MSR Youth Financial Education Series: Elijah Moore on Building What Outlasts You
In this MSR Youth Financial Education Series installment, sponsored by JPMorganChase, Elijah Moore shares the most valuable financial lesson he's learned, the power of an emergency fund, and his goal of building generational wealth so his children and grandchildren never start from zero. Moore also connects the absence of financial literacy in Black communities to broader issues including crime and mental health, arguing that money stress is often the root cause behind both.
JPMorganChase offers a comprehensive suite of youth financial education initiatives, providing resources ranging from bite-sized budgeting modules to multi-year mentorship programs. Their primary offerings span digital tools, community-based workshops, and philanthropic career pathways.
Elijah Moore has a straightforward goal: to stop worrying about money. Not to be rich, just to be free from the stress that comes with not knowing how to manage finances. And he wants to make sure the people who come after him never have to start from zero.
Moore shared his thoughts in the MSR Youth Financial Education Series, sponsored by JPMorganChase, on what he has learned about money, what he wishes had been taught earlier, and why he believes financial literacy is not just a personal issue but a community one.
The Most Valuable Lesson So Far
Moore said the single most important thing he has learned about finances is the emergency fund.
“You always have to have that emergency fund you can reach into,” he said. “It’s a small investment. You take it out of each check and you just make sure you’re constantly growing it because you just never know what’s going to come up.”
He pointed out that the cost of emergencies tends to grow over time, especially as people build families and acquire more responsibilities. Starting an emergency fund early, he said, is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself from financial crisis.
The Ultimate Goal
Moore is not chasing wealth for its own sake. His vision of financial success is quieter and more personal.
“I’m not striving to be rich, although it would be nice,” he said. “I want to be able to travel when I need to and when I want to. I want to eat anywhere. I want to cancel out that little guy in the back of my mind that worries about dollar signs.”
Beyond his own comfort, Moore wants to build something that outlasts him. He described wanting to bring financial literacy into his home and pass it down to his children and their children, creating generational wealth that continues to work even when he is no longer around.
“I want to be here when I’m no longer here,” he said. “That can be accomplished by building generational wealth.”
Why Communities Need Financial Literacy
Moore grew up in a household where financial literacy was not discussed, and he said that absence was not unique to his home.
“Financial literacy is not something that was present in my home or surrounding homes,” he said.
He believes that gap has real consequences beyond individual households. When communities lack financial knowledge, he said, the effects ripple outward in ways that touch crime rates, mental health, and overall quality of life.
“If communities prioritized financial literacy, I believe the crime rate would decrease,” he said. “If you don’t know how to manage money, you’re not spending wisely. If you don’t have money to spend, you’re going to go get some money to spend.”
He added that financial stress is one of the most common sources of depression and mental health struggles, and that teaching people how to manage money could go a long way toward addressing those issues at the root.
“Financial literacy being taught in these communities would help everyone grow and cure a lot of depression,” he said. “Often times the issue is money.”
The MSR Youth Financial Education Series is sponsored by JPMorganChase.