1
You need money
to buy things.
Activities
2
You earn money
by working.
Activities
3
You may have to
wait before
you can buy
something you
want.
Activities
4
There's a difference
between things
you want and
things you need.
Activities
Money as You Learn
Our companion website provides tools for educators to integrate personal finance into teaching the Common Core. MoneyAsYouLearn.org
Selected by the American Library Association as one of its Great Websites for Kids!
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20 things kids need to know to live financially smart lives
Activities
Activities
Activities
Activities
5
You need to make
choices about
how to spend your
money.
Activities
6
It's good to shop
around and
compare prices
before you buy.
Activities
7
It can be costly
and dangerous
to share
information
online.
Activities
8
Putting your
money in a savings
account will
protect it and
pay you interest.
Activities
9
You should save
at least a dime
for every dollar
you receive.
Activities
10
Entering personal
information, like a
bank or credit card
number, online is
risky because
someone could steal it.
Activities
11
The sooner you
save, the faster
your money can
grow from
compound interest.
Activities
12
Using a credit
card is like
taking out a
loan; if you don't
pay your bill in full
every month, you'll
be charged interest
and owe more than
you originally spent.
Activities
13
When comparing
colleges, be sure
to consider how
much each school
would cost you.
Activities
14
You should
avoid using
credit cards
to buy things you
can't afford to pay
for with cash.
Activities
15
Your first paycheck
may seem smaller
than expected since
money is taken
out for taxes.
Activities
16
A great place to
save and invest
money you earn is
in a Roth IRA.
Activities
17
You should use a
credit card only if
you can pay off
the money
owed in full
each month.
Activities
18
You need health
insurance.
Activities
19
It's important to
save at least
three months' worth
of living expenses
in case of an
emergency.
Activities
20
When investing,
consider the risks
and the annual
expenses.
Activities
Money as You Grow was recommended as an initiative of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. The content on this site does not represent official policies of the United States Government or the United States Department of Treasury. The information and materials provided in this website are general in nature and are not to be considered the rendering of legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, insurance or other professional advice.
What is Money As You Grow ?
Money as You Grow was recommended as an initiative from the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, chaired by John W. Rogers and vice-chaired by Amy Rosen.
The initiative, spearheaded by Beth Kobliner, chair of the Council's Money as You Grow working group, offers 20 essential, age-appropriate financial lessons—with corresponding activities—that kids need to know as they grow. Written in down-to-earth language for children and their families, Money as You Grow will help equip kids with the knowledge they need to live fiscally fit lives. The lessons in Money as You Grow are based on more than a year of research, and drawn from dozens of standards, curricula, and academic studies.
Money as You Grow is an outgrowth of the Council's Youth Subcommittee, chaired by Amy Rosen with the following members:
- John Rogers, Chair, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and Chairman, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments
- Amy Rosen, Vice Chair, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, Chair, Youth Subcommittee, and President and CEO, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
- Ted Beck, President and CEO, National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
- Sherry Salway Black, Director, Partnership for Tribal Governance at the National Congress of American Indians
- John Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Operation HOPE
- Samuel Jackson, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Economic Empowerment Initiative, Inc. (EEI)
- Beth Kobliner, Personal Finance Commentator, Journalist, and Author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties
- Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President, Charles Schwab Foundation
The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability (PACFC) was created by Executive Order 13530, which was signed by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2010. Its charter is to advise the President on promoting and enhancing financial literacy and capability among the American people. While the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability cannot by federal statute become operational, it is charged with providing financial capability policy recommendations for the nation to the President of the United States. One of the key objectives of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability is to find ways to improve the financial capability of young Americans.
The purpose of this website is to inspire families, community organizations, nonprofits, and businesses to embrace Money as You Grow as a tool to promote financial literacy. This website serves as a guide to learning about and using Money as You Grow. It is intended for reference only, and is not meant to endorse or promote specific initiatives.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? WANT TO GET INVOLVED? Email us: info@moneyasyougrow.org
How Can You Use Money as You Grow ?
Families can use Money as You Grow to start a dialogue about money and teach kids important lessons about saving, making choices, and avoiding debt. Put up a Money as You Grow poster on your refrigerator, try the activities in your everyday life, and check to see if your children know the milestones for their age groups.
Community organizations like libraries, schools, and religious groups can provide Money as You Grow to families.
Nonprofits geared toward kids, families, and financial literacy can share Money as You Grow with their members.
Businesses that reach young people and families can share Money as You Grow with employees, customers, and clients.
Who's Using Money as You Grow ?
American Library Association
• Association for Library Service to Children
(See their Money as You Grow book list)
• Public Library Association
• Smart Investing @ Your Library
American Savings Education Council
American School Counselor Association
The Center for Financial and Economic Education at Westchester Community College
The Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Financial Services Roundtable
FINRA Investor Education Foundation
Fort McCoy Army Community Service
The Institute for Student Empowerment
National Association of Elementary School Principals
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
National Endowment for Financial Education
National Parent Teacher Association
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences
Sources
- Standards and curricula
- Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association's Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
- Council for Economic Education's Financial Fitness for Life
- Jump$tart Coalition's National Standards
- Junior Achievement's $ave USA
- Money Savvy Kids: Basic Personal Finance Curriculum
- National Endowment for Financial Education's High School Financial Planning Program
- Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's Your Financial Future
- Schwab's MoneyWise
- Sesame Workshop's For Me, For You, For Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, and Saving
- Treasury and the Financial Literacy and Education Commission's Financial Education Core Competencies
- Treasury's Money Math: Lessons for Life
- Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy
- Academic papers
- Ashraf, Nava, Dean S. Karlan, and Wesley Yin (2004). SEED: A Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines. Policy paper.
- Chatterjee, Swarn, et al. (2010). Individual Wealth Accumulation: Why Does Dining Together as a Family Matter? Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA).
- Dhar, Ravi, Joel Huber, and Uzma Khan (2005). The Shopping Momentum Effect. Journal of Marketing Research.
- Dupas, Pascaline, and Jonathan Robinson (2011). Why Don't the Poor Save More? Evidence from Health Savings Experiments. The National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Education Pays (2011). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Hagedorn, Eric, Mark C. Schug, and Mary Suiter (2012). Starting Early: A Collaborative Approach to Financial Literacy in the Chicago Public Schools. Journal of Economics and Finance Education.
- Fluent Public Opinion + Market Research (2011). Impact Assessment Report: For Me, For You, For Later. Prepared for Sesame Workshop.
- Hershfield, Hal E., et al. (2011). Increasing Saving Behavior through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self. Journal of Marketing Research.
- Hira, Tahira K. (2010). Childhood Consumer Experience and the Financial Literacy of College Students in Malaysia. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal.
- Hogarth, Jeanne M. (2003). Household Financial Management: The Connection between Knowledge and Behavior. Federal Reserve Bulletin July 2003.
- Holden, Karen (2009). Financial Literacy Programs Targeted on Pre-School Children: Development and Evaluation. La Follette School Working Paper No. 2009-009.
- Lusardi, Annamaria (2007). The Importance of Financial Literacy: Evidence and Implications for Financial Education Programs. Policy brief.
- Mandell, Lewis (2009). Two Cheers for School-Based Financial Education. The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security. Issue brief.
- Moffitt, Terrie E., et al. (2011). A Gradient of Childhood Self-Control Predicts Health, Wealth, and Public Safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
- Madrian, Brigitte C., and Dennis F. Shea (2001). The Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
- Norton, Michael, and Leonard Lee (2007). The "Fees → Savings" Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta. Harvard Business School Marketing Research Paper No. 08-029.
- Pleskac, Timothy J., et al. (2010). A Detection Model of College Withdrawal. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process.
- Prelec, Drazen, and Duncan Simester (2000). Always Leave Home Without It: A Further Investigation of the Credit-Card Effect on Willingness to Pay. Marketing Letters.
- Sherraden, M.S. (2007). From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability Among Youth. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare.
- Shim, Soyeon, et al. (2009). Financial Socialization of First-year College Students: The Roles of Parents, Work, and Education. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
- Shim, Soyeon, and Joyce Serido (2011). Young Adults' Financial Capability: APLUS Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students Wave 2. Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research.
- Staten, Michael (2007). Academic Success and Well-Being of College Students: Financial Behaviors Matter. Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research.
- Tisdell, Elizabeth J., Edward W. Taylor, and Karin Sprow (2010). Financial Literacy Education for Adult Learners in Community-Based Programs: Report on the Mixed Method Study of Financial Educators. The National Endowment for Financial Education.
- Ulkumen, Gulden, and Amar Cheema (2011). Framing Goals to Influence Personal Savings: The Role of Specificity and Construal Level. Journal of Marketing Research.
Acknowledgements
-
President's Advisory Council on
- John Rogers, Chair, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and Chairman, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments
- Amy Rosen, Vice Chair, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, Chair, Youth Subcommittee, and President and CEO, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
- Roland Arteaga, President and CEO, Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC)
- Janie Barrera, Founder and CEO, ACCION Texas Inc.
- Ted Beck, President and CEO, National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
- Sherry Salway Black, Director, Partnership for Tribal Governance at the National Congress of American Indians
- John Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Operation HOPE
- Samuel Jackson, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Economic Empowerment Initiative, Inc. (EEI)
- Richard Ketchum, Chairman, and CEO, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
- Beth Kobliner, Personal Finance Commentator, Journalist, and Author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties
- Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
- Addison Barry Rand, CEO, AARP
- Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President, Charles Schwab Foundation
- Eldar Shafir, William Stuart Tod Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University
- Kenneth Wade, Senior Community Affairs Executive, Bank of America
Financial Capability
-
Other experts
- Brenda Barr, Colorado Department of Education
- J. Michael Collins, University of Wisconsin Madison
- Adrian Franco, Columbia University
- Mary Hagerty, Operation HOPE
- Julie Heath, University of Memphis
- Jim Hedemark, Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition
- Billy J. Hensley, National Endowment for Financial Education
- Tahira K. Hira, Iowa State University
- Jeanne M. Hogarth, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Karen C. Holden, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Cindy Hounsell, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement
- Chuck Kalish, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Punam Anand Keller, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
- Claudia Kerbel, University of Rhode Island
- Harold Kobliner
- Shirley Kobliner
- Laura Levine, Jump$tart Coalition
- Annamaria Lusardi, George Washington University School of Business
- Lewis Mandell, The Aspen Institute
- Kristen McDaniel, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
- Nan J. Morrison, Council for Economic Education
- Luke Rhine, Maryland State Department of Education
- Mary Rosenkrans, Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education
- Patricia Seaman, National Endowment for Financial Education
- Margaret Sherrard Sherraden, Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis
- Robert I. Solomon, Ariel Investments
- Martha Staten
- Michael E. Staten, Take Charge America Institute at the University of Arizona
- Jennifer Thibeaux, Operation HOPE
- Richard M. Todd, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
- Lois A. Vitt, Institute for Socio-Financial Studies
- William B. Walstad, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
