3. Catherine Pulley, American
Bankers Association
“Financial literacy
is a basic survival
skill that is as
important as
teaching kids to
look both ways
before crossing the
street.”
9. The “Perfect Storm”
Retirement Responsibility
Social Security
Retirement - 401Ks
No more employer-provided defined benefit
plans
Easily accessible consumer credit
Movement towards a cashless society
Increasingly sophisticated marketing
Source: Learning Your Monetary ABCs, Martha H. McCormick and David Godsted (2006)
10. Lack of Education
““While there are manyWhile there are many
causes to the economiccauses to the economic
problems facing theproblems facing the
country, it is undeniablecountry, it is undeniable
that a lack of financialthat a lack of financial
literacy is a contributingliteracy is a contributing
factor.”factor.”
-Charles Schwab-Charles Schwab
ChairmanChairman
President’s Financial Literacy Task ForcePresident’s Financial Literacy Task Force
14. 80%
Source: Learning Your Monetary ABCs, Martha H. McCormick and David Godsted (2006)
What percent of parents believe that
schools provide classes on money
management and budgeting to their
students?
15. Reality Check
In most cases, economics and personal
financial literacy programs are elective
classes so “only 12% of Americans
graduate from high school having
learned anything about money at all.”
Source: Learning Your Monetary ABCs, Martha H. McCormick and David Godsted (2006)
17. Are Parents up to the task?
71% of teens report
learning about money
management from
parents yet…
18. Are Parents up to the task?
only 26% of parents
with children 5 or
older feel well
prepared to teach
their kids about basic
personal finances.
19. A financial literacy “buck” is being
passed from parents to teachers and back
to parents again. Parents assume that
schools are teaching financial literacy, but
schools, by and large, are not teaching it.
Teachers, like parents, don’t feel
comfortable teaching it.
-John Clow, Jump$tart
Source: Learning Your Monetary ABCs, Martha H. McCormick and David Godsted (2006)
21. How Young Can They Learn?
''About half of the kids picked saving for college
for their long-term savings goal — at 8 years
old,'' Justin Goia, an
A.G. Edwards spokesman, said of interviews with
kids involved in a program aimed at teaching
third-graders to
save and invest. ''What it told us was that kids
this age had the capacity, intelligence and
desire to make thoughtful decisions about their
future.’’
''About half of the kids picked saving for college
for their long-term savings goal — at 8 years
old,'' Justin Goia, an
A.G. Edwards spokesman, said of interviews with
kids involved in a program aimed at teaching
third-graders to
save and invest. ''What it told us was that kids
this age had the capacity, intelligence and
desire to make thoughtful decisions about their
future.’’
22. $15 billion
Source: Children Now Study on Advertising (2005)
Children are already a major target
audience for advertisers. American
companies currently spend _______ a
year on marketing and advertising to
children under the age of 12—twice the
amount they spent just 10 years ago.
23. 40,000
Source: Children Now Study on Advertising (2005)
Each year, the average child
sees about _________ ads on
television alone.
29. Ages 5-8
Needs vs. Wants
Making Choices
Sharing, Saving, Spending
Smart
Allowance
Money Spent = Money Gone
Saving is Good
Delayed Gratification
What Can Kids Learn?
31. Two Years Old!
Source: Children Now Study on Advertising (2005)
Children under the age of eight do not
recognize the persuasive intent of ads and
tend to accept them as accurate and
unbiased. In fact, 30-second commercials
have been found to influence brand
preferences in children as young as ______
years old.
33. Emergent Financial Literacy
“…it is widely recognized that literacy, as the
foundation for virtually all other subject areas,
needs to be taught from the very earliest ages;
this focus on early childhood literacy is known
as emergent literacy.”
34. A Simple Goal
Let’s raise a generation of
money savvy kids, not a
generation of kids whose
sole concern is money.
35. Oscar Wilde
“There is only one class of
people who think about
money more than the rich.
Those are the poor!”
45. 1984
Americans were saving 10% of their disposable income in
1984. It dipped below 0% in 2005. Now we’re saving less
than 3%.
When did Americans
last save 10% of their
income?
Source: www.bea.gov
From Children Now Study on Advertising, 2005, Jennifer Wolcott, “Hey Kid—You Wanna Bu
Mention the study. Walter Mischel.
A last thought. Would you not read to your three or four year old knowing that they wouldn’t be able to read back to you? No. They are emergent readers and writers and exposure is essential. The same is true with financial literacy.
NY Times, February 5, 2008
Economy Fitful, Americans Start to Pay as They Go
By PETER S. GOODMAN
