Teaching kids to save: Economic trends make money-management skills very important
At least, that's the hope of Rose Park Elementary second-grade teacher Marina Coleman. She rewards students with play-money coins, helping her to teach their value and power.
Her efforts were boosted Tuesday by U.S. Bank representatives who participated in "Teach Children to Save" day, a now-international program of the American Bankers Association's Education Foundation.
The program, which included 10 Utah banks and nearly 1,300 banks and branches nationwide, sends bank representatives to schools to teach children of all ages about saving and money-management basics. This year, more than 12,000 bankers, plus members of U.S. Congress and U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral, taught in schools across the country.
U.S. Bank employees visited 22 classes in three Salt Lake elementary schools. Zions Bank visited Boys & Girls Clubs in Salt Lake, Tooele and Park City.
Saving is key for youths whose future with Social Security and company pensions is foggier than in generations past, said Julie Felshaw, economics and financial-education specialist at the Utah State Office of Education.
Just 28 percent of people nationwide put away 10 percent of their income, according to a 2008 America Saves survey reported by the American Bankers Association. And just 57 percent sock away enough for retirement.
"I think a lot of teens don't focus on it," said Riverton High junior Greg Murphy, who, with classmates Samuel White and Jessica Johnson, won the national Capitol Hill Challenge Stock Market Game by growing a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio in real-world securities by more than $33,000 in 10 weeks.
"I don't know many (young) people who have savings accounts. I think it's definitely something we need to work on."
Classmate Johnson agreed. "It's easy to focus on what it is now that you want."
Saving is a gateway to financial responsibility, teaching planning and the actual act of taking care of your money, Felshaw said.
Johnson was taught as much early on, as her parents required that a tenth of the money coming her way had to go into a savings account. When she was about 9 years old, her mother put her in charge of overseeing that account and other money she earned.
"As soon as you have to start taking care of your expenses, you're aware of what's going on, and you don't want to spend as much," Johnson said. "You want to start saving more."
Recent comments
There are lots of reasons to save that don't have anything to...
Sam X renick | May 11, 2008 at 9:36 a.m.
Unfortunately, teaching kids to save probably won't translate...
Earl | April 30, 2008 at 10:48 a.m.
