By Jaade Gillespie
And every time I hear that, I pause. Because most of the time, it has nothing to do with ability. It has everything to do with confidence.
I understand that feeling more than people might expect.
I didn’t grow up without conversations about money, but I didn’t always feel confident making financial decisions on my own. I knew it was important. I knew it mattered. But when it came to actually applying it in my own life, I often found myself second guessing.
I remember moments as simple as sitting there before making a purchase or decision, going back and forth in my head, wondering if I was doing the “smart” thing. Not because I didn’t care, but because I cared so much about getting it right that I wasn’t always sure I trusted myself to.
It was not a lack of exposure. It was a lack of confidence.
And once I recognized that, everything started to shift.
As I began learning more and actually applying it, things became clearer. Not overnight, but gradually. What once felt overwhelming started to feel manageable. What once felt intimidating started to feel empowering.
And more importantly, I started to trust myself.
Through my work with students, I’ve realized just how common that feeling is. So many young people think they are behind.
They hesitate to ask questions. They assume everyone else understands something that they don’t.
But when you create the space for honest conversations, you start to see the truth.
They are not behind. They just have not been given the confidence yet.
That realization is what led me to create LIFT, which stands for Learn, Invest, Finance, Thrive.
What started as a passion has grown into something I am deeply proud of. Through workshops, conversations, and simple, approachable tools, I have had the opportunity to work with over 300 students.
And as that work has grown, so has the impact—from launching my inaugural LIFT Scholarship to advocating for stronger financial literacy education across school districts in my state.
But in every room, I still see the same shift begin to happen.
It starts small.
A student asks a question they were too nervous to ask before.
Someone begins to think differently about saving.
Someone realizes they are capable of understanding more than they could have ever thought.
And then, slowly, that confidence builds.
That is the part people do not always talk about when it comes to financial literacy. Yes, it is about budgeting, saving, and making smart decisions. But it is also about something deeper.
It is about feeling in control of your future.
It is about trusting yourself to make decisions.
It is about removing the fear that so many people carry when it comes to money.
That is what changed for me. And that is what I want for every student I reach.
Because financial literacy is not just about managing money. It is about building confidence.
And when you build confidence, everything else begins to follow.
That is what LIFT is all about.
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This is her first guest blog for Section 36 Forevers.
