NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As Tennessee (*3*) in monetary literacy in public high colleges, Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee goals to spice up these classes by means of profession, entrepreneurship and private finance packages.
Speaking to high school college students in December at Junior Achievement’s Finance Park program in Nashville, CNBC’s senior private finance correspondent Sharon Epperson shared her profession journey and supplied private finance tips.
“You’re going to be one thing that you just need to be — no matter that’s — as a result of you should have the instruments to do it,” she stated.
Here are three private finance tips Epperson shared with the high school college students.
1. Open a high-yield financial savings account
2. Invest in a Roth particular person retirement account
With a part-time job, “you are already set as much as be an investor,” Epperson advised the scholars. “Not only a saver, however an investor.”
Here’s why: With so-called earned revenue, college students can contribute to a Roth individual retirement account, which gives tax-free progress on investments. You contribute after-tax money however will not owe taxes on Roth IRA withdrawals in retirement. Tax-free earnings are highly effective for youthful traders with a long time till their golden years.
3. Avoid bank card debt
Epperson additionally warned college students concerning the “threat of plastic” and amassing credit card debt, which will be troublesome to pay again.
To keep away from issues, she advised, use a pay as you go card for purchases and be a part of a mum or dad or guardian’s bank card as a licensed person earlier than making use of for a student bank card at age 18.
Opportunity to ‘make grownup choices’
After talking, Epperson participated as a volunteer in Finance Park, Junior Achievement’s capstone monetary literacy program, which supplies college students the prospect to “make grownup choices earlier than they’re adults,” in keeping with Trent Klingensmith, president of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, which serves 22 counties.
After 13 weeks of classroom-based classes, Finance Park culminates with a real-life budgeting simulation at Junior Achievement’s facility — together with financial savings, investing and debt payoff — based mostly on the student’s profession choices.
The expertise lets them contact it, really feel it and see it earlier than they must be it.
Trent Klingensmith
President at Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee
“The expertise lets them contact it, really feel it and see it earlier than they must be it,” stated Klingensmith.
While the group goals to have 32,000 Middle Tennessee college students take part in various programs throughout the 2023-2024 school 12 months, the “greatest want is volunteers,” Klingensmith stated.
‘You depart a little bit seed of their mind’
Volunteers take part with college students throughout every step of Finance Park. It’s a rewarding expertise for board member Claudia Zuazua, who typically works with this system’s Latino college students.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Zuazua, who’s bilingual, stated she is aware of the cultural variations many Latino college students face when studying about private finance — particularly when English is a second language.
“They know there’s somebody who understands,” stated Zuazua, who has additionally lived in Peru and Colombia. In Metro Nashville Public Schools, almost one-third of enrolled students were Hispanic throughout the 2022-2023 educational 12 months, in contrast with only one.6% of academics.
Finance Park affords the prospect for college kids to discover profession alternatives whereas working towards real-world money administration expertise. “You depart a little bit seed of their mind,” Zuazua stated. “I feel that is what issues.”