</a>By the time your child enters kindergarten (or age 5), he or she should understand that:</div> <li>–Spending, saving, and sharing are ways to use money.</li> <li>–People have jobs that pay them money.</li> <li>–Paper money and coins are worth different amounts.</li> <li>–Planning helps people set goals and make choices about money.</li> <li>–People give money to help others.</li>
</a>By the end of fourth grade (age 9), your child should be able to …</div> <li>–Set measurable, short-term financial goals.</li> <li>–Explain how checks, debit cards, and credit cards work as payment methods.</li> <li>–Use systematic decision making when making a personal, age-appropriate purchase.</li> <li>–Explain why using a credit card is a form of borrowing.</li> <li>–Describe how people can cut expenses to save more of their income.</li>
</a>Your high school graduate (age 18) should grasp enough about finance to …</div> <li>–Apply systematic decision making to a long-term goal</li> <li>–Schedule bill payments, write a check, reconcile checking or debit account statements, and monitor statements for accuracy</li> <li>–Explain how a negative credit report can affect a person’s future</li> <li>–Identify appropriate investments for accumulating money for a four-year college education, a wedding, a business startup, a house down payment, and retirement</li> <div>For more information on financial literacy benchmarks, and additional suggestions for money-related home-learning, visit the <strong><a href="http://www.creditunion.coop/pre_k" target="_blank">Credit Union National Association’s “Thrive By Five” Website</a></strong> and the <strong><a href="http://www.jumpstart.org" target="_blank">Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy</a></strong>.</div> <em><strong>Look for the full version of this article in the August issue of Black Enterprise.</strong></em>
, life keeps hnpneaipg. For the first time, I am now living beneath my means, lower rent area, drive a paid off used car and am quickly wiping out my credit card debt. I finally get that if your struggling financially to increase your income, not your debt. Sounds like a, Well, duh statement but obviously it is not. Pete, thanks for being there. Just seeing your posts on FB reminds me to use the cash in my pocket and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
