Most adults can trace the development of their financial lives back to childhood. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau researched more about this topic to determine what the most helpful activities are for children and youth as they learn and grow. This three-article series provides tips for parents of young children, elementary and middle school students, and teenagers and young adults.

Part 3: For parents of teenagers and young adults

The financial world of today isn’t the same world you grew up in. New services and choices are being offered all the time. For your children to navigate the new financial world they’ll face, they need to know when to seek out information and how to evaluate it.

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POSTED: December 17, 2014 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Finance, Financial Literacy, Money Management, Parents

Most adults can trace the development of their financial lives back to childhood. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau researched more about this topic to determine what the most helpful activities are for children and youth as they learn and grow. This three-article series provides tips for parents of young children, elementary and middle school students, and teenagers and young adults.

Part 2: For parents of elementary and middle school students

Children take note of how you live your financial life, and they adopt that as the norm for their own lives. Do you regularly check your bank transactions online? Do you drop your bills in a pile without opening them? Do you resist buying the latest gadget and wait till it’s on sale? These are the kinds of actions your kids can easily see and remember.

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POSTED: December 10, 2014 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Finance, Financial Literacy, Money Management, Parents

Most adults can trace the development of their financial lives back to childhood. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau researched more about this topic to determine what the most helpful activities are for children and youth as they learn and grow. This three-article series provides tips for parents of young children, elementary and middle school students, and teenagers and young adults.

Part 1: For parents with children ages 3 to 5

Children absorb habits and information from their parents and primary caregivers. If you’re like most parents, you believe in helping your kids learn about money. But it can be a difficult subject to talk about, so be on the lookout for opportunities to build a good financial foundation.
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POSTED: December 3, 2014 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Finance, Financial Literacy, Money Management, Parents

By Brian Page, Personal Finance and Economics Teacher; Teacher Advisory Chair for the Council of Economic Education.

Our children should be the compass to guide our education policy decisions.

Personal finance is a topic that provides students with the tools and concepts to live a happier life. We know personal wellness is impacted by financial stress. Financial stress causes…

• sleep deprivation
• strain in personal relationships with friends and spouses
• weight gain and further health problems
• an adverse impact to worker productivity

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POSTED: April 2, 2014 | BY: Annamarie Cerreta | TAGS: CFPB, Financial Education, Financial Literacy Month, Financial Stress, Money Management, Personal Finance, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, Students, Teachers

Next week, the Council for Economic Education will hold its 52nd Annual National Financial Literacy and Economic Education Conference in Baltimore, MD, October 3-5, convening leaders, experts and teachers to exchange ideas and discuss the key issues in financial education today.  Joining them are Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Richard G. Ketchum, chairman and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, all of whom will be speaking at the Conference. noted financial literacy expert, George Washington University professor and CEE board member, Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, will also be presenting at this year’s Conference.

Over 500 educators, industry thought-leaders and Federal Reserve partners from around the country are expected to attend the conference. Participants will come together to address the most important issues, trends and challenges in financial and economic education. The event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Wells Fargo (Lead Sponsor), Bank of America (Teacher Champion), and the Maryland Council on Economic Education.

“This conference is a unique opportunity for educators to enhance their ability to incorporate financial literacy in the classroom, and to do so while meeting the new Common Core State Standards, and engage with the industry’s most influential leaders on the most pressing issues,” said Nan Morrison, CEO and President, Council for Economic Education.  “We are thrilled to be able to welcome President Lacker, Director Cordray, Chairman & CEO Ketchum and Dr. Lusardi, offering educators the chance to learn from their insights and engage them in dialogue.“

Attendees will also be able to participate in workshops and events featuring best practices and new developments in curriculum, teaching strategies and instructional materials. There will also be networking opportunities and teacher roundtable discussions during which participants can engage with their peers to share ideas and lessons, as well as discuss challenges and innovations.

For additional details, visit https://www.councilforeconed.org/events/cee-national-conference/.

POSTED: September 25, 2013 | BY: Annamarie Cerreta | TAGS: Annual Conference, CFPB, Councils & Centers, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, FINRA, Jeffrey Lacker, Richard Cordray, Richard Ketchum, Teachers, Teaching Awards

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released the whitepaper, “Transforming the Financial Lives of a Generation of Young Americans: Policy Recommendations for Advancing K-12 Financial Education” in April.

At a conference launching the white paper, CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated, “Financial education should be as fundamental as the education we are all required to receive in American history and government. We must be deliberate about pursuing financial education in our schools.” To that end, the whitepaper outlines five policy recommendations.  The Council for Economic Education supports all of these recommendations and has been working actively to promote many through our programs.

Recommendation 1: Introduce key financial education concepts early and continue to build on that foundation consistently throughout the K-12 school years.

CEE supports a spiraled curriculum approach and has lessons, curricula, and professional development programs for all grade levels from K-12. CEE and our affiliate the University of Illinois – Chicago Center for Economic Education are currently working with the Chicago Public Schools system on development and implementation of a spiraled personal finance curriculum culminating in a 12^th grade capstone class.

In addition, CFPB encourages states to make a stand-alone financial education course a graduation requirement for high school students.

CEE works closely with our network of affiliates to advocate for high school course requirements in both economics and financial education.  CEE conducts a biennial Survey of the States to track requirements regarding standards, high school courses, and testing.  Currently 16 states require a course in personal finance for high school graduation, four of which are stand-alone courses. While we support stand-alone requirements for financial education, we believe these requirements should supplement, not supplant, course requirements in economics. Read more…

POSTED: June 20, 2013 | BY: admin | TAGS: Advocacy Toolkit, CFPB, Financial Literacy, Partners, Personal Finance, Students