More resources for financial literacy
At the beginning of 2022, I listed resources for parents to use in developing a monthly “financial education day” to help their children and young adults learn important basics. (If you missed it, let me know, and I’ll send you a copy of the column.)
There are some additional financial literacy resources I want to shine a light on, starting with W!se.
W!se, which stands for Working in Support of Education, is an educational nonprofit based in New York City that offers programs for young people and at-risk adults related to financial education and college and career readiness.
W!se recently announced the development of a cloudbased mobile app for use by students at high schools participating in W!se’s financial literacy certification program. The app provides a database of questions so students can take practice tests and quizzes online in preparation for W!se’s Financial Literacy Certification Test. Those who pass the test become Certified Financially Literate, which W!se says is a credential recognized by schools in 49 states. According to Phyllis Perillo, the founder, president and CEO of W!se, the certification program “has helped more than 1 million students graduate financially literate.”
Individuals and schools can find out more information about W!se and the programs it offers at wiseny.org.
Another resource is Moneyworks (tinyurl.com/2p9xafs8), a free educational program hosted by Investor’s Business Daily, a financial news and research organization.
The goal of Moneyworks is to “help close the gap in financial education.” As the website states: “High schools have inconsistent standards with regards to teaching basic financial skills. College students are not taught about how to manage their finances, despite many taking on thousands of dollars in student loans and credit card debt to pay for school. The result is a younger generation facing financial deficits without a solid foundation for how to save, invest and grow.”
Moneyworks has three “educational tracks” — Personal Finance, How to Start Investing and Growth Investing. The Personal Finance section, aimed at high school and college students, is available, while the other two are “coming soon.”
The Personal Finance section has seven lessons, including Making Money; Debit, Credit, Checking and Savings; College; Housing: Renting and Buying; and Plan for Retirement — a subject that longtime readers of this column know I’m pleased to see included.
As for the lessons, Moneyworks points out in Personal Finance Basics that “we’re not trying to cover every single thing about personal finance. We just want to highlight the most important topics in quick lessons.”
During the lessons, there are helpful “Take Action” steps that guide users to interactive sites. For example, they can find out how to calculate take-home pay, or use a credit card calculator to figure out what something costs if it is not paid off in full when purchased.
In the retirement section, which offers encouragement for saving early during one’s working years, there is a link to a 401(k) calculator so a person can see how much can be saved for retirement based on contributions and other factors. Each lesson ends with three key points for review.
One more resource: The Security and Exchange Commission’s Investor.gov website offers a monthly investing quiz at tinyurl.com/37z2tk4v. The quiz for February tests knowledge on issues like affinity fraud, paying yourself first and how to find out information about an investment professional.
I’m a big proponent of financial literacy education for younger ages — and older ones as well. Learning about investing is a lifelong educational effort.
Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant of Stamford) and author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Her awards include the 2021 Clarion Award, symbolizing excellence in clear, concise communications. Her latest book, a curated collection of Julie’s columns, is “Retire Securely: Insights on Money Management From an Award-Winning Financial Columnist.” To hear Julie speak, visit juliejason.com/events.