Of all the things that Steve Mayer has produced in his long accounting career, he chooses giving his financial books to his children’s friends as a highlight.
Mayer has written two books on the subject, and given more than 50 lectures on it in the past few years, even outside of his role as founder and CEO of Redwood City, California-based SD Mayer & Associates, home. Continuing work in financial studies is very much about the 5 Buckets Foundation.
The foundation was named after his first book, “5 Buckets, 4 Shovels, a Beach and a Map.” He shares that with his follow-up, “Adulting 101: A Guide to Personal Finance” with family and friends — a heavily sponsored series based on his symbolic financial framework. The buckets represent the five classes of goods, the four of spades are different financial experts, the beach is a person’s life full of sand, which represents money, and the map is a guide to financial security.
After leaving the environmental firm he founded to form SD Mayer in early 2013, Mayer was “kicking around the idea of writing a book” based on the idea.
“No one was looking at the general trend,” he recalled. “Our company has a team of tax people, finance, insurance, lawyers – they’re all there. That was the genesis of the book, and this is a great way to serve clients.”
After writing the second book, Mayer founded the nonprofit in 2019 and brought on Victoria Terheyden as president and CEO three years later. The 5 Buckets Foundation provides financial literacy education, primarily through an introductory curriculum that addresses the basics of personal finance.
SD Mayer and its comprehensive wealth management practice, SDM Advisors, are contributing more than 50% of the funding for 5 Buckets, as well as equipment and office space; as Mayer explains, the firm and the foundation are “separate, but joined at the hip.”
“Most of the 5 Buckets Foundation volunteers come from the factory, and the 5 Buckets Foundation is based in offices,” he explained. “The firm provides office space and marketing support, but we are careful that it is an independent organization…. We are not trying to make money from the foundation but we have got it as a legacy project of the firm.”
SD Mayer also acts as one of the organization’s 15 partners providing support and funding, as well as staff trained as teachers in the basic training.
“It’s a unique opportunity for corporate partners, SD Mayer alone,” said Terheyden. “It’s a tool to help us grow and expand, to have many different partners and workshops in the Bay Area and around the country. We have two teaching staff, and to expand the reach, there are business opportunity to become a volunteer teacher through our training program.”
The foundation has currently trained about 15 SD Mayer volunteers, who have reported “a very positive response to the experience,” according to Terheyden, who explained that anyone is welcome as a volunteer, regardless of skill and experience – even typically, as company employees. partners of CPA firms or banks, many have at least basic knowledge.
“You sign up for a two-hour course, and you go into the curriculum and learn on your own, including strategies for being a successful teacher,” Terheyden said. “Go watch the training in person or online, and from there, you’ll let us know if it’s something you want to do.”
SD Mayer’s participation so far has been beneficial, according to Terheyden. “For SD Mayer, it’s been amazing, as a commitment tool for employees to give back their time, and develop other skills, teaching workshops for college groups, community organizations in the Bay Area or country, which they reach through Zoom.”
Courses vary, although the most popular is a 75-minute course that covers the basics of personal finance. About 80% of the training participants are aged 18 to 22 who are starting their financial journey, although the foundations work with groups of adults.
Currently, Terheyden and his colleague run about 60% of the training, with the other 40% run by volunteer trainers; however, that “could grow to 100%,” he said. “We’re moving in the right direction. The goal is to train other people. It’s a movement, not just about teaching, but importantly, hoping to see a community movement that leads to that education.”
Movement and agility
The 5 Buckets curriculum was created to provide education that is lacking in young people, and the foundation’s website shows important statistics: According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 92% of respondents say it is important learning about personal finance in high school. or college, but only 20% say they will know where to start with their financial education. And it’s not just young people: A survey found that 64% of US adults worry about money and say it’s a major source of stress.
This emotional aspect is addressed in the basic training, Terheyden explained, which includes “examining the relationship of a person with money, where it comes from – the family, the community. Money is a difficult topic so we take care of the emotional level of the room. The program of course. covers all the basics: building and managing debt; buy now, pay back options, what it means…
5 Buckets also focuses on underserved populations, with several projects in the works that Terheyden is passionate about.
“One exciting thing in the last few weeks is a $50,000 grant to work with a current partner in Oakland to create a financial education program aimed at early college students,” he said. “It’s a regular educational program, but it’s deeper with groups with different experiences. We’re also creating an educational program for young people of transitional age – citizens who have a hard hand in life and need this knowledge than ever before.”
The final program will directly address California’s Child Care Extension Act (AB 12), which allows eligible youth to remain in foster care beyond the ages of 18 to 21, with additional requirements and financial implications, such as the monthly income that a basic education can help with. advise me.
In addition to expanding the demographics, 5 Buckets hopes to expand its overall reach, according to Mayer: “Our goal is to teach 10,000 to 20,000 kids a year.”
Terheyden registers an impressive achievement so far.
“We evaluate all students and participants at the end with the metrics of what they have learned and measure the need for our training,” he explained. “[They say] ‘We’ve never been approached at school, we’ve never done this effectively.’ Young people tell it like it is – that they didn’t get an education, they have a lot of student debt, they don’t feel ready to start life. In college they are given a free T-shirt and hat to sign up for a credit card. All of these concepts require a deeper dive. We make an impact and continue to grow. I hope this will be taught strongly in schools and homes. But it’s a long time. ”
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