that gap—and Intuit is stepping in to help.
Dave explained how Intuit is using its four decades of financial expertise to empower the next generation. The company is on a mission to make 50 million students financially literate by 2030. To do that, they’ve created a free financial curriculum through Intuit for Education that includes real-world simulations and games. They're also encouraging all educators—regardless of grade or subject—to participate in the Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge during Financial Literacy Month. This free challenge includes a simple lesson on budgeting and a digital game called Prosperity Quest, which presents students with real-life financial scenarios. As students play, they earn a score that can be used to compete with other schools across the country for prizes like Chromebooks and national recognition.
Miles shared that his students love the game and the sense of competition it brings. It’s fun, interactive, and helps break down complex financial concepts into something tangible. For teachers, it eases the burden of building a lesson plan from scratch, while parents can feel confident knowing their kids are learning valuable, real-world skills many adults wish they had learned earlier in life.
To learn more about the Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge and how schools can get involved, visit intuit.com/houroffinance. Dave and Miles left us with a clear message: financial literacy isn’t just a class—it’s a life skill, and now there’s an easy way to start teaching it.
