http://meritbadge.org/wiki/ind.....Management

While I think some of the advice in the merit badge book can be tweaked a little bit, for the most part, it’s a very sound primer on personal finance, time management and other details of life that are very helpful for teens (male and female). The cool thing is that you don’t have to be a Boy Scout to read and benefit from the material.

I also think we somehow need to teach parents how to teach their kids about money. The lessons need to start at home.

(right now our balance is down to around $10k. not bad for two years of concentrated, and i mean concentrated, debt repayment efforts.)

i think any classes at all that can be offered in school would be a benefit to students. many of us grew up with irresponsible, or indifferent, parents. to have learned some of this stuff from somewhere, anywhere, would have been a great benefit.

And that might not include financial responsibility.

I agree with ToughMoneyLove about avoiding debt instead of dealing with debt. Out of the list, I probably only practice two items religiously, “Identify wants vs. needs” and “Pay taxes”. I also avoid debt at all cost. So I don’t have to worry about “Deal with debt”.

Maybe that works in certain areas, but in many instances it is simply not practical to live on cash alone. Even if you have cash to make certain purchases, appliances for instance, why would you not want to use credit with 24 month 0% financing and keep the cash in a high-yield interest bearing account? Why would you want to use cash to make purchases and get nothing in return when you can use credit and get extended warranty protection, price protection, rewards, etc.

Quite simply, it is irresponsible to assume that one style can and should apply to all people. Blanket statements such as this do nothing to help people deal with finances in the real world. It is best to teach people all of their options, and to be responsible no matter how they choose to live their lives.

Also balancing a checkbook is very important. It’s the best way to make sure the bank doesn’t commit any errors, because they do and its more frequent than you think. I also write checks to pay bills the old-fashioned way all the time. I hate to sign up for automatic bill pay – its too hard to stop when you need to. It’s also the same as paying with a credit card – you never fully grasp the amount you are paying, but when you write out a check, you’ll notice.

A month or so ago I went to an upscale part of Miami for a housewarming party and was just floored at some of the things I saw and heard, so I decided to write a post on my own blog not only as a release but also to hopefully reach some people:

http://letsblogmoney.com/2008/.....oundation/

Furthermore, I wish we could do away with the term “balancing a checkbook.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t even have a checkbook anymore — I’ve written two checks in the last couple of months. Almost all of my transactions are online now, and I’m far more likely to use a debit card than a check (how many people remember to balance debit card transactions?). Even if its the same idea, “balancing a checkbook,” especially to younger people, sounds antiquated — staying on top of your money or better financial awareness might be a better way of putting it.