(NC)-With 56.4 million credit cards in circulation and less than half paid off monthly, credit card debt is a growing problem in Canada. New research from the U.K. shows that young people are particularly at risk.
According to London-based Financial Services Authority, 29% of 16 to 24 year olds don't know how to prepare and manage a weekly budget. 67% of university students are in debt and students use credit cards as if they are cash machines with no risk.
Young people frequently don't understand the consequences of not paying off their monthly charges. This shouldn't be surprising, when you think how one quarter of Canadian adults do not have any savings for the future, and more than half of adults in BC do not have a financial plan. The question is, how to get them on track? Most experts agree that early education about financial life skills is the key.
Here in British Columbia there are a number of resources available to help get students started right. One award-winning course created by the B.C. Securities Commission has been made available to over 1,200 teachers in all 60 school districts since November 2004. The resource's innovative approach blends the use of fictional characters with real-life financial activities and decisions in a hands-on, activity-based format. With each financial topic, students learn important concepts such as budgeting, savings, investing, and investment fraud. "This is definitely a unique and fun way for students to learn about finances," says Kathy Weninger, teacher and vice principal at Mount Boucherie Secondary School in Kelowna. "The fictional characters definitely provide an innovative way for students to experience a variety of financial situations they may encounter throughout their lives."
The financial life skills resource is part of a number of investor education programs offered through the BCSC InvestRight program. Additional information on InvestRight can be found online at www.InvestRight.org.
- News Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment