http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=8744
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=8744
Kevin Gribble
7/16/2007
These K-12 teachers are attending this year's Invest North Dakota teachers academy. The goal is for teachers to come away with a curriculum plan about finances to teach in the classroom. Statistics show less than a quarter of all students ever learn about finances in school.
"I think it should be requirement," says Diane Kambeitz of the North Dakota Securities Department. "I think that it's just as important, if not more important than many of the other areas."
Helping kids identify what they want and what they need is one of the most basic financial principles.
"A lot of kids at that young age, they have a lot of wants and when they have these wants, they're spending a lot of money," notes middle school teacher Todd Tschosik.
More teens and young people than ever have credit and debit cards, and the problem is they're spending 98% of their money, according to Invest North Dakota. And over-spending has widespread consequences.
"University presidents say they lose more students because of credit card debt than failing grades," explains Kambeitz.
Invest North Dakota says the average college student has almost $5,000 worth of credit card debt. Over-spending and over-charging can create major problems in the present, but the effects could be felt into retirement. Good money management now can develop into good lifelong financial habits.
"It's never too early or late enough to get kids financially ready for their financial future," adds Tschosik.
But if they don't learn it at home or at school, how else will they know what to do? Invest North Dakota thinks it knows the answer. Teaching kids about money isn't as difficult as you might think. Studies show as little as ten hours of education can have a big effect on spending habits.
