4-H is all about teaching life skills. One life skill that the is important for our youth to learn is how to make informed decisions regarding money and finances and how to keep track of their money. Through a series of financial literacy lessons, 4-Hers from 5 through 18 can gain an understanding of how to earn money, how to save money, how to wisely spend money as well as how to keep financial records. As a bonus, they will also learn about the designing and making of money and how to detect counterfeit money. If your club would like to include financial literacy into a club meeting, please contact me. I will develop a lesson that is age appropriate and will fit into your meeting schedule then I will present it to your members. If you have any questions or would like to discuss some options, please contact me.
Maureen Ernst
NCC Program Assistant
cmmcmk@udel.edu
January’s financial literacy tip
Thought Worth Saving:
Whenever youth receives money either by means of allowance, gifts, or jobs, they should have a plan on how that money will be used. This plan should be developed with input from both a parent or guardian and the youth. To help with this plan, use four containers; i.e., jars, boxes, piggy banks. Label one container save, one container invest, one container share, and one container spend. Now decide what percentage of the money received should go into the container and write the percentage on the container. Every time the youth gets money, it should be divided according to the plan and put into the appropriate container.
Example:
Noel, who is 12 years old, and her dad agreed upon the following. Each time she got money she would put 25% into savings, 50% into investing, 10% percent into sharing, and 15% into spending. For Christmas, she got $30 dollars and divided her money into her piggy banks.
SAVE 25% -$7.50
INVEST 50%- $15.00
SHARE 10% – $3.00
SPEND 15% -$4.50