Mission

Proud recipient of 2009 FDIC Chairman’s Award for Innovation in Financial Education

Skills For Living (“S4L”) is a Houston-based non-profit dedicated to promoting financial education among low- and moderate-income families in the greater Houston metro. Founded in 2004, S4L’s programs offer positive and personalized guidance. Our coaches teach participants how to define financial, education, and career goals and implement strategies to achieve them.

S4L offers separate courses for both high school students and adults, each tailored to their respective life stages. Our youth programs provide the opportunity for at-risk, economically-disadvantaged students to be challenged in ways far and above what they experience in traditional classrooms. Teens are taught the fundamentals of investing, budgeting, tax preparation, and college planning. Students routinely complete college-level work, including amortization and asset allocation. 100% of our Game of Real Life graduates scheduled to complete high school in 2010 did in fact graduate, with 97.6% entering college, as opposed to non-completion rates of 40% on average in their districts.

Our adult programs help workers in low-wage positions with career-planning, asset-building, and debt elimination. On average, our adult participants are heads of household with multiple children earning below 200% of the Federal poverty line. Many qualify for some form of public aid and live on a financial “razor’s edge”. Our volunteer educators help them develop an action plan to achieve their goals. Our mentorship results in many saving more, earning high school diplomas, and being hired to full-time positions that extend benefits to them and their families.

Husband and wife co-founders Lorraine and Ken Decker each boast several decades of financial planning experience. Lorraine, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, is President of Skills for Living and led S4L to win the FDIC Chairman’s Award for Innovation in Financial Education, the highest award given by the FDIC to non-employees for contributions to personal finance education. Ken, CPA-PFS, CFP, serves as president of Decker & Associates, a financial planning firm serving both businesses and individuals. Through S4L, they are able offer their expertise to thousands of individuals per year who would not have access to it otherwise. S4L now counts over 1000 volunteers spanning multiple U.S. states.

Skills for Living, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.