PARENTS

How do you feel about your own personal financial knowledge?

• Three quarters of all American adults feel very well informed about managing their household finances.
• Over 40% of Americas families live off of 110% of their income.
• The average credit card balance for adults is $6,094. 
• More people will file for bankruptcy this year (over 1.7 million) than will go to college.

If you have a child, you know how important these skills will be for your boy or girl as they get older. However, a study by the bank FleetBoston found that, among parents with children five years or older, three quarters (75%) do not feel well prepared to teach their children about basic personal finances.
 

So, where do children get their information on personal finance? The Council on Economic Education found that nearly 90% of students depend on their parents for information, while 80% of parents believe that schools are teaching financial education to their students. Personal financial education should begin early, and families need to be involved.
 

Networks Financial Institute (NFI) at Indiana State University is committed to helping families:

teach important life skills in financial literacy, 

develop healthy spending habits, 

make wise choices, and 

build confident attitudes toward money management.

Our comprehensive Kids Count® program offers three useful resources that bridge between the classroom and the family room:

My Family Counts ^TM

This activity workbook presents practical tools for families to use to teach and practice responsible money management.

Kids Count: Nickelsburg^TM

This web-based activity provides an interactive field trip to the virtual community of Nickelsburg where students practice and apply what they've learned through the Kids Count^TM Road to Financial Literacy curriculum.

Kids Count: The Fun Game of Dollars and Sense ^TM

This unique board game offers flexible and fun ways to teach and reinforce key lessons about economics and money management that can be easily used in the family room.
 

Here are some additional ideas to help you focus on personal financial education with your child:

• Brush up on your own personal financial education.
• From a very young age, children learn by watching. Model good personal financial skills by setting goals, using credit wisely and managing your debts responsibly. 
• Talk to your children about how much things cost, and how long it will take for you to save for those items. When your family sets goals, include everyone in the discussion. 
• An allowance is a great way to introduce children to many of the financial education skills they will need later in life. Help your child to open a bank account, and encourage them to save for specific goals. 
• Involve your children in financial education activities from an early age. Have them help you clip coupons and balance your checkbook. At the supermarket, teach them about good consumer habits. Did you know that the most expensive items at the store are usually at eye level? Now you do, and your children can too!

Talk to your child’s teacher. Find out what they are doing at school to encourage personal financial education. If they don’t know about our award-winning Kids Count® resources, help us spread the word!