Deciding if and when your child should enter preschool is an important decision for any parent. A child’s first years have an enormous impact on their future, and a lack of access to positive learning environments can be detrimental. Unfortunately, the topic of early care and education doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves. An investment in early care and education not only yields mental, academic, and socioeconomic benefits for the child, it encourages future economic growth.
Every May, tens of thousands of college graduates will walk across the stage to receive a diploma; at the same time, high school students complete their last full month of school before summer. May is an important month on the academic calendar. Both high school and college students are making long-term financial decisions that can affect their future for decades to come. While many young people choose to enroll in a four-year degree program following high school, others decide to delay their degree or pursue trade school. Each path has its own financial pros and cons.
As you’ve probably heard, April is financial literacy month, and as April comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on your own degree of financial literacy. In order to assess financial literacy, consider these four criteria from Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey. According to S&P, financial literacy requires an understanding of interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification. Test your understanding with the questions below, borrowed from S&P’s survey. If you’re unsure about the question or answer incorrectly, make sure to read the explanation.
Financial literacy is not innate; it must be learned. The learning process may look like a parent giving their child a small weekly allowance, or a high school teacher covering the basics of student loan debt. However, not everyone receives a financial education from their parents or teachers. And though the internet contains vast amounts of financial information, it’s hard to find resources when you don’t know what to look for. Your socioeconomic background largely determines your lifelong financial knowledge and spending habits. Living in or growing up in poverty creates psychological side effects that are barriers to financial literacy. Organizations like Common Wealth Charlotte and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library are trying to counter that by providing financial education programs for those who never had the resources or ability.
How much do you know about interest rates, compounding interest, inflation, or risk diversification? Your knowledge of these concepts determines your level of financial literacy. Standard & Poor defines financial literacy as “having the ability to make informed financial choices regarding saving, investing, borrowing, and more” (Klapper 4). The stats are in, and Americans have room to improve when it comes to financial literacy. Rates of financial literacy in the U.S. differ depending on the source, criteria, and year, but Americans’ high rates of debt and low rates of saving and
