Who We Are

SavingAndBorrowing.org is a nonprofit educational association whose mission is to teach hands-on, real-life consumer finance (Financial Literacy) problem-solving Life Skills to high school students and young adults through experiential workshops. The skills we teach are twofold: 1) to keep students from being taken advantage of financially by teaching them how to calculate and compare most consumer finance borrowing scenarios, and 2) to help students calculate for themselves and therefore see first-hand, the wealth-building power of small, regular savings or investment deposits combined with the power of long-term compounding. We help prepare them for the present, and show them how to better plan for the future. We are also a registered Texas Education Agency (TEA) Continuing Professional Education (CPE) provider for the purpose of supporting Teachers who request to use our teaching presentation, methodologies, and problem set. These methodologies include a cumulative learning approach which uses repetition to reinforce the concepts learned and problems solved.

These skills are taught in a non-intimidating manner, using only the most basic math. The only math involved is to calculate how many months are in a given number of years. To do so, just multiply the number of years by 12. For example, a 3-year loan is 36 months. (3 x 12 = 36 months). We focus on a clear understanding of the 5 elements of “Time Value of Money” (TVM) . These elements are: Number of Payments, Interest Rate, Payment Amount, Present Value, and Future Value. Our target audiences include high school students in Financial Literacy classes. Increasingly, we are leveraging our impact by giving presentations at high school Teacher Conferences for multiple disciplines, (such as Career and Technical Education, DECA, and Family and Consumer Science) providing all resources needed to take the same program back to their classrooms at no cost.

Our Secret Sauce? First, a simple explanation/discussion of the 5 elements of “Time Value of Money” (TVM) as stated above. Next, a very user-friendly platform as described below in the paragraph titled “What Platform?” is introduced to engage each attendee and monitor their progress real-time as we solve a number of problems in a step-by-step fashion using our Problem Set. This repetitive pattern technique virtually eliminates any required memorization and quickly deepens one’s understanding of the concepts. We are also striving to incorporate humor into the presentations as an additional avenue to connect with the audience. To date, every participant taking the course “gets it” by the time they’re finished. A pdf of the presentation is available for downloading under the “Presentations” header at the top of this page. And the problems solved in class are available under “Problem Sets.” Lastly, to review the general process to obtain the app described in Teacher Conference sessions for possible deployment to Chromebooks, iPads, or Windows desktops, or (currently under development) possibly even students’ personal phones, please click on the header “Grant Info”.

Reviews? To see what participants say about the real-life problem-solving skills learned in the SavingAndBorrowing.org TVM session, read our 50-plus most current Reviews. Just click on “Reviews” in the header at the top of the page (or possibly the “hamburger menu” on a mobile device) to see the pdf of actual Feedback Forms from both high school Teachers and students.

What Platform? The platform used to solve problems in the classroom was selected after comparing it against Excel, Google Sheets, Apple’s Numbers, Desmos web-based, TI BAII Plus, TI 84 Plus, TI-Nspire CX, HP 12C, HP 17bII+, and the Casio FC-200V calculators. And the winner is…the extremely easy to learn HP 10bII+ handheld calculator. When teaching a live workshop, each participant will be provided a HP 10bII+ handheld calculator to use during the workshop. In virtual sessions, the 10bii Financial Calculator app available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Microsoft App Store will be used.

Also, please see the “Event Schedule” below for our February ’25 announcement to teach TVM using the TI 84 Plus calculators for high school classes which already require that device.

Our published session description:

Saving and Borrowing: Fun with Real World Consumer Finance, Part 1

Come ready to learn a new hands-on Life Skill that is portable, so the technology is always available whenever you need it!  No jargon, no math, just practicing a new skill that will make a difference in both your and your students’ financial future.  In this lively session you will learn and retain how to solve a wide variety of consumer finance problems dealing with saving, borrowing, and retiring.  

The most valuable part of the session is that you will come to understand the 5 elements of “Time Value of Money” (TVM), which are: Number of Payments, Interest Rate, Payment Amount, Present Value, and Future Value. After explaining these concepts, we will practice, practice, practice solving problems using the most user-friendly platform available today, HP 10bII+ handheld calculator, or its app equivalent, the 10bii Financial Calculator app. We will make sure you “get it,” and can see the possibilities of sharing this new Life Skill with your students. The app is available for Apple and Android smartphones as well as Chromebooks and iPads, should you decide to carry this new Life Skill with you at all times.

The content and instructional methodology used in our workshops has been adapted from post-secondary teaching experience, and to our knowledge has not previously been offered on a widespread basis at the secondary level.

We specialize in teaching hands-on, real-life consumer finance (Financial Literacy) problem-solving Life Skills based on understanding the 5 elements of “Time Value of Money” (TVM).

Experience and Program Goal

During 20 years of combined experience as an adjunct faculty member teaching Business Finance and Personal Finance at Austin Community College where he attained the Master Teacher classification, and at the Concordia University Texas MBA program where he was commended by Concordia for his exceptional performance as an instructor, Dean Harris, CPA (ret.), founder of SavingAndBorrowing.org, developed engaging, hands-on sessions to teach students to understand time value of money concepts and to solve a wide range of problems encountered at various life stages. Mr. Harris is also a licensed Texas Real Estate Broker and, previously, a Texas Certified General Appraiser. Additionally, he has been an instructor for professional associations including the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts, Texas Association of Assessing Officers, and the International Right of Way Association.

After having been retired 10 years, Mr. Harris developed this TVM session for high school students and Teachers, and began live presentations in spring 2024. SavingAndBorrowing.org has now given 25 sessions across 5 high schools, reaching over 500 students. Presentations at Teacher conferences, which is becoming our focus, includes the Career and Technical Association of Texas (CTAT), Family and Consumer Science Teachers Association of Texas (FCSTAT) live and virtual, and DECA Collab conferences. His goal for this program is to share the material and techniques he developed with all high school Teachers interested in financial literacy and time value of money, and giving their students one more portable Life Skill. He is interested in reaching motivated young adults, particularly those challenged by socioeconomic status, who might not otherwise be exposed to these concepts and problem-solving skills.

The short-term Program Goal of SavingAndBorrowing.org is to provide high school Teachers at no cost, access to the same presentations and problem sets as in the conference sessions they attended. These resources may be used in Teachers’ classrooms in accordance with the licensing terms stated in the Presentation document. Additionally, research has identified a financial calculator app that may be deployed to Chromebooks and iPads, and Apple and Android smartphones. A more in-depth discussion about procuring the app, as well as possible grant funding, is available by contacting us. As schools begin to deploy apps, we may, on as as-needed basis, provide CPE classes for Teachers if training is requested.

Closely aligned with this short-term Program Goal is statewide adoption of this TEKS-compliant skill, and for every high school student to graduate with this knowledge as well as have a similar app on their phone, so they are always ready to perform finance calculations whenever needed in the real world.

Program Contributors

This program is grateful to have been developed with assistance from:

• Melissa Thomas, Round Rock ISD, CTE Specialist
• Randy Jasek, Dave Ramsey volunteer, technical review
• NHP Private Operating Foundation, financial support
• Vi Snell, National Business Educators Assoc. (NBEA), PPT review
• Kay Norton, research associate
• Rene Gonzales, Virtual-Enterprises.com, technology consultant
• Taylor Tackitt, webmaster and creative consultant
• Marisa Brice, Exec. Dir., Family and Consumer Science Teachers Assoc. of Texas
• Anne Parrish, Certified Texas Teacher, trainee

We have reached out to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Operation Hope, Financial Beginnings, YWCA Economic Empowerment Program, Future Business Leaders of America, and Business Professionals of America for possible collaboration. If you are aware of any groups serving motivated youth who are trying to better themselves in life, feel free to mention this website to them. We can accommodate groups of up to 50.

Event Schedule

March ’25: Received approval from Round Rock ISD to provide financial calculator app to students requesting such, for use outside the classroom. Also presented hands-on workshops for Round Rock ISD classes dealing with general time value of money.

February ’25: Launched a new project! Adapting our presentation to high school classes where students use the TI 84 Plus line of calculators. These calculators have a built-in “TVM Solver” app. This project would entail extending the functionality of these calculators and making students aware of the additional features. The Presentation and Problem Sets used would be nearly identical to our flagship workshop.

February ’25: Hands-on workshops for Round Rock ISD classes dealing with credit and payments.

January ’25: Virtual hands-on workshops for Family and Consumer Science Teachers Association of Texas (FCSTAT) Virtual Midwinter Conference. This will be our first virtual session, with promo codes for financial calculators to be distributed in advance, so each participant may download an app in preparation for the session. This virtual session may help launch SavingAndBorrowing.org on a path to offer training to audiences beyond Texas.

November ’24: Began scheduling repeat session dates for Round Rock ISD hands-on workshops. Teachers have requested the current sessions to focus on compounding and compound interest. To paraphrase Einstein, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.” Enough said? Can’t wait to see how we adapt that idea to the classroom! After November’s workshops, we will have presented to over 500 students since the program’s inception in February ’24!

October ’24: Presented hands-on workshop at the Texas DECA “Collab” conference in Round Rock, Texas. Also went live with the website.

September ‘24: Launched the beta version of the SavingAndBorrowing.org website.

August ’24: Presented hands-on workshop for the Central Texas Table of Grace, a nonprofit in Round Rock, Texas, and became a TEA-approved CPE provider.

July ’24: Presented hands-on workshop at the Career and Technical Association of Texas (CTAT) and the Family and Consumer Science Teachers Association of Texas (FCSTAT) conferences in D/FW, with a goal to raise Teachers’ awareness of high school students’ ability to learn these concepts and to provide a pathway to incorporate these skills into their curriculum.

Feb-April ’24: Program was launched with Time Value of Money (TVM) hands-on workshops presentations to seventeen “Money Matters” financial literacy classes district-wide for Round Rock ISD (RRISD), reaching 300 students.

Reviews