COEUR d'ALENE — When Coeur d'Alene High School senior Aniston Ewing was a little girl, she went to run errands with her grandfather.

“He had to fill up his tank of gas and by the end of it, he had this little notebook," she said during a class presentation Wednesday morning. "I was curious; I didn’t know what he was doing, so I asked him.”

Her grandfather was doing some good old-fashioned budget balancing.

“This was how they did it before they had mobile banking,” she said. “Now we can just go onto an app and it will do it automatically for us, which is really nice. But this was the first time I was introduced to money management."

Ewing, 18, plans to dual-major in accounting and finance when she goes to Boise State University after graduation.

She said she was disappointed her school didn't offer financial literacy classes to learn about budgeting, taxes, credit cards and other money matters, so she dedicated her senior capstone project to financial literacy and enlightening her fellow students about the importance of budgeting, investing and staying out of debt.

"I have seen the importance in learning even the basics as a young student," Ewing said. "I feel that it is something that should be required to learn in school, yet students are barely exposed to finances until they are forced to live on their own."

She discussed the 50-30-20 budget rule, which advises people to use up to 50% of their income on needs and obligations, tuck 20% away into savings and allow 30% to be used on "wants" such as vacations or going out to restaurants.

“This is a great way to start your budgeting finance journey,” Ewing said. "It’s a very simple format. It's great for beginners and people who are financially organized.”

English teacher and dual credit instructor Shawnna Fields said Ewing sees the importance of financial literacy in her life and future career, but she is also observant of how so many young people struggle with understanding finance fundamentals. 

"She sees the need for financial literacy among her peers and wants to help them become financially independent and competent throughout the rest of their lives," Fields said.

A financial literacy course requirement for Idaho high schools was implemented at the start of the 2023-2024 school year after House Bill 92 was passed by the Idaho Legislature. The law requires high schools to provide courses in personal financial literacy and money management.

Coeur d'Alene High School offers financial literacy content in economics, which is a required course. This has been offered for years, Coeur d'Alene School District Executive Director of Community Relations Stefany Bales said.

"I think that students should understand finances while in high school and even earlier than that, clearly because of its importance," Ewing said. "How are we supposed to be responsible human beings if we aren’t even aware of how a credit card works?"

According to Forbes' Average Credit Card Debt Study 2025, published March 3, the most recent data from the Federal Reserve revealed America's credit card debt to be at $18.04 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Regarding money management and credit card debt among younger generations, Experian data in the study showed that Gen Z, which encompasses ages 18-27, has an average credit card debt of $3,456 and an average of two credit cards while Millennials, ages 28-43, average $6,932 in credit card debt and 3.5 credit cards. Gen X, ages 44-59, came in with the most average credit card debt at $9,557 and an average of 4.3 credit cards.

One thing Ewing learned while researching for her senior project was just how simple budgeting can be and how students shouldn't be afraid of financial responsibility as they grow up.

"Although education and living expenses are rising, not for the better, hard work does pay off," she said. "When one can learn to organize those earnings, it is possible to have healthy relationships with that money."

She said she knows math and numbers aren't for everyone, but she hopes her research and presentation made an impact on her peers and encouraged them to care.

"It is a responsibility they will have to take on when they begin living independently," she said. "My goal with this was to leave my audience with new knowledge and more confidence going out of high school and transitioning into adulthood."

This story has been updated to reflect that Coeur d'Alene High School does offer financial literacy content via its economics course.

    Coeur d'Alene High School senior Aniston Ewing shares financial tips about credit, debt, investing and saving Wednesday during a classroom presentation.