Financial Loʻi

The Financial Lo’i is our financial literacy program. It contains a workshop series that was created to help Native Hawaiian families connect to personal finances through cultural concepts and mo’olelo, or stories. Delivering financial and business concepts through a cultural lens, improves retention and impact of difficult, and often, new material. Participants can connect to the content and apply the curriculum in a way that will affect behavior and perspective in a positive manner.

Our goal is to help Native Hawaiians, and participants, to understand that many of these financial concepts are not for Westerners alone, but that our ancestors had a similar economy, and their stories were passed down to help us learn how to use our knowledge to support ourselves. It is through the medium of Native Hawaiian curriculum that we will help to change mindsets and help many Native Hawaiians to overcome the psychological, social, and monetary struggles of commercializing our cultural history and knowledge.

Participants in the Financial Lo'i workshops will:

Gain an understanding of basic principles of personal finance, including goal setting, income, expenses, budgeting, savings, investing, debt, and credit.

Develop a mindset of stewardship and responsibility regarding personal finances and community contribution.

Identify strategies for debt reduction, income creation, and building personal credit.

Obtain a foundation of understanding necessary for further study of business financial management, business credit, and business creation in Maolipreneur series.

Lesson content for Financial Lo’i was constructed with Native Hawaiian communities in mind, and aims to strengthen cultural identity and cultural connection.

Curriculum Summary:

In Hawai’i, farming kalo is a prime example of sustainability and provision, skill and accomplishment. Not only was kalo used to fulfill needs for the family, but also used as currency to barter for other needed materials. Using concepts of lo’i kalo, traditional Hawaiian taro farming, as a backdrop for financial literacy instruction, the Native Hawaiian Practice as a Profession prepares cultural practitioners to first understand money, its uses and impacts through a cultural lens.

In Financial Lo’i, participants analyze their personal finances in a visual manner, set a financial course through goal setting, create an action plan to eliminate debt, strengthen their personal credit profile, and seek to create multiple streams of revenue. The series is comprised of 4 workshops with each workshop structured to allow additional families to join the series at any point during the series duration. There is a strong emphasis on shaping one’s mindset in this series, and participants are prepared and encouraged to utilize available coaching. During coaching sessions, participants and coaches discuss personal financial goals, current challenges and together develop a plan of achievement.

Workshop 1: Introduction to the Financial Lo’i

Objectives:

Gain an understanding of their personal financial situation.
Set a financial goal to work towards for the series and the year.
Establish a desire and set a plan to improve their personal cash flow.

Deliverable:

A visual representation of their personal cash flow statement.

Workshop 2: How to Establish, Improve, or Repair Credit

Objectives:

Increase knowledge about credit reports and credit scores.
Understand the components of a credit report.
Understand how a credit score is measured and calculated.
Establish a desire and set a plan to improve their personal credit.

Deliverable:

Access to their credit report and credit scores from 2 of the 3 credit bureaus.
Credit dispute template and action steps to improve their credit profile.

Workshop 3: Debt Elimination Strategies and Tools

Objectives:

Identify positive and negative uses for debt.
Gain knowledge on efficient and effective debt elimination strategies.
Understand interest and its uses in for positive and negative financial results.
Establish a desire to create and follow a debt elimination plan.