Better education could help young people learn how to handle, manage their money

Teaching young people how to handle money is even more important than ever, according to Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) professor Allen Martin.

Martin, director of the university’s Consumer Resource Center and a professor in CSUN’s Department of Family Environmental Sciences, pointed to a recent national survey of high schoolers that showed they don’t know how to handle their money.

"I am alarmed, but not surprised," Martin said. "This and other research shows that teenagers and young adults’ knowledge of all aspects of personal finance is declining. This accounts for the increase in personal bankruptcy rates for young adults and the conflict that students face trying to balance a credit-card-driven lifestyle, a need to work long hours and also dedicating time to study."

The survey, conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy in Washington, D. C., measured how much 12th graders know about managing money, investing and saving.

On average, California high school seniors answered only 47.1 percent of the questions correctly.

"My hope is that the survey results will compel superintendents in states like California to place a high priority on funding innovative personal finance education programs in their schools, Martin said.

Martin said he would like to see personal finance mandated as part of the curriculum in high schools "so that students who graduate will have some exposure to basic consumer and financial concepts."

Martin said that at the university level he often sees students who have no understanding of such basic concepts as cost/benefit analysis.

"They don’t seem to understand that if you work 30 to 40 hours a week and take a full load in college that they may not make it financially, particularly if they eat out all the time and consistently give in to impulse buying," he said.

He said he has counseled students who bought a car based on the size of the monthly payment they would be making—not the overall price of a car—and end up mired in debt for years.

"We also have students who don’t understand the concept of delayed gratification or of the types of saving and investment options there are out there," Martin said.

"These are basic concepts that students aren’t getting right now and they need to know."

For more information about the survey or CSUN’s Consumer Resource Center, call (818) 677-4726.