Financial-skills program targets students, teachers

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Some 500 area high school students and 20 educators will get some training in financial literacy Tuesday at Youngstown State University.

Junior Achievement of the Mahoning Valley, YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration and the Associated School Employees Credit Union, through the Ohio Credit Union Foundation, will hold a financial life skills conference called “Financial Starting Points” in Kilcawley Center at 9 a.m.

The program is being offered in conjunction with National Financial Literacy month in April.

It will focus on four areas of financial literacy: credit, budgeting, saving and investing and scholarship aid.

A recent poll conducted by Junior Achievement and the Allstate Foundation found that the lifestyles, income, saving and spending habits of young people have been deeply impacted by the current economic climate. They are feeling nervous and pressured by the economic stability of their families and communities and the absence of traditional income streams available to them, the poll indicated.

Fourteen percent of respondents ages 15 to 17 years old report the need to contribute financially to the family budget. One–third of all teens surveyed report less job availability, 53 percent say they’re choosing activities that cost less money, and more than 50 percent say they talk about the economy with their friends.

“The results of this poll demonstrate a strong need for increased financial literacy,” said Michele Merkel, president of Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley. “Young people are particularly vulnerable to making financial mistakes through trial and error, and the consequences can be costly. Research shows that individual financial practice and habits begin early in life and understanding and establishing them is essential to achieving monetary goals.”

“Possessing and using sound money management skills can help young people feel more in control of their futures,” she said, adding that Junior Achievement programs teach students how to budget, save, invest and use credit wisely.