Start Smart: Money Management for Teens
One of the primary goals of any curriculum related to consumer education and resource management is to help teens learn to manage their money wisely. As we all know, wise money management involves saving as well as spending. However selling the concept of saving to students isn’t always easy to do. It’s important to develop students’ awareness of money management principles early on and the FDIC has provided us with a great tool for doing just that.
Start Smart: Money Management for Teens, How to save, spend and protect your cash is an eleven-page booklet available for free download at http://www.fdic.gov/CONSUMERS/CONSUMER/news/cnsum06/index.html. The guide provides concise information and tips on how to:
- Save and earn money
- Decide where to keep your money
- Spend money wisely
- Borrow money
- Protect against identity theft
- Be charitable, and
- Where to seek help regarding money matters from government agencies, banks, businesses, professional associations, schools, parents and other reliable source
It would be unrealistic to expect students to absorb all of the information presented in this guide in one setting, so I have created the Smart Start Bookmark activity that will lead them through the booklet and help them to focus in on the highlights.
I suggest that the bookmarks be printed on card stock for durability. When students use the bookmark with the answers to the twelve money management questions, they will be visually reminded of some of the most important aspects of financial responsibility.
Smart Start Bookmark
Smart Start Key