Half of those who enter institutions of higher learning find themselves without the knowledge of how to budget out their finances for the year. A study commissioned by Canadian Bank CIBC finds that 51% of students run out of cash before the end of their school year. In a time of rising tuitions and other expenses, our kids are more likely turning to The Bank of Mom & Dad to manage their lives. Financial affluence appeared to have little effect, as 48% of families earning over $125,000 per year still had calls from their children asking to help support them through the end of the school year.
Tuition is four to five times higher in the USA as compared to Canada, indicating the problem could be even worse in America.
Having studied alongside a number of mathematically inclined post-secondary students, anecdotally I can say that a mastery of Math doesn’t translate into a mastery over one’s budget. As our children head towards a new school year, it’s important to ensure our children have the skills they need to support themselves once they leave home.
It’s for this purpose that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission created Investor.gov. The site has a variety of information, tools, and educational games and quizzes for parents and teachers to help their children learn more about investments, budgeting, and avoiding financial scams. The Ontario Securities Commission in Canada has made a variety of resources, games and educational tools available at GetSmartAboutMoney.ca. Both sites help make investor education more interesting than reading over a pile of articles and brochures.
