About Us | Our Mission - Gifting Sense®

For almost a decade, we've experienced how letting school-age children work on personal finance problems that matter to them in real-time convinces youth that money smarts are worth pursuing long before they become adult income earners. Of course, there is more to being good with money than wise spending habits. However, thinking before buying allows young people to discover that anyone can get and use financial information to improve their lives - when their money personalities are still in development. This insight can't help but allow kids to earn, save, share, and invest more as their futures unfold.

We start personal finance lessons at the beginning.

We don't start any other subject "in the middle." We learn the alphabet and then how to read. We learn our numbers and then how to do math. What comes before learning how to budget, choose a credit card, compare auto loan/ mortgage options, or invest? For many people, very little.

Think of thinking-before-buying as the ABCs or 123s of financial literacy, the missing foundational piece to the financial literacy puzzle. If we want our kids to grow into adults who are "good with money," they need high school and post-secondary personal finance courses. However, they also need foundational personal finance lessons before high school. Mastering the basics gives kids the appetite and confidence to enjoy learning more about any subject. Why would personal finance be any different?

Early financial education solves so much!

When kids get comfortable with basic personal finance terms and ideas, they also develop the confidence required to seek out the more sophisticated financial information they'll need later in life when it is appropriate, relevant, and helpful. Let's create a world where children go into high school knowing they can ask questions before spending their money or anyone else's. When we know we can get and use financial information to improve our lives, we can avoid early financial pitfalls. It is so much easier to avoid pitfalls than dig out of them!

Economist & Mom

Karen Holland

Gifting Sense was founded by Economist, Karen Holland - who credits her own mother with teaching her how to spend wisely from an early age. Karen has a Masters degree in Economic History and an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She has been recognized as a Distinguished Educator by the national nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance for outstanding commitment to professional development in real-world personal finance topics. She is a MAIA Money Changer: a global list of citizens working to make money better for others.

Karen worked with families, educators, and digital development professionals to create the site and tools you see today - which have been designed to deliver FUNdamental personal finance lessons in the most engaging and accessible way possible.

Her dream is that one day very soon, kids won’t even think about buying or asking for something until they’ve calculated its DIMS SCORE®!

I have always highly recommended the DIMS SCORE® Calculator to my coaching participants and viewers. It’s an invaluable tool that helps young people make thoughtful financial decisions. This tool empowers teens to think critically, adding tremendous value to their lives, something I would have appreciated as a teen.

Mathura A Kannan

Author & Host of Money Matter$

We're so fortunate to have workshops on financial literacy from Ms. Karen Holland from Gifting Sense! Her presentations are highly interactive, lively and packed with teen-friendly wisdom on managing your money. Ms. Holland's take on young people and their finances is relatable to them, equitable and specific, enabling students to take action in the moments after her presentation. She's an engaging and dynamic speaker who can captivate an audience big or small. The Brearley School highly recommends Gifting Sense!

Tim Brownell

Head of Middle School Student Life, The Brearley School Middle School

This is the exact structure my family needs - both me and the kiddos. We have conversations about money (wants and needs, specifically about the difference between those, and making a plan to achieve a goal). BRILLIANT!! I am so excited to bring this teaching into my family life.

Parenting Boys Peacefully Parent