Financial Literacy for Kids 
Five-year-olds aren't too young to start learning the basic principals of sound money management, says author Lori Mackey. And, she has made it her mission to help. Dubbed the "Money Mama by friends and colleagues, Mackey developed the Prosperity $ Kids Program™ (Website: www.prosperity4kids.com) to help parents begin passing on healthy financial habits and attitudes as soon as children understand that a dime is worth more than a nickel. She firmly believes that kids can be empowered to have true wealth-the freedom to have jobs they are passionate about, the financial ability to support causes they care about, and the security to see them comfortably into retirement-if, and only if, they start learning by doing at a young age. The cornerstone of Prosperity4Kids is the new Money Mama Piggy Bank™, a four-chambered ceramic bank that allows children to practice Mackey's 10/10/10/70 concept of building wealth and controlling their financial futures. That is for every dollar they earn, the give 10% to a charity of their choice, invest 10% for their future, save 10% for retirement and use the remaining 70% for spending wisely. " By putting this concept into everyday practice, the habits of charitable giving, saving, investing and long-term planning become routine, "like brushing their teeth," says Mackey. "There's a serious need for children to grow up with positive attitudes about money and to master basic financial skills, and it's clear that kind of education needs to start at home." Based on these teachings, it shouldn't be unrealistic to see headlines like these in the local town newspapers;
- A young entrepreneur announces that 10% of the proceeds from her snow cone stand will be donated to charity.
- A child smaller than TV's "Alex P. Keaton" invests 10% of his earnings in a whole life insurance policy.
- An elementary school student puts away 10% of his allowance to save for retirement.
Mackey's theory that early childhood is the prime time to instill sound money management skills is backed by plenty of facts and figures. A recent study conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy revealed that most high school graduates lack the basic knowledge needed to successfully manage their finances; it also showed continuing declines in financial literacy among a nationwide sample of high school seniors. And the news is even worse for college students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, almost half of all college students carry four or more credit cards with an average balance of more than $2000. Ninety-four percent of those respondents said their parents were their primary teachers on money.
And those teachers don't have a great track record themselves. Recent statistics from the U.S. Federal Reserve reveal that huge numbers of consumers are plagued by financial crisis. In 2002, household debt increased more than nine percent, and over a million families filed for personal bankruptcy, In 2001, $1.3 trillion was charged to credit cards. And annually over 40% of American families spend more than they earn.
"There's an old saying, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime," Mackey says "Teaching your children about finance will set them on their way to a future of unlimited possibility."