By Shannon Schuyler, U.S. Corporate Responsibility Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

I come from a family of educators. While I didn’t choose a similar career path, some might find it ironic that I devote as much time as I can to connecting with teachers to better understand the challenges they face, particularly as it relates to teaching financial literacy. Their perspective informs the solution.

Trust me when I tell you that there is no shortage of teachers out there with a desire to help prepare their “kids” to make responsible financial decisions. The recent financial crisis made it very apparent that our individual financial well being is a responsibility each of us must own, and that starts with understanding from an early age how our choices impact our financial stability. Read more…

POSTED: April 29, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: corporate responsibility, Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, personal finance, teachers

By Jack E. Kosakowski, President and Chief Executive Officer of Junior Achievement USA.

In the next couple of months, millions of American teens will be graduating from high school. There was a time when this meant many kids would go off to college, get a degree and start a career. But in recent years, for a variety of reasons, including a sluggish economy and the growing skills gap in the American workforce, many kids are heading back home to live in mom and dad’s basement after receiving that college degree. A reality reinforced by recent assessments of Census data by Pew Research Center showing that more than one-in-four adults between the ages of 25 and 34 had moved back with their parents at one time or another during the “Great Recession.” Read more…

POSTED: April 26, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: College, Credit Cards, Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, partners, personal finance, Research, Students, teens

By Joan Rosenbaum, 5th Grade Social Studies and Economics Teacher, North Star Public Charter School, Idaho.

Every year I take my students through a personal financing/budgeting unit, and I try to make it as real as possible. I am fortunate to have a guest speaker come to my classroom and explain the importance of having good insurance, which is definitely an important part of one’s budget.

One year I had a student who came to me and told me he didn’t want to pay for insurance. I asked him if he was really sure he wanted go through life without insurance. He told me he thought it would be a waste of his money. Since economics has everything to do with choices, I agreed to let him not pay insurance, but asked him if he was really sure about his choice he was making. He assured me that he did not want to include that in his budget. Read more…

POSTED: April 26, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: economics, Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, insurance, Lessons, personal finance, Students, teachers

By Michael Staten, Take Charge America Endowed Chair; Director, Take Charge America Institute, University of Arizona.

Kudos to CEE for devoting their blog space this month to many different voices making the case for financial education. I share the dilemma of every end-of-program speaker struggling to find something new to say. So, in these waning days of Financial Literacy Month, let me offer a few additional thoughts in support of school-based financial education for grades K-12.

Research has shown that the largest single determinant of money attitudes in teenagers and young adults is their parents, and the home environment in which they grow up.  But, that influence can be positive or negative. If we treat financial education as solely the responsibility of parents, then we admit that young people will not start their adult lives on a level playing field. Read more…

POSTED: April 25, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, higher education, parents, personal finance, Students

By Thomas Bright, Marketing and Web Content Writer, ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions.

Today, our nation’s students are faced with an increasing number of financial decisions and are given a decreasing margin for error. Without access to the right kind of information, these students may run into very serious financial problems. As the adults in the room, the parents and educators, we are left to find a solution. An education-based solution, one that teaches financial literacy as an experience and prepares students for all the firsts they will encounter, could be the answer we have been looking for. Read more…

POSTED: April 25, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: Debt, Financial Aid, Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, loans, personal finance, Student Loans, Students

The Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati is celebrating Financial Literacy Month with a photo contest!

Please WEAR GREEN and encourage your colleagues, teachers, students and friends to join you. Post a picture on their Facebook Page and the photo with the most “LIKES” will win $50 Visa Gift Card. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 30.

Contest Details:
•    Submit Photos through Friday, April 26.
•    A gallery of photos will posted on the Center’s Facebook Page on Friday.
•    Vote for your favorite photo Friday, April 26 – Monday, April 29.
•    Winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 30!

Good luck, and thanks for supporting Financial Literacy Month!

POSTED: April 24, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: Contest, Councils & Centers, Financial Literacy, financial literacy month, Students, teachers