Bishop John Noonan | Diocese of Orland website

When Sheila Maldonado and her husband began the Compass course on biblical finance and stewardship, she did not expect it would have such an impact on her twin teenage daughters, Amanda and Heidy. As the course continued, Maldonado shared its exercises with her daughters, who are now helping to teach other young people through the Spiritual Cents program.

“We enjoyed what they were doing and found it interesting that we could start early on it,” Amanda said of her and her sister’s experience. The two seniors took the course at St. Isaac Jogues and trained to become facilitators for Spiritual Cents, a Compass for Youth course focused on biblically based finance. Their mother wanted to introduce a youth program like this at St. Thomas Aquinas and hoped her daughters would help teach. “We thought it was a very good idea because we were wanting to be even more involved in leading teens on the right path,” Amanda said. The sisters are now teaching Compass for Youth at their parish, St. Thomas Aquinas, with ten students set to graduate on October 18.

Amanda described the course as interactive. “At first I thought it was going to be a class where they’re teaching at you, but it was more interactive,” she said. “You choose how you take in the information.” She recalled struggling with a financial knowledge game at first but saw improvement by the end. “I was excited I had actually made progress on something I was struggling with before. I wanted other teens to know they could find a way to escape from the financial debt most college students have,” Amanda said.

As Amanda prepares for college, she hopes to avoid loans and excessive debt. The Compass course uses real-life scenarios in its lessons. In one game, students act as college students managing budgets for dorms, meals, transportation, and other expenses. They make group decisions and learn how their choices affect their finances and happiness.

Amanda said she learned to distinguish between needs and wants. “Now when I see something I think of as a need, I wait 48 hours and find it was really a want.” She also realized that some wants do not bring lasting happiness. “It showed us that every material thing does not make us happy,” she said.

She noted that student loan debt is a concern for her and that scholarships are difficult to obtain. “It was very impactful for me to start learning how to save the right way so I can avoid those student loans and student debt.”

The six-week course includes Scripture in every lesson. Amanda recalled one lesson: “all of our belongings don’t actually belong to us. They belong to the Lord. They are His and gained through Him, through time, talent, and treasure.”

She believes Compass is more than a finance class. “In reality, it’s just a way to show how the Bible is more than just a book,” Amanda said. “It’s about God and is a guide to everyday life.” She added that much of the Scripture in the course focused on letting go of material things “in order to reach the real paradise” and “how true happiness isn’t found in treasure (riches) but in how you deem that treasure.”

Amanda said the most helpful part was learning about money management with credit and debit cards and how to avoid common student loan pitfalls. She now feels more confident about her financial future and hopes students will finish the course with budgets for future stability.

Both Amanda and Heidy hope to teach the course again. Heidy wants “others to have the same opportunity.” She observed that many peers lack financial responsibility and hopes teaching will help others learn what she did: “to avoid the typical financial pitfalls and have more stable financial security in the future.”

“I learned how my finances can impact everything around me. And that the Bible teaches us how to manage it,” Heidy said. “It’s not only about the Bible, but also about how the Bible helps you. It can help you get closer to your faith without even realizing it.” She added that she now reads her Bible almost daily: “Now I read the Bible almost every day,” she said. “It has shown me that God has created us the way we are because He has a plan for us.”

The Diocese of Orlando was established in 1968 and covers Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia Counties. The diocese includes 79 parishes, 11 missions, two basilicas, and 43 Catholic schools. The Most Reverend Bishop James Noonan currently leads the diocese.