Teens learn money matters start at home
Issue date: 8/17/08 Section: FYI
(ARA) - As the new school year starts, teens will be diving into history, science, math and English lessons. One important subject they may not be learning about, however, is money management. As the financial choices people must make in their lifetime become increasingly complex, teens need to learn how to navigate the financial world.
Michaela and Joshua are just two of the close to 120,000 teens who have become money savvy, thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs of America's (BGCA's) Money Matters: Make it Count program, sponsored by Charles Schwab Foundation. Michaela, 17, says she didn't know much about money management before participating in the program at her local Club in Tucson, Arizona. With a new understanding of money management, and savings from her part-time job, she feels much better prepared to save and budget for college in the fall. But Michaela's new personal finance skills have done more than help her alone. After completing the program, she signed up as a Money Matters teen mentor to her peers. She's also been able to teach her mother how to more effectively budget and organize bills.
Joshua, 17, grew up in a single-parent family of four, and always knew that money was tight for college. After participating in Money Matters at his local Boys & Girls Club in the Washington, D.C., area, he also feels better prepared to make financial decisions to help him reach his goal of graduating from college with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has opened both savings and checking accounts, and now saves money by limiting what he spends his money on. "Having stronger money management skills will definitely make college life easier," he says.
The Money Matters: Make it Count program was created to promote financial literacy among 13- to 18-year-olds by building basic money management skills. "The program aims to provide teens with valuable hands-on experience, which is the way teens want to learn," says Roxanne Spillett, president of BGCA. "Through fun activities and exercises on topics like using a checking account, managing debt, saving for college and the basics of investing, teens are gaining the practical understanding to deal with the financial challenges of our world today."
Michaela and Joshua are just two of the close to 120,000 teens who have become money savvy, thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs of America's (BGCA's) Money Matters: Make it Count program, sponsored by Charles Schwab Foundation. Michaela, 17, says she didn't know much about money management before participating in the program at her local Club in Tucson, Arizona. With a new understanding of money management, and savings from her part-time job, she feels much better prepared to save and budget for college in the fall. But Michaela's new personal finance skills have done more than help her alone. After completing the program, she signed up as a Money Matters teen mentor to her peers. She's also been able to teach her mother how to more effectively budget and organize bills.
Joshua, 17, grew up in a single-parent family of four, and always knew that money was tight for college. After participating in Money Matters at his local Boys & Girls Club in the Washington, D.C., area, he also feels better prepared to make financial decisions to help him reach his goal of graduating from college with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has opened both savings and checking accounts, and now saves money by limiting what he spends his money on. "Having stronger money management skills will definitely make college life easier," he says.
The Money Matters: Make it Count program was created to promote financial literacy among 13- to 18-year-olds by building basic money management skills. "The program aims to provide teens with valuable hands-on experience, which is the way teens want to learn," says Roxanne Spillett, president of BGCA. "Through fun activities and exercises on topics like using a checking account, managing debt, saving for college and the basics of investing, teens are gaining the practical understanding to deal with the financial challenges of our world today."
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Adriane Kessler
posted 12/08/09 @ 8:28 PM EST
Leverage is always good. Let's hope that the heart of Schwab's intention is the well-being of our children's futures. It's a bumpy road...still.
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