According to US News, 1 in 5 teenagers lack the skills of basic financial literacy. This means they have little to no working knowledge of common financial practices such as savings & checking accounts, credit scores, filing taxes, and more. This statistic can be attributed to the fact that many teenagers are not being taught these financial skills, both at home and in the classroom. As of this post, there are only 17 states in the country that require high school students to take some sort of personal finance class. Additionally, many parents of teens handle the majority of financial responsibilities until their child is living on their own (and some even continue beyond that) or provide a poor example to follow.
To help combat this issue, we are going to place a special emphasis throughout the year on providing teens with their own Financial Toolkit to help educate and empower them for the future.
Each month, we will focus on a new financial topic and provide tips, tricks, and financial goals aimed at teenagers and how they can start or improve that skill right now. These skills include:
January – Introduction
February – Budget
March – Taxes
April – Paying for College/Scholarships
May – Saving
June – Checking/Debit Cards
July – Credit Cards
August – Credit Score
September – Wants vs. Needs
October – Security/Protecting Identity
November – Setting Financial Goals
December – Wrap-Up
