Making the Right Money Moves

The investment in education your credit union needs to yield knowledgeable new customers.

Making the Right Money Moves is a seven-lesson financial skills course taught by school faculty.

The investment in education your credit union needs to yield knowledgeable new members. Credit unions nationwide use Making the Right Money Moves to teach young adults in the classroom basic money management skills, including how to access and manage credit responsibly.

Why do teens need it?

The average high school graduate lacks basic personal financial skills. Many cannot balance a checkbook and most have no insight into the basic principles of earning, spending, or saving.

Making the Right Money Moves helps students learn to manage their first credit experience and establish valuable lifelong financial habits. Rather than stumbling through their financial life by trial and error, teach them in the classroom where mistakes do not cost ‘real’ dollars.

What are the program components?

There are four curriculum components available to each ordering teacher:

  1. The Student Workbook branded with your credit union’s logo (available in Paper or Digital Format)
  2. The 40-page Teacher’s Guide
  3. Our online video, Check It Out!! – checking account convenience, management and the 5 C’s of credit; as well as access to a video on Identity Theft
  4. An additional online exercise, You’re on Your Own – money management

Teachers request the number of workbooks needed for their classes and a Teacher’s Guide. You receive the fifth component directly: Your Credit Union Guide, which provides ideas and recommendations for maximizing your participation in the program. 

What concepts are covered?

  • The Credit Union Story
  • Budgeting
  • Personal Savings
  • Basic Investments
  • Checking Accounts
  • Credit
  • Loans
  • Loans to Avoid
  • Electronic Banking
  • Deposit Image Technology
  • Online Banking
  • Online Bill Paying
  • Mobile Banking
  • Mobile Text Banking
  • Mobile Wallet
  • Identity Theft
  • Protecting Your Personal Information

And much more…

Here is what teachers say about the program

“Thank you for providing this wonderful resource. So many students have never been taught money management. I incorporated the checking account lesson in my accounting class. Many students from prior school years tell me they remember that lesson the most!”


“Information and activities in this workbook are excellent and have provided real life examples for students’ financial planning skills. The activities have facilitated learning about the necessity of planning and making wise decisions to achieve financial security. Thanks.”


“Thank you for the AMAZING materials! I teach financial math and the purpose of the class is to teach students to be financially secure. These materials help them understand not only how to do it but why.”

“My classes love doing these real-world assignments. Most of my students are seniors and they are getting ready to make their own banking and financial decisions. This program gives them the opportunity to practice these skills in a safe environment.”


“Thank you for providing these workbooks to my Financial Literacy classes. It is so important for students to understand checking and not just the use of debit cards. Understanding a statement and learning how to reconcile an account has been very valuable to my students!”


“This is a great, real-life program to teach students about managing their finances, balancing a checkbook, and explaining various financial terms. I use it yearly in my classes. Thank you for a wonderful resource!”

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Our Guarantee

As your silent partner, we are committed to increasing your stature and presence in the community. All contacts with schools are made in your name; the students’ materials prominently display your logo.

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Cemark is very thorough in reaching out and contacting schools, follow-up, processing orders, and forwarding feedback from the teachers.  We have always received very positive comments from the schools about the workbooks, the content as well as appreciation for our sponsorship.

While these attributes are very important to BELCO, above all we appreciate the outstanding customer service provided by the Cemark staff.

Tricia Heisey
BELCO Community CU
Sponsor since 2005

I have worked with Cemark and the Making the Right Money Moves program since I started at the credit union in 2015. Since then we have grown our program to include more schools. We love offering this program to our local schools as we know that any financial literacy that we can get out to students will help them build a healthy financial foundation so we can better assist them in the future. We have several teachers ask for us to come speak to their classes and it gives us the opportunity to teach students financial responsibility and gets our name out there.

Ashley Fowlkes
Big Spring Education Employees FCU
Sponsor since 2013

Financial Education is a cornerstone in our organization and working with Cemark to provide the necessary educational materials for the classrooms and students within our communities has been essential to our financial wellness programing.  Cemark and their team make the outreach and delivery process seamless which allows us and the teachers to focus on our relationships and the learning objectives for the students.

Colleen Barton
Visions FCU
Sponsor since 1992

Since 2009 Altana Federal Credit Union has been a proud sponsor of the Saving with Mandy and Randy program. Altana is a huge believer in the importance of financial literacy and starting those lessons early helps reach our outreach goals. Elementary teachers appreciate having the turn-key materials in their classrooms as a primary resource for the information or to enhance the lessons they are already teaching. The team at Saving with Mandy and Randy is a delight to work with and I can always count on their efficiency. We will continue to use this programming in the future and encourage others to consider doing the same.

Heidi Davey
Altana FCU
Sponsor since 2009

We find the “Making the Right Money Moves” program to be cost-effective, relevant, and user friendly. Cost-effective because we set a budget for the calendar year and adjust as additional interest is found. This allows us to plan our budget and be flexible to additional opportunities.

The ease of program has been one of our favorite features.  The financial content shared is of interest to the students and teachers alike.

The value Cemark offers in the “Making the Right Money Moves” program allows First Missouri Credit Union to offer financial education to area schools at a reasonable cost and a flexible or minimal time commitment.

Debby Basch
First Missouri CU
Sponsor since 2002