How was your experience becoming certified in financial education? And who did you go with? I've looked at that before, but was skeptical if the certification contributed to the same problem you've outlined here.
It was a fairly easy certification for me because I’d been covering the topic for five years already. What the certification teaches is definitely rooted in budget culture; you’re right to be skeptical. It’s useful to know where the industry is at, though. My CEPF is through the Institute for Financia Literacy. There’s also a CFEI through the National Financial Educators Council, and I don’t know how it compares.
Anecdotal evidence based on my son's experience in high school: The teacher didn't know much at all, if anything, about personal finance. In some cases, they taught material that was counter-productive, e.g., how to pick individual stocks. The broader problem, as you point out, is the lack of resources devoted to personal finance, in this case, a lack of teacher training.
Absolutely! This sounds like a lot of the stories I've heard, too. I know the Stock Market Game is really popular with high school students, so teachers like to use it, even though it essentially teaches a bad habit.
That's a great question! Next Gen Personal Finance is a go-to resource for K-12 financial education; they have resources for grades 6–12. These are set up for teaching in the classroom, but they could be a good jumping off point for conversations to have, media to explore, and activities to try with your kids:
A lot of resources that exist reinforce budget culture messaging, so go in with that in mind. Use the opportunity to teach your kids how to question some of what they're learning, because it's likely these are the messages they'll encounter throughout their lives.
Thanks kindly! We will start here with these resources. She’s just ending high school and heading to community college in August. We are moving to an apartment close to campus. She’s going to help establish our monthly budget, then track expenses (fixed and adjustable) as practice for when she transfers to and will need to navigate it all on her own. Question that came up last week was around credit scores, how do new young adults (just 18 years old) establish credit?
There are lots of great ways to establish credit from scratch (without risking debt, if that’s a concern)!
She could become an authorized user on your credit card or that of anyone who’s using a card at least occasionally and paying off the balance each month. She doesn’t have to spend on a credit card to get the benefit of the other user’s activity.
She could open her own secured credit card with a deposit, if she has the resources. (I used Discover It secured card to build my credit, with a $200 deposit.)
She could use a credit builder loan (a savings vehicle that reports activity to credit bureaus) . Here’s one option:
She could use a service that reports rent payments to credit bureaus if she’s listed on your lease. Self is one option that does that, too.
She could open a bank account with Chime or Varo and use their credit builder options that function like debit cards.
She could take out a personal loan or private student loan with a creditworthy co-signer. Of all the options, this is probably the most burdensome, because it’ll give her a monthly payment for that debt. But it’s a useful option if she also needs a lump sum of cash for anything right now.
How was your experience becoming certified in financial education? And who did you go with? I've looked at that before, but was skeptical if the certification contributed to the same problem you've outlined here.
It was a fairly easy certification for me because I’d been covering the topic for five years already. What the certification teaches is definitely rooted in budget culture; you’re right to be skeptical. It’s useful to know where the industry is at, though. My CEPF is through the Institute for Financia Literacy. There’s also a CFEI through the National Financial Educators Council, and I don’t know how it compares.
Anecdotal evidence based on my son's experience in high school: The teacher didn't know much at all, if anything, about personal finance. In some cases, they taught material that was counter-productive, e.g., how to pick individual stocks. The broader problem, as you point out, is the lack of resources devoted to personal finance, in this case, a lack of teacher training.
Absolutely! This sounds like a lot of the stories I've heard, too. I know the Stock Market Game is really popular with high school students, so teachers like to use it, even though it essentially teaches a bad habit.
Great content. What resources can us parents use to educate our kids? Do you have resources?
That's a great question! Next Gen Personal Finance is a go-to resource for K-12 financial education; they have resources for grades 6–12. These are set up for teaching in the classroom, but they could be a good jumping off point for conversations to have, media to explore, and activities to try with your kids:
Middle school: https://www.ngpf.org/courses/middle-school-course/
High school: https://www.ngpf.org/curriculum/
I'm less familiar with resources for younger kids, but books are a good place to start the conversation. Here are some recommendations from Parents magazine: https://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/books/best-books-to-teach-kids-about-money/
A lot of resources that exist reinforce budget culture messaging, so go in with that in mind. Use the opportunity to teach your kids how to question some of what they're learning, because it's likely these are the messages they'll encounter throughout their lives.
Thanks kindly! We will start here with these resources. She’s just ending high school and heading to community college in August. We are moving to an apartment close to campus. She’s going to help establish our monthly budget, then track expenses (fixed and adjustable) as practice for when she transfers to and will need to navigate it all on her own. Question that came up last week was around credit scores, how do new young adults (just 18 years old) establish credit?
There are lots of great ways to establish credit from scratch (without risking debt, if that’s a concern)!
She could become an authorized user on your credit card or that of anyone who’s using a card at least occasionally and paying off the balance each month. She doesn’t have to spend on a credit card to get the benefit of the other user’s activity.
She could open her own secured credit card with a deposit, if she has the resources. (I used Discover It secured card to build my credit, with a $200 deposit.)
She could use a credit builder loan (a savings vehicle that reports activity to credit bureaus) . Here’s one option:
https://www.self.inc/
She could use a service that reports rent payments to credit bureaus if she’s listed on your lease. Self is one option that does that, too.
She could open a bank account with Chime or Varo and use their credit builder options that function like debit cards.
She could take out a personal loan or private student loan with a creditworthy co-signer. Of all the options, this is probably the most burdensome, because it’ll give her a monthly payment for that debt. But it’s a useful option if she also needs a lump sum of cash for anything right now.