Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Amanda Outlaw

Regional Extension Agent

Consumer Science & Personal Financial Management

June 23, 2009

Challenging Times Call for Basic Money Skills

Personal finance and money management is a topic in many homes and educational institutions today. College administrators rate financial pressures on students as the highest stressor according to research. Gaining some level of proficiency in the area of personal finances is critical for today’s young adults and their families. The foundation of understanding money and the value that it has in relation to our lives has to start early in the development of our children and young adults. Financial education can help us meet some of the challenges during tough economic times and help our communities thrive again.

We are all busy as we rush from home to work but this investment of time spent with your children will give them a foundation now for understanding how money can work for them or against them. Even the ability to differentiate between coins and bills is important for your kids to learn. Each coin and bill stores a certain amount of value and buying power. Your children will learn that soon enough in school and you can help them practice at home and in life.  Our children may have many misconceptions about where money comes from especially when we drive up to an ATM and out comes money. Can you understand now, why they think that money grows on trees?  We have to take the time to let them know that if we don’t have any money in the bank then we can’t withdraw any from the ATM.

It’s hard to say no to our little angels and our big ones. But they will not know how to set priorities unless we force then to learn how to set them. Knowing the difference between needs and wants and how to place a value on each of them is a lesson that can be learned and appreciated by them later in life.

An allowance can be a powerful tool to teach children how to handle money responsibly.  But only if rules are set that states they must earn their allowance. Throwing a few arbitrary bucks at your kids without any rules and responsibilities can be counterproductive.

If you have teens, it is not too late to impart the financial facts of life. Learning together is a wonderful way to keep the lines of communication open even with moody, rebellious teens that have as much attitude as they have aptitude. This is a great time to help them take a reality check into the real world and reevaluate their material expectations.

College bound students need a crash course into real life before they step onto a college campus. Many credit card companies set up displays in the cafeteria, on the sidewalks and career fairs with gift incentives for those incoming freshman who sign up today. Many students leave college not only with tuition loans to repay but also with a huge credit card debt. The Mobile County Urban Center which serves Mobile and Baldwin County offers an interactive simulation titled, Welcome to the Real World. The simulation helps students understand the difference between a job and a career, how to set up a budget, pay taxes, open a checking and savings account and how to make consumer choices that parents have to make on a daily basis. Welcome to the Real World can compliment any financial education program and gives participants a reality check into what happens when you make consumer decisions that affect you or a family. Community volunteers help to make Welcome to the Real World a success by bringing their expertise from the business world and sharing it with students as they make consumer decisions. The program has been a success at many of the local schools including Elberta Middle School, Spanish Fort Middle School, Central Baldwin Middle School, Spanish Fort High School and Daphne High School. Students report that they are not ready to enter the world of work now, but they must find a career that will pay enough to support the life style they want to have in the future.  Welcome to the Real World can be scheduled for a class at a school, community center or church by contacting the Mobile County Extension Office 574-8445.

There are several resources that are available to the public to increase financial literacy and the best thing they are free. One such program that I recently had the opportunity to be participate in a training session is the Money Smart  curriculum. Money Smart is a program offered by the FDIC ( Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) and many financial institutions as a way of promoting financial education.  Money Smart offers suggestions and practical guidelines and activities for parents and educators to engage adults and youth in some meaningful dialogue. The FDIC has built upon the award-winning Money Smart curriculum that has reached over one million adults by making available Money Smart for Young Adults, a version targeted for ages 12 to 20. This instructor-led curriculum is targeted to middle and high school students; it is aligned with state educational standards so that teachers can quickly assess how Money Smart for Young Adults can fulfill curriculum or state education requirements. The FDIC curriculum consists of age-relevant versions of eight modules covering topics such as budgeting and managing a credit card, and it includes visually appealing overheads and participant guides. (To order a CD containing the new Money Smart for Young Adults curriculum, go to: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/young.html. To join a Money Smart class or to request a training session for your community or to request a home buyer education class, please contact the Mobile County Extension Office. For more information on personal financial management for children, youth and adults feel free to contact, Amanda C. Outlaw, Regional Extension Agent at outlaac@aces.edu or 251-574-8445/654-5934.

Photo Cutline:

Welcome to the Real World volunteers include South Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce members and Baldwin county parents.

1st row: Myrtle Daszczuk, Nancy Bonine, parent volunteer,Lolly Turner, retired child care director, John Blanchard, Gulf Chrysler Jeep

2nd row: Ray Belew, Independent Contractor, Wendy Stacks, Vision Bank, Charlice Goforth, Elberta Middle School teacher, Kerin Kincey, Riviera Utilities, Valerie Sudduth, Edward Jones Investment, Camille Petty, Mary's Shelter, Dale Sommerfeld, Lt. Col. USAF retired, Amanda C. Outlaw, Urban Regional Extension Agent

Email address: aoutlaw@aces.edu

Phone: 937-7176 or 943-5611, 928-0860, ext. 2222

Published by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An equal opportunity educator and employer.