Smart Talk: Financial Literacy

What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, March 31, 2015:

Do you consider yourself financially literate? Some of us learn in high school how to make financially healthy decisions, while others have to learn in the moments when we get our first credit card, get married, or buy a house.

It turns out that Americans who learn about personal finance in high school are less likely to spend the maximum amount on their credit cards or make late payments, and more likely to save money. While there are standards for financial literacy in Pennsylvania schools, a course in personal finance is not required.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and its partners have been training teachers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware how to teach personal finance to their students for over 15 years. The course they offer is called “The Keys to Financial Success,” and 300 teachers have already been trained to offer their students instruction in budgeting, saving, and other healthy financial practices.

As part of financial literacy month, which begins Tuesday, Andrew Hill of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Temple University joins us to discuss how programs like “The Keys to Financial Success” can help current and future generations in our region learn lifelong financially sound practices.