Empowering Youth for Life

Bridging The Gap In Financial Literacy And Essential Life Skills

I believe in empowering future generations with the skills they need to thrive. As a parent and educator, I am deeply concerned about the challenges facing our youth and how we can better prepare them for their futures.

Unfortunately, Home Economics courses have been removed from many public schools, replaced by other subjects like gender and race discussions.

While these are important conversations, I feel essential life skills are being overlooked. Regardless of background, we all face the same everyday responsibilities: paying bills, raising families, supporting aging parents, and saving for the future. Financial literacy is critical for all of us, yet it's disappearing from schools.

Why this is happening?

Shift in Focus: Schools prioritize core subjects for standardized testing, often at the expense of elective courses like home economics. This means fewer students are learning practical skills such as budgeting, cooking, and household management.
Budget Cuts: Across 35 states, electives like home economics have seen average funding cuts of 15% over the past 20 years, making it harder for schools to offer these valuable courses.
Teacher Shortage: Between 2000 and 2020, the number of Family and Consumer Sciences teachers dropped by 38%, limiting schools' ability to provide these courses.

The Impact

Life Skills Gap: Less than 40% of high school students now receive formal instruction in essential skills like budgeting, saving, or cooking.

Financial Strain: A staggering 88% of young adults say they wish they’d learned more about managing money in school, and roughly 70% of college graduates carry student debt.

Our Non Profit

Our nonprofit is stepping in to fill this gap. We’re committed to providing financial literacy programs for youth, helping them learn skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Our goal? No Family Left Behind.

If schools aren’t providing these courses, we will. Together, we can build a community where everyone has the financial knowledge to make informed, empowered decisions. Our future is in our hands, and financial freedom is achievable for all. Let’s make it happen.

If you are interested in what we do for the youth and want to join this financial literacy campaign for all ages, please reach out to us.
[email protected]

Warmly,
Liwei McBain
Founder of EarlyBird Financial Empowerment

About Liwei

Liwei McBain's journey from a language educator to a transformative financial literacy mentor is fueled by her belief in empowering individuals to live a life with purpose and wisdom. With a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics and nearly two decades in language and cultural education, Liwei has always been passionate about teaching. Her motto, "Teach a man to fish, rather than give him fish," perfectly captures her approach to financial education.

Determined to make a significant impact, Liwei has expanded her teaching to financial literacy, addressing a crucial gap often overlooked by traditional financial institutions. She’s not just teaching people how to save and manage money, but also how to grow their wealth and make informed decisions that transform their lives.

Liwei Mc'Bain