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Teens get lesson in finances
By GRACE WYLER
youngstown
A group of 700 Mahoning Valley high school students Friday was initiated into the world of credit markets, loans and money management at a financial-literacy seminar at Youngstown State University.
The third annual Financial Starting Points seminar, sponsored by Junior Achievement of the Mahoning Valley and the Williamson College of Business Administration, featured a series of interactive workshops that introduced students to concepts such as budgeting, credit management and investing.
Economic pressures and the rising cost of tuition are forcing many teens to make major financial decisions when they graduate from high school, said Michele Mirkel, president of Junior Achievement.
The seminar was designed to help students start to establish a strong set of money-management skills, Mirkel said.
“We want to educate students on their finances so that they don’t have so much debt that they can’t buy a home or buy a car,” she said. “It is in everyone’s best interest for these young people to have good credit.”
Representatives of local businesses — including the Associated School Employees Credit Union, Stifel Nicolaus and Northwood Realty — spoke with students about how to go about buying a car or a home, paying utilities and organizing a budget to anticipate unexpected expenses.
The seminar was to help demystify financial concepts and better equip these students to weather economic downturns, said Michael Kurish, chief executive of the Associated School Employees Credit Union.
“When the economy is bad, everyone is affected,” Kurish said. “But those individuals who have the knowledge of how to deal with those events are going to be less negatively impacted.”
Financial Starting Points also focuses on helping students figure out how to pay for college, Mirkel said.
A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of students are changing their college plans because of the economy.
The seminar offered instruction in money management and financial planning and taught students how to look for scholarships and what to consider when they take on student loans.
Nearly 7 percent of college graduates default on their student loans, according to the most-recent data from the U.S. Department of Education.
In a keynote speech, Paul McFadden, chief development officer for YSU, emphasized that the decision to take on student loans is a major financial commitment that takes discipline and management.
“You have to be responsible and live within your means,” McFadden said. “You are taking from your future, so don’t destroy your future in the process.”