We recently connected with Annisa Morgan and have shared our conversation below.

Annisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Dollars At 10 is a 501 (c) (3) certified nonprofit organization. It’s a unique family organization that teaches transformation through financial education. Dollars At 10 was birthed from my experience handling my finances at the age of ten. We teach financial education to the family unit, and we believe that financial education should start early and simply. Dollars At 10 is committed to providing teachers and parents with the literacy tools, training, and education they need to promote financial literacy in our community. Every child deserves to have a solid financial literacy foundation before graduating high school, so they can make intelligent financial decisions even before living independently.

We also provide age-appropriate financial information such as saving, investing, credit, and the art of negotiation. So much money can be left on the table because we were never taught how to negotiate effectively early. I am most proud when I receive a call or an email from a parent who has opened a bank account for their child for the first time after reading my book. Or a family telling me how they have started the Dollar Challenge Family Game and the impact it is making on their family on the importance of saving by starting with just one dollar. I am motivated when a grandmother tells me she wished she had access to this information as a child, but she is happy she can help her grandchild get what she didn’t have. Dollars At 10 offers a holistic financial approach for the entire family. While most other financial education companies focus primarily on adults, we believe that including children will have a lasting generational impact.

Annisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in Jamaica with my grandparents after my parents migrated to the United States when I was six years old. When I turned ten years old, my parents decided to start sending me my lunch and allowance money for the month instead of sending it to my grandparents. So I started handling my finances, meaning I got my lunch and allowance money for the month, and I had to decide how I spent it. My choices were to be good and save and make sure the money lasted for the month or spend all my lunch money for the month at the store on candy or whatever my little ten-year-old heart desired. I chose to be smart with my money and learned valuable lifelong financial lessons early. I can credit that experience to the financially savvy person I am today. Will this approach work for every child? It may not. What I do know is that it is a great place to start.

As a personal finance educator, I recognize the value of learning about money early and its impact on a child’s life. Growing up, my parents taught me the value of money, which has significantly impacted my life. As a result, I am on a journey to help children be financially literate. The goal is to transform our children’s lives through financial education, teaching them early how important it is to be financially literate.

I am most proud of authoring two books “Teach Me How To Money Now” and “Cooper Learns To Save.” I have seen the book’s impact, making me want to do much more to help our community. In the U.S., 25 million kids cannot read proficiently. When you combine that with the financial education not being taught in our schools, we’re left with a community filled with a literacy and financial literacy crisis.

At Dollars At 10, we are working tirelessly to alleviate both issues. We need your help to transform the literacy crisis in our community into wins for families everywhere.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease a few years ago, and one of the symptoms is chronic insomnia. It was challenging as I worked full time and had young kids. At first, I was very frustrated and would just lay there for hours. Then I started thinking about what I could do with my time since I would not fall back to sleep. It had been a dream of mine to write a book. So I decided instead of just laying in bed and not being

able to go back to sleep, I would get up and start writing. I would get up at 2 am, write until 5 am, get the kids up for school, and then get ready for work. Keeping this schedule, I completed my first book in three months. It was not easy, but from that, I am now a two-time author and currently working on my third book as a co-author.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2007, right before the financial crisis, with a two-week-old baby, we packed up and moved from New York to Georgia. I planned it well, I would get a transfer from my great job with my New York salary, and if that didn’t work, I would find a job before my maternity leave ended. Then the recession hit, the job market shifted, and I had difficulty finding a job. I knew something had to change. I needed to specialize; my general business degree would not give me an edge in that job market. So I enrolled to do my Master’s degree in Accounting and Finance even though my undergraduate degree is in Business Administration. I was told I was crazy to do that. I had only taken one accounting class as an undergraduate student. So I went back to school with a six-month-old and a four-year-old. It was hard, but I survived and graduated. I found an accounting position while I completed my Master’s. While it was challenging at the time to pivot, it was the best decision I could have made.

Contact Info:

• Website: Dollarsat10.org
• Instagram: @Dollarsat10
• Facebook: Teachmehowtomoneynow
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/annisa-morgan-3292a424