Finance
Financial stress is one of the most common triggers for relapse. In this module, we start with the basics: how to read a pay stub, create a budget, pay down debt, and build healthy credit habits.
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What the module covers.
The module opens with a financial self-assessment and Money Habitudes exercise, then builds the fundamentals: types of income (salary, hourly, commission, SSI, SSDI, child support), gross versus net pay, and a line-by-line walkthrough of an actual earnings statement. Participants learn to sort their spending into fixed, variable, and discretionary expenses and total them honestly.
Budgeting comes next: the 50/30/20 rule (presented as an ideal, not a mandate), rules of thumb like paying off high-interest debt first and building a $500 emergency fund, and the quiet budget drains — credit card interest, streaming, eating out. The module then covers building credit responsibly, what credit scores mean, the snowball method for paying down debt, and needs versus wants. It closes where money meets recovery: recognizing unhealthy money behaviors, the signs of money addiction, and asking for help, including tools like True Link Visa when access to money feels like a trigger.
Topics.
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Understanding income: gross vs. net pay, and how to read an earnings statement
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Fixed, variable, and discretionary expenses
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The 50/30/20 rule and budgeting rules of thumb
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Building credit, understanding credit scores, and the snowball method
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Needs vs. wants and the expenses that quietly drain a budget
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Money behaviors, money addiction, and when to ask for help
Module package contents
- Facilitator deck (correctional version)
- Facilitator deck (community version)
- Implementation guide
- Activity list and required materials
- Discussion prompts
- Pre-test and post-test (editable)
- Print-ready handouts and worksheets
Adapted for context
| Correctional | Community |
How it's delivered.
The activities are concrete. In the Budget First Steps exercise, participants list their debts, assets, and monthly bills, then write specific financial goals with dollar amounts and deadlines attached. The session also includes the Bean Game, a hands-on budgeting simulation, and sends participants home with free resources: MyMoney.gov, ConsumerFinance.gov, and OperationHope.org.
BRING BRIGHTER PATH TO YOUR FACILITY
We work with correctional facilities, reentry organizations, and community recovery programs.
Whether you're looking for a complete eight-module series or a single workshop to fill a specific gap, Brighter Path is built to fit the population, facility, and the facilitator.