Teaching financial literacy beneficial to today’s students

Date: 9/6/2011

BOSTON — With Massachusetts’ students from kindergarten to college heading back to school, adding financial literacy to a child’s curriculum this fall can teach invaluable skills for today and in the future.

“It’s never too early or too late to talk with your kids about personal finances,” New England Collectors Association President David Sands said.

As outlined in USA Today’s special supplement on youth financial literacy, teaching children about saving, credit, debt, budgeting and discipline in managing their own finances is essential to growth and development.

“From the very basic to the complex, parental involvement in helping their children better understand how to value and manage money is essential to helping them make successful financial decisions as they grow older,” Chris Wunder, chair of the ACA International Education Foundation Board of Directors, said.

The following are helpful tips for talking to children about financial management:

• Be a role model. Parents, siblings and grandparents are important role models for teaching financial management to children. Lead by example.
  
  
• Be honest. Building and maintaining trust with a child is essential. Admit mistakes and share what was learned from them.
  
  
• Be interactive. Effective teaching is a two-way street. Talking and listening with real life examples is important.
  
  
• Be patient. Some children may not immediately grasp the concepts their parents are teaching, but don’t give up on the teaching efforts.
  
  
• Start with an allowance. For children, an allowance provides hands-on lessons in saving, spending, credit and budgeting.

ACA International Education Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization serving as the philanthropic arm of ACA International, the association of credit and collection professionals. The foundation exists to promote the goal of increasing financial literacy in the United States. Outreach efforts include www.askdoctordebt.com, which offers free, reliable answers to consumer questions and provides helpful resources.

The New England Collectors Association is a Unit of ACA International representing Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island. ACA is the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for success in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together more than 5,000 members in the United States and abroad, and their more than 150,000 employees, including third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates. ACA establishes a wide variety of products, services and publications.

For more information on ACA International, visit www.acainternational.org.