OPINION

Business First of Louisville
From the September 30, 2005 print edition

Guest Comment

Chase Finance Park focuses on financial literacy

by Thelma Ferguson

Compared with people in other countries, we Americans tend to be an optimistic bunch.

When tragedy hits, as it did with Hurricane Katrina, we are shocked that our mostly well-protected world can be violated and harmed.

In fact, we are fairly capable of ignoring possible threats until they hit us head-on.

Such is the case with our low level of financial literacy. There is a storm brewing in how Americans manage their money.

Consider the fact that more than 40 percent of Americans say they live beyond their means.

Consider further that the net worth of the average middle-class American household -- after figuring in debt -- is less than $10,000.

And Americans are saving less than 2.4 percent of the gross domestic product, down from 7.5 percent in the early 1980s and a whopping 24 percent during World War II.

Finally, on a staggering note, in 2001, more young adults filed for bankruptcy than graduated from college.

It's not too late to help children

There is a crisis in financial literacy. Many of us have lived that crisis.

Many of us are on the way to it. We as adults made financial choices that we have to live with.

In many cases, it's too late to turn around our fortunes. But it is not too late to teach our children the economics of life.

In the best of all worlds, children would learn money management basics at their parents' knees. Parents should be encouraged to share hard-earned financial lessons with their children.

Just a few minutes a day could make all the difference between their child's future financial stability and bankruptcy.

Yet, realistically, that's not possible in every household because of work demands and the fact that many parents can't teach what they don't know.

Here in Louisville and Southern Indiana, we have an option for our children that didn't exist when we were young.

Junior Achievement is providing for our community an important tool, Chase Finance Park, that will help our children learn the basics of personal money management.

Finance Park offers hands-on learning

Chase is proud of our role in contributing $500,000 to Junior Achievement for the new Chase Finance Park, which is located in the JA Free Enterprise Center. Finance Park opened Monday, Sept. 26.

Students in the new program will be among the first to enjoy the hands-on opportunities resulting from the recently completed learning labs at the center.

Finance Park brings to life what students have learned at school.

As an example, in the eighth-grade program, students are randomly assigned a life situation, including job title, salary and family size.

Students must create personal budgets as they navigate through issues from banking, clothing and education to entertainment, food, health care, home improvement, housing, investing and transportation.

In addition, Finance Park complements the fifth-grade program at Sam Swope Exchange City, also located in the Junior Achievement Free Enterprise Center.

Teachers reinforce the connection between getting good grades, pursuing additional education such as college, achieving career goals and obtaining a desired lifestyle.

The hands-on nature of Finance Park helps students understand real economic issues and provides them with a foundation for making intelligent, lifelong, personal financial decisions.

Mayor also promoting financial literacy

The opening of Finance Park coincides with Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson's Dollar Wise week, Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, promoting the importance of financial literacy and encouraging the development of ongoing local financial literacy strategies to educate citizens about financial issues.

I invite everyone in our community to visit Finance Park to see firsthand the good work of our local Junior Achievement.

I encourage parents, grandparents and others to contact their children's teachers to make sure that their kids don't miss out on a visit to Finance Park.

Let's accept the fact that we have a financial literacy deficit all around us and do something proactive to make sure that our children are better prepared.

Thelma Ferguson is president of Chase bank in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. For more information, call Junior Achievement at 561-KIDS.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

Hannelore Goldberg
Marketing Manager
Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana
502-569-9217
Teaching Kids The Economics Of Life
http://www.jaky.org/