Impressionable and vulnerable, targeted by advertisers, and under peer pressure, teens, tweens and preteens have a tough time. The latest clothing, computers, cell phones, electronic games, and more are all "must have" products. Countering these messages is tough.
Every two years the Jump$tart Coalition on Financial Literacy measures the financial knowledge of 12th graders across the country. Student scores on the most recent (2008) personal finance test averaged 48.3%. A failing grade by any standard.
- 52%, a majority of high school seniors don't understand the advantage of paying more than the minimum required by their credit card provider.
- Now consider the numbers below that describe teen credit-card usage.
- 35% of 12th graders use a credit card
- 15% of those students have their own credit card
- 14% use a parent's card
- The rest use both their own and their parent's card
Clearly, kids need to be better prepared. They need to become smart about money. And parents must play their role so that when today's children become adults, they avoid making mistakes with long-term financial consequences. To address the growing concern about personal finance education, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation developed themint.org in 1997. This web site has been developed to help children learn to manage money intelligently and help the adults in their lives take an active role in those lessons.
In conjunction with the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE), themint.org makes learning about money management fun. The interactive site features games, calculators, polls and activities that kids can do by themselves or families can do together. The website covers financial literacy topics from all angles: earning, saving, spending, owing, giving, safeguarding, tracking and investing. There's helpful information for 6th-12th graders, along with special sections for younger children, parents and teachers.