On National Teach Children to Save Day, leading financial education nonprofit offers parents five steps to help their children become smart spenders and savers from a young age
Boston, MA – April 11, 2014
Leading national financial education nonprofit American Consumer Credit Counseling today launched a parent’s guide to teaching children about money to help youth of all ages, from kindergarten through high school, understand the basics of money management issues including saving, credit, and the value of a dollar.
The online guide comes as more young adults cite a lack of financial education during their youth. According to a recent JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy survey, only 26 percent of 13 to 21 year-olds say their parents taught them how to manage money. Furthermore, another survey by T. Rowe Price found that parents are more comfortable talking about bullying, drugs, and smoking than family finances or investing.
“There is a real financial literacy crisis happening in America and it’s having a drastic effect on younger populations who lack basic financial knowledge such as how to balance a check book,” said Steve Trumble, President and CEO of American Consumer Credit Counseling. “That’s why ACCC has designed financial workbooks specifically for youth of all ages so parents and kids can feel comfortable and prepared to have conversations about money management and finances.”
The online resource provides parents with interactive workbooks and guides to help their children develop healthy financial habits. The program identifies five critical money management steps for each age group including – the value of a dollar, knowing the difference between needs and wants, budgeting, saving, and understanding credit cards. Each stage of the program is accompanied by an interactive workbook that provides parents with important tools and resources to engage their child.
“Every parent wants their child to be better off financially than they are, yet they often don’t educate them on money until it’s too late,” added Trumble.
Although kids might not be immediately headed for financial troubles, credit card and loan debt could strike quicker than they might realize. According to a recent Fidelity survey of 750 college graduates, members of the class of 2013 are graduating with an average $35,200 in college-related debt.
“Within the past few years, student loan debt has overtaken credit card debt as the highest form of consumer debt,” stated Trumble. “College costs are rising rapidly and if kids aren’t learning about money management now, they will fall into financial pitfalls before they even have a chance to avoid it.”
ACCC’s Five Steps to Teach Children About Money and additional resources for parents can be found online at ACCC’s Financial Fitness Center for Kids.
By visiting the Financial Fitness Center, parents can access all of the age-appropriate guides for free so that they can start talking to their kids today about topics such as savings, budgeting, and many others.
ACCC’s certified and experienced counselors offer a variety of financial education, counseling, and debt management services to help consumers achieve long-term financial health and stability. These financial education programs enable consumers to better understand and manage their finances.
ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization, that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:
- For credit counseling, call 800-769-3571
- For bankruptcy counseling. call 866-826-6924
- For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180
- For more information on financial education workshops in New England, call 800-769-3571 x1980
- Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com
About American Consumer Credit Counseling
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management and debt relief through education, credit counseling, and debt management solutions. As experts in debt and credit management, ACCC is well equipped to assist our US military service members and veterans with the unique financial challenges they face. ACCC provides veterans and current military personnel with the personal finance tools needed to evaluate their financial situation and determine the best possible debt solutions to ease their transition before, after, and during deployment. As one of the nation’s leading providers of personal finance education and credit counseling services, ACCC’s certified credit advisors work with consumers to help them determine the best plan of action to get out of debt and regain financial stability. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free personal finance resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com
