At a time when the importance of saving money has arguably never been greater, I am pleased to see a new program with the aim of getting teenagers to becoming more financially savvy. It’s high time that teenagers were prepared for the realities of financial responsibility, were informed of the risks of charging on credit and instructed to spend less than one earns.
FoolProof, a consumer education agency dedicated to increasing financial literacy through the use of multi-media learning modules, has released a new video series Burning Money.
While the free program is designed for use in classrooms, the series strives to tackle teenage financial issues like the twin forces of pointed advertising and peer pressure. This video addresses how much a teenager actually needs to buy designer jeans.
Burning Money tries to introduce students to the potential bad decisions that they make which may hurt their financial health further down the line. The films explain how a late payment now can adversely affect jobs, apartments, and loans in the future. The videos emphasize that it doesn’t take a millionaire to save, just someone who knows how to spend and how to save.
I remember standing behind a woman in a fish shop, eavesdropping on her conversation with the lady at the checkout. She explained that she teaches adults how to keep control of their finances. She went on to say that she is currently lobbying for the “savings” account option on eftpos and atm machines to be changed to “spending” account. Because after all she said, “It isn’t a true savings account if you are constantly taking money out of it.”
As a teacher of nine and ten year olds, this program is too advanced for them. Instead, I teach them a unit on being aware of the manipulation involved in the advertisements they watch, and helping them to identify when and how they are being used as a tool of the marketing industry.
Topical Teaching 
December 7, 2010 at 6:16 am |
Mike, that’s a great unit that the kids will find useful for many years to come. I’m sure your students will appreciate it.
January 5, 2011 at 11:31 pm |
Great article.