Wallet wisdom lands a D.C. visit
UCA junior tells education secretary her top personal-finance tip
WASHINGTON — Precious Collier, a University of Central Arkansas junior, took questions from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at a meeting on personal finances in the nation’s capital Thursday.
Collier, whose major is family consumer science, was on a panel with two high school students from Maryland and Ohio at the “White House Summit on Financial Capability and Empowerment.”
The conference took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, an ornate structure on the White House grounds.
“Tell us how you got interested in financial literacy?” Duncan asked the students.
Collier responded that her curiosity was piqued after taking a class in personal finance taught by Mary Ann Campbell, who traveled with Collier to Washington and was beaming proudly from her seat in the audience.
Collier said the class opened her eyes to the fact that many of her fellow students weren’t being responsible with their finances.
“My peers have a lot of credit-card debt already,” she said.
The event, which was put on by several Obama administration agencies, including the President’s Advisory Council for Financial Capability, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the White House Domestic Policy Council, attracted about 200 students, policymakers and representatives of corporations including Mcdonald’s, Visa and Mastercard.
Duncan said that understanding banking rules and the importance of saving and maintaining good credit was important during difficult economic times.
“As a country, we’re getting closer” to financial literacy, Duncan said. “Collectively, we’ve got to get over that hump.”
The secretary then asked Collier what advice she would give young people on their finances.
“Start saving as early as possible,” responded Collier, who said she wants to be a teacher.
“It doesn’t matter how much money I make,” Collier added. “If I can’t manage it, it won’t help me.”