Teaching kids about responsible budgeting sounds about as easy as herding cats, but the Center for Financial Planning’s own Sandy Adams and Julie Hall gave it their best shot … with some amazing results.Partnering with the non-profit organization Junior Achievement, a group aiming to spread financial literacy skills to students from grades K-12 across the country, Sandy and Julie brought in a group of 8th graders from Detroit’s Burton International School. The day was dedicated to teaching the kids about personal finances in a very hands-on way.
Students were encouraged to save money each month rather than spending it all. Many took saving very seriously, making frugal choices.
One child specifically said, “I want to make sure I can save a lot of money at the end of the month,” and was able to make a sizeable monthly (relative to income) charitable contribution as well.
Julie says she left wishing she had experienced a field trip like that when she was a child. “Financial planning can and should begin at an early age so that our children are better prepared to handle their finances effectively in the future.”