ST. CLOUD  |  When Sheila Maldonado and her husband began Compass, a biblical course in finance and stewardship, she never anticipated how valuable it would be for her twin teenage daughters. As the course progressed, she shared exercises with them. Now they are helping teach other young people through Spiritual Cents.

“We enjoyed what they were doing and found it interesting that we could start early on it,” said Amanda of her and sister Heidy’s experience. The two seniors took the course at St. Isaac Jogues and trained to become facilitators for Spiritual Cents, a Compass for Youth course on biblically based finance. Their mom wanted to bring a youth program like this to St. Thomas Aquinas and hoped her daughters would assist teaching. “We thought it was a very good idea because we were wanting to be even more involved in leading teens on the right path,” Amanda said. The two sisters are teaching Compass for Youth at their parish of St. Thomas Aquinas. Ten students will graduate on Oct. 18.

“At first I thought it was going to be a class where they’re teaching at you, but it was more interactive,” recalled Amanda. “You choose how you take in the information.” She noted how poorly she did when playing a game that tested her financial knowledge. But by the end, she could see measured success. “I was excited I had actually made progress on something I was struggling with before. I wanted other teens to know they could find a way to escape from the financial debt most college students have,” she said.

Going into college soon herself, she hopes to avoid loans and excessive debt.

Compass follows a prescribed presentation that integrates real-life scenarios as part of the classroom experience. In the particular game Amanda referred to, students assumed they were in college facing the reality of the cost of dorms, meals, transportation, needs and wants. They had a budget for their choices. As a group, they decided what they would use the money for and then learned how that decision affected their financial bottom line and overall happiness.

Amanda said she improved the most in “knowing what needs and wants are.” Something she did not always discern in the past. “Now when I see something I think of as a need, I wait 48 hours and find it was really a want.” She said this was one of her greatest lessons.

She also learned that some wants decrease joy. “It showed us that every material thing does not make us happy,” she said.

As a senior, she said the prospect of loan debt is scary and scholarships are hard to come by. “It was very impactful for me to start learning how to save the right way so I can avoid those student loans and student debt.”

The 6-week course includes Scripture in every lesson. Amanda said a lesson that stuck included Scripture explaining, “all of our belongings don’t actually belong to us. They belong to the Lord. They are His and gained through Him, through time, talent, and treasure.”

She feels Compass is much more than a typical finance class. “In reality, it’s just a way to show how the Bible is more than just a book,” she shared. “It’s about God and is a guide to everyday life.”

She said most of the Scripture spoke of letting go of material things “in order to reach the real paradise” and “how true happiness isn’t found in treasure (riches) but in how you deem that treasure.”

Amanda said the most helpful thing she learned was “money management, both credit cards and debit cards, and how to avoid the stereotype of student loan (debt).” Now she feels more confident about her financial future. In the final wrap up session, the sister hopes to have students formulate budgets that will carry them forward to financial stability.

She and Heidy hope to teach the course again. Heidy noted she wants “others to have the same opportunity.” She notices a lack of responsibility in fellow peers and hopes teaching the course will help others learn what she learned: “to avoid the typical financial pitfalls and have more stable financial security in the future.”

“I learned how my finances can impact everything around me. And that the Bible teaches us how to manage it,” said Heidy. “It’s not only about the Bible, but also about how the Bible helps you. It can help you get closer to your faith without even realizing it.”

She added the course led her to open her Bible far more often than she used to. “Now I read the Bible almost every day,” she said. “It has shown me that God has created us the way we are because He has a plan for us.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, October 17, 2025