Building Financial Confidence for the Next Generation: How Money Works Returns to Costa Mesa High School

Learning how to manage money is one of those things that can make a real difference early in life, yet it is something many young people are expected to figure out as they go. At Nuvision, we want to help change that by giving students and families practical tools they can use to build good financial habits from the start.

That commitment to the next generation is a big part of why we continue to invest in financial education. Through programs like How Money Works, we can spend time with students in the classroom and talk about the things they are actually going to deal with, from budgeting and saving to credit, banking and making smarter decisions with their money.

We are also finding new ways to help families continue those conversations at home. Earlier this year, Nuvision launched Greenlight for eligible members, giving parents and kids a hands-on way to learn about spending, saving, earning and managing money together.

All of that comes back to the same goal: helping young people feel more prepared and more confident when it comes time to manage their own financial lives.

Back for Our Third Year at Costa Mesa High School

On September 10, the Nuvision team returned to Costa Mesa High School to kick off our third year of the How Money Works financial literacy program.

Approximately 106 students, ranging from freshmen through seniors, are participating in the program during the 2026-2027 school year.

It was especially exciting to welcome this year’s incoming freshmen and see how quickly they jumped into the program. At the other end of the spectrum, this year’s seniors are beginning their third year with How Money Works, giving us the opportunity to see students continue building their financial knowledge from year to year.

Helping Students Put Financial Skills Into Practice

During the class, Lester Baron, a financial educator with How Money Works, introduced students to the 7 Money Milestones and started laying the groundwork for the financial topics they will explore throughout the school year. How Money Works is focused on helping eradicate financial illiteracy by giving people practical tools to better understand and manage their money.

This year, the team also introduced Mentimeter, which allows students to use their phones to respond to polls and questions in real time and see the class results displayed on screen. The added interaction gave more students a chance to participate and helped turn the lesson into a conversation rather than simply a presentation.

Students were also introduced to the new Your Money Move Challenge. The take-home activity gives students a chance to answer questions, complete short surveys and think about how money fits into their own lives. Students who complete the challenge and bring it back to the next class can earn Nuvision Bucks.

The topics will change throughout the year, giving the team another way to learn what students are interested in, what financial questions they have, and where they would like to spend more time.

Helping Students Get Ready for What Comes Next

The September kickoff is only the beginning. Nuvision will meet with the Costa Mesa High School students every month through May, with Lester and Stephen from How Money Works leading lessons throughout the school year.

While individual lessons will vary, the program will cover many of the financial decisions students will soon face themselves, including budgeting, saving, banking, credit, investing and making smart choices with their money.

The goal is to give students money skills they can actually use. How Money Works helps them understand the financial decisions they are already starting to face and prepares them for what comes next, whether that is college, a first job, managing credit or simply learning how to make smarter choices with their money.

For freshmen, that may mean learning how to start saving and understanding where their money goes. For older students, it may mean preparing to manage a checking account, understand credit, evaluate financial choices and take on more responsibility for their own finances.

Those are lessons that can have an impact well beyond a single school year.

We are excited to be back at Costa Mesa High School for our third year and grateful for the enthusiasm we saw from students at the kickoff. Seeing returning students continue through the program while welcoming a new group of freshmen is exactly what makes a long-term partnership like this worthwhile.

Nuvision team members Sally Im, Tess Bermudez, Herman Lopez, Jessy Salazar, Yalil Vazquez, Nicole Randall and Alejandra Lopez were on hand to support the kickoff and help make the event a success.

For Nuvision, financial education is about helping people feel more prepared for the decisions they will make throughout their lives. By starting those conversations early and giving students practical experience with money, we can help them build habits and confidence that will stay with them long after high school.