I was taught fp in middle school and in my freshman year in hs.
However, it really didn't do me any good - I was too immature at the
time (actually I thought it was beneath me - go figure).

However, I'm in the process of teaching my daughter fp using the IPO
program at Merrill Lynch http://volunteer.ml.com/ipo/

Also, I started her in the www.moneyskill.org program - I really don't
know much about the it though - but it seems good so far.

I think it's important that the parent teach financial skills to their
youth. Simply because the parent needs to know (and well enough to
teach) so that the child will have a sense that it's the real deal -
and practical. AND, the parent knows about family assets - inherited
or otherwise.

Besides, my daughter's gym coach is already overloaded.

One more link: www.jumpstart.org/

In article <1111328125.219992.247730[at]z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com> , "Winter" <downeaster1000[at]yahoo.com> writes:
- quote -

I've been thinking about this also, especially after reading the
debates over on misc.consumers. My thought was that I could volunteer to teach
a class at my local community center. I'm no accountant, though, only a career
person who happens to have pretty good money habits. Why couldn't lots of
people like me try to help solve the problem by doing this?
Someone pointed out that much of the problem is personal - attitudes
toward money, saving vs spending, and risk-taking. That's true. But what I
was thinking that I could definitely teach are things like how to manage a
checking account, how to read credit card terms and policies, how to do the
math to decide if you're better off paying off a 18% credit card debt vs saving
the money in a 6% money market account, etc. Also super simple things that
many people never understand like "NEVER pay only the miniumum payment on a
credit card". Also many people seem to think that creditors are there to help
them, when really the creditors are there to make money. I'm not saying
they're out to screw us (although some people will say that), but their
undisputable primary goal is to make money, no matter what the net effect to
Joe Borrower Jr. is. This stuff CAN be taught. Many of us (like me) are lucky
in that our parents taught us. Of course if parents aren't taught this stuff,
there's no way they can teach it to their kids.

Sharon

Winter <downeaster1000[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Absolutely right. The key words are "not knowing". I'm pretty
confident that even if schools instituted a program to address this,
students wouldn't learn because they have no external reason to.

- quote -

So why not pass it on? Seriously.

Let me be very direct (and this is not a flame): I'm saying your
suggestion is the problem. In other words, if, as parents or mentors,
we took more responsibility not only in terms of education but also in
terms of behaviour, this situation would not exist.

--Ram

ManChild wrote:
- quote -

I agree with you. I think its bizarre that our educational system
doesn't teach children the actual skills they will need in order to
function in the world. If I was in charge of the educational system I
would have a daily one hour class on practical living skills for all 3
or 4 years of high school. It would cover things like mortgages, car
loans, student loans, applying for a job and going to a job interview,
investing, insurance, starting a small business, basic business and
consumer law, etc. Its absurd that 80-90 of high school is spent on
stuff that the student will never use again, while the knowledge they
really will need they are expected to go out and uncover for
themselves!

Andy


======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
This is a financial planning newsgroup; please comment accordingly.

In article <1111330329.887449.224160[at]z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com> ,
"DM" <abkeck28[at]msn.com> wrote:

- quote -

This is SPAM.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

People would first have to agree on the Basics. Here a site that is
full of educational items.

http://www.primerica.com/akeck

--Andrew

Ram Samudrala wrote:
- quote -

An education system may not have total repsonsibility but they have
*some* responsibility. Similarly, it is ultimately my responsibility to
see that my children can read and think about the world- but lets not
get so philosophically haughty that we forget that the schools have our
children five days a week and so it would be nice to have them do some
work too. I understand the argument that the schools are increasingly
called upon to do everything for everyone and that is valid. However,
we are talking about a population that leaves school not knowing what a
mortgage is and already in credit card debt with no background
education to place it in context. What's wrong with this picture class?
We know this is not good for our kids because it was not good for us.
Kids these days have access to more and more credit (whether credit
cards or school loans)which results in a greater capacity to be
financially crippled for decades as a result of making poor decisions
early in the learning curve. Bankruptcy isnt going to get you out
anymore either.

Winter

While I think your goals are right, I don't think it should
necessarily be a school's responsibility. I was taught by my parents
to lead a pure and passion-filled life and that money would
automatically come (I pass this on now:
http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philoso...cial_plan.html). I think
schools (up to high school) are mostly about learning social dynamics
in a relatively crowded world and some basic knowledge.

--Ram

ManChild <starritt[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -


======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Please trim the post to which you are responding. "Trim" means that except for a few lines to add context, the previous post is deleted.

You are dealing with issues that are mostly manifestations of an
individual's personality. Such as propensity to save, being able to
accept delayed reward, being able to contain excitement, etc. That
personality can be changed by simply teaching a few basic, and
obvious, facts, is a supposition that is not necessarily true.

As your your suggestion that some "teaching" can change the percentage
of working spouses, that is very likely to be simply false. There are
some powerful forces that are at work here that set the percentage of
working spouses. Some are economic forces (a dual income family has
more financial stability and ability to have medical insurance), some
are desires of persons for self actualization through work, etc.

i

ManChild wrote:
- quote -

Correct. We are the ones that should be teaching our kids about these
things.

- quote -

Incorrect. Don't assume anyone is going to teach your kids anything
about money and finances. I'd be concerned if someone I didn't know or
trust was giving my young children financial advice.

ManChild wrote:

- quote -

financial responsibility) should be a required part of our public school
curriculum.

While I'm sure some will never want to hear this, a big part of the
problem is our popular culture which promotes "spend, spend, spend".
(ie - Get a new car every 3 years whether you need it or not -- and take
out a loan (or lease) to do it; buy the biggest house you can afford -
whether you need one that big or not; keep up with the latest fashions
trends; etc, etc. etc).

Life is a series of choices. Everyone needs to decide what's more
important to them. Do they want to keep up with the Joneses, or scale
back to reasonable limits and help secure their financial future?
Eventually most people come to the realization that keeping up with the
Joneses isn't what it's cracked up to be. Unfortunately, many people
come to this realization too late. But that's what keeps the economy
ticking.

Just my opinion.....


======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Please trim the post to which you are responding. "Trim" means that except for a few lines to add context, the previous post is deleted.

It occurs to me that so many people, including myself know so little
about finance and managing their cash. We teach kids that drugs are
bad, that sex is dangerous and that education is vital to their future
and them we hamstring them by not teaching them how to balance an
account, how and why to make a budget, how the credit works and how it
can harm them, what debt actually costs you.

At the most basic level we fail them in this respect, although judging
by the way economics have been handled in this country over the last
few years I'd say we could do well to send the President along as well.
Do they not teach it because they do not think its important or are
they reluctant because once people realize how crippling debt is they
might be put off going to college entirely if somebody clued our kids
in?

I know so many people with massive college loans that pay for degrees
they do not use - they are in their late 20s and early 30s in general,
do not own a home, rely heavily on credit cards and generally live
paycheck to paycheck. It seems like the bad habits and rampant debt
started in college, not just with the loans but the idea that it was
somehow ok to charge every expense they ever got.

Meanwhile all my friends that did not go to college are homeowners and
pretty comfortable most of the time. Even when they are broke they
have enough assets to ever actually be broke even if things seem tight.
They are set on the road to economic success because somehow entering
the real world at 18 and working, and bill paying taught them
discipline. As a group they have managed to not only handle mortgages
and investments but have also managed to have multiple children and
have a parent at home full time to care for them.

What is most sad is the 'educated' of my friends seem to not believe
that a couple with a single income, a mortgage and a family can exist
and actually be comfortable in this day and age.