G
Teaching high school students about how to manage their money is a critical life skill and provides students with the knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being. There are various studies that indicate that individuals with higher levels of financial knowledge make better personal finance decisions. Those who are financially uninformed are less likely to have a checking account, rainy day emergency fund or retirement plan, or to own stocks. They are also more likely to use payday loans, pay only the minimum amount owed on their credit cards, have high-cost mortgages, and have higher debt and credit delinquency levels.
Enter the Credit for Life Fair, a half-day event for North Shore juniors organized and fully underwritten by Newburyport-based Institution for Savings. Now in its thirteenth year, the Credit for Life prepares high school students for how to live in the real world BEFORE they graduate. Students choose a profession and are given a salary, credit card and savings account. Then assuming the role of 25-year-old adults, they travel to 12 checkpoints and “purchase” everything they will need as adults: housing, utilities, transportation, food, insurance and more. The goal of the event, held at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford in May, is for the students to learn how to live within their means and balance their budgets.
The goal of the Fair is to help empower students to be proactive about their financial futures by beginning to develop sound personal finance habits
“The goal of the Fair is to help empower students to be proactive about their financial futures by beginning to develop sound personal finance habits,” said Michael J. Jones, Institution for Savings President and CEO. “Each year we hear from parents and teachers after the event that they wish this had been around when they were in school! There is no question in my mind: by the end of the event, these students will know how important it is to have good credit, save money and take their finances seriously.”
Michael J. Jones, Institution for Savings President and CEO
The Institution for Savings event is the largest of its kind in Massachusetts and likely New England. While the event takes a significant amount of staff time and funds, Mr. Jones believes it is well worth it. “Recent statistics indicating that students are leaving high school with severely limited financial knowledge and skills are concerning, and this event is one way that we can help change that,” he said. “As a mutual savings bank, a key component of our mission is to focus on the long-term future not just of the Bank, but also of the communities we serve, and to improve the quality of life for all those within those communities. This event has been overwhelmingly successful here and in other regions at helping high school students navigate the myriad of financial decisions they will need to make as they go off into the world of work or college.”
The event gets high marks from the schools, parents and volunteers, many of the latter who come back every year to participate. “The level to which the Bank has taken this event is outstanding and unequaled by any other event I have attended,” said Rodi Adema, FDIC Field Supervisor, who has volunteered at the Fair for multiple years.
Teaching High School Students About Money Makes Cents
Institution for savings
Back to Hub
According to a recent report by Nex Gen Personal Finance’s 2022 State of Financial Education Report, only 17 states out of 50 require a standalone personal finance course for high school students to graduate last year. (Massachusetts isn’t one of them.) What’s more, only 22 percent of high school students who graduated having taken a standalone personal finance course. (Compare that to 53 percent who took a driver’s education course.)
CONTACT US
Member FDIC | Member DIF | Equal Housing Lender
Teaching High School Students About Money Makes Cents
Back to Hub
To date, 2022 has been defined by ongoing trends in the labor market as the effects of the Great Resignation continue to reverberate across all sectors of the economy. Since the spring of 2021, employees have left their jobs in record numbers, with 33 million seeking a new job or career. Employees have more bargaining power than they have had in decades, and employers are finding themselves in the unenviable position of struggling to retain their workforce.
CONTACT US
Member FDIC | Member DIF | Equal Housing Lender
Institution for savings