When I was 17, my parents asked me if I would be interested in attending a personal finance class that was being offered at a local church. I reluctantly agreed, and soon found myself sitting in a room, surrounded by married people in their 40s and 50s learning about budgeting and saving for retirement. Yeah, that was awkward. But it transformed how I saw money forever.

Thirteen years later I am still reaping the benefits of the things I learned in that class. It was then and there that I became determined to graduate college debt-free, no matter what it took. I succeeded, too, despite having to come up with the funds all on my own and not qualifying for federal grants. I don't think I would have made it were it not for that class. It wasn't that my parents hadn't tried to teach me good money habits. They had. I think I just needed to hear these things from somebody else.

Now that I can see the profound impact that class had on me, I want to provide that same experience for other teens. That's why I wrote my own curriculum. I couldn't find anyone teaching these lessons in a way that was designed just for teens, so I created it. In this class, we cover everything from building good money habits to choosing a fulfilling career to understanding how insurance and retirement accounts work. And we have a blast doing it.

I wasn't sure at first if kids would even be interested in such a class. Boy was I wrong! My first class two years ago almost completely filled up! The best part? It wasn't because their parents made them go. They genuinely wanted to be there! Our teens not only need to learn how to manage money in today's world – they want to. They just don't always want to learn it from Mom and Dad.

Imagine if your 16-year-old actually started saving money for college. What if your 17-year-old started keeping a budget? Or if she got a summer job and finally began to understand the value of a dollar? Unrealistic? I've seen it happen. It happened for me and I've seen it happen for the teens that go through my class. If you and your teen don't see the value after the first class, I'll give you your money back. You've got nothing to lose, so go ahead and sign up your teenage son or daughter for our next class.

Each course is 6 weeks long (1 hour per week) and costs $110 per student. Classes are capped out at 10 students. The course is taught at Slice of Life Enrichment School, 48771 West Valley Blvd., Tehachapi, Calif. Call me at (801) 674-0164 for more details or to enroll.