Gaining sense about dollars young
3:56 p.m. Friday, October 12, 2007
"I wanted to come to learn about savings and stuff," student Zoe Soward said. "My mom kinda wanted me to do it, too."
"If you wanna be somebody and know how much money you have and how to get it, where to get it," student Shacore Nelson said.
Eighth graders Shacore and Zoe are attending a Money Smart Dollars and Cents camp, sponsored in part by the Kansas State Treasurer's office.
"They can be so much better consumers as they get older," Financial Literacy coordinator Michelle Kaberline said.
Kaberline says the day long 'camp' is designed to teach Topeka area students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades about personal financial management.
Learn more
Information about the Money Smart program is available on the Kansas State Treasurer's Web site, www.kansasstatetreasurer.com or by calling (785)296-0645. You can also e-mail for information at FinancialLiteracy@treasurer.state.ks.us.
"We want to help them learn financial literacy, help them learn how to save, how to plan for a savings goal, how to avoid credit card debt," Kaberline said.
She says the fastest growing group filing for bankruptcy are people between the ages of 18 and 25.
The Treasurer's office wants to help students become more financially savvy before they get out of high school.
"When they get out of high school or college, they're not prepared to manage their own personal finances," Kaberline said. "Most of them don't even have their own checking accounts."
Both Shacore and Zoe think the Money Smart camp is a great idea.
"Sometimes I have, like, choices to make where I wanna get junk," Zoe said. "And then other times I wanna save for something bigger. So by saving and getting the bigger thing it will pay off 'cause I can use it when I get older."
"'Cause I like to spend money and so I would take away, how to save it and how to use it wisely, and the economic incentives of it," Shacore said.
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