Most high school seniors lack basic personal finance knowledge that they will need to manage their lives, such as handling credit cards, paying taxes, even saving for the future, a national survey suggested Thursday. They should be learning from their parents, but such national trends as personal bankruptcies in record numbers and inadequate retirement savings suggests parents are setting poor examples. Fifty-eight percent said they learned most about money management from their parents, while only 11 percent said they learned more in class. In response, the Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs are joining financial industry representatives to encourage schools to teach personal finance as a fundamental life skill, along with reading and math.
Many adults lack the skills and knowledge to make sound financial decisions.
Its goal is to raise teen-agers' flunking grade to passing by 2007. The survey, conducted by Lewis Mandell, Marquette University dean of business, will provide a base to gauge students' progress. The coalition plans to repeat it every two years. The coalition also is using the survey to fine-tune its guidelines for helping schools teach personal finance to the 50 million youngsters in kindergarten through grade 12. During the next school year, it plans to operate a clearinghouse offering training materials ranging from a game that allows classes to make imaginary stock investments to a 10-session lesson plan on buying and financing a car.