Knowing Your Stuff - Money Edition

By Hannah Moore

How financially literate do you think you are in comparison to the rest of the general American public? Take this simple yet revealing quiz to find out. Don't feel bad if you fall short. Statistically, most people do. Even folks with a post secondary education do. The numbers show that 55.7% of Americans with college degrees answered at least one of the three questions incorrectly. The point of this quiz isn't directly about being right or wrong though - it's about how the results reflect what's not known on average, even when it arguably should be. And if that is telling of anything, it's that financial literacy has to be sought after, because it's not usually readily available to the masses. At Andson we aim to make this knowledge readily available for students and their families, because knowing how to handle your money is essential for every age and life situation. We teach these concepts through classroom worksheets, homework assignments, and take home reviews to explain to parents what is being taught and how they can assist in the learning process. Andson curriculum strives for not only a 3 out of 3 score on this quiz, but a more prepared generation of Southern Nevada.

Most Americans Fail This Simple 3-Question Financial Quiz. Can You Pass It?

Financial Literacy Update

With the new school year off and running, it's time to shift Andson's gears back into our Financial Literacy Programming.

The Piggy Bank Project at Bracken Elementary School enters its second year and the Andson team will be back in the classrooms delivering financial literacy lessons. New this year, there will be four tiered curriculums differentiated by grades and age groups - this is another example of Andson's flexibility and adaptability to the needs of our students. In tune with this philosophy, Andson has also developed a web-based school banking application that will simplify deposit tracking and reporting.

Promoting financial literacy at an early age will now become a reality in Comal County, Texas. As part of a pilot program for 4th graders, the five-lesson curriculum developed by Andson will be used at 18 different schools and will teach 1,500 fourth grade students the basics of personal finance. Andson is eager to share our passion and expertise with other communities and school districts.

Financial literacy lessons will also continue at Chaparral and Desert Oasis High Schools. Once again, Andson will be tailoring the lessons based on the socio-economic needs of the students and aiming to build mentoring relationships. We are excited for these locations, as well as adding new sites and partners for our High School curriculums this year.

Financial Literacy is at the heart of this organization. This summer was a very special time for us as we were awarded the Pinnacle Award by Treasurer Kate Marshall. Andson was one of three in Nevada to achieve this prestigious award!

Education + Personal Finance are the foundation of Andson's April workshops

Andson is constantly committed to teaching students Personal Finance skills. It's April! That means it's Financial Literacy MONTH! We have identified a few key areas that we can really have an impact for students in just one short lesson. Education is an investment that students NEED to make - whether trade school or college, students with a secondary education will have more opportunities than those who only graduate high school. So how can we make sure students have a foundation to understand that debt can hurt a student fresh-out-of-school faster than any other force?  

In April, Andson's Financial Team will work with the following institutions to inform students about the pitfalls and positives of credit - as well as provide ongoing support to these student bodies.

• Desert Oasis High School - Seniors will go through an intense Debt and Financial Aid seminar on 4/23. We will be working with over 600 students!

• Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth ⁃ Nevada has a serious issue with teens that are homeless. However, given the right resources, they can go on to be successful. These students, more than any other, need to be made aware of the resources they can use to fuel their mission of independence and success.

• Nevada State College is an amazing school in the southeast of Henderson. NSC and Andson are partners in so many activities, so it seemed only natural to bring a seminar on pitfall and installment credit to their student body. We are so happy to provide this as a resource to students in Southern Nevada.

We are so proud to be a part of Southern Nevada - let's give our students the resources they need to succeed!

April 18th - got your taxes done? Here's a list of celebs and athletes that didn't...

During Unit 2 ( Budgeting) of our workshops, we like to take a moment to talk about how even the rich and famous need to budget.  Often times we mention Hollywood actors that have lost all their wealth just because they couldn't budget.  Most of the time, taxes are a major problem for these stars.  The only reasonable explanation that seems likely is that these celebrities don't pay taxes each paycheck like the rest of us - and they spend it faster than it's coming in.

MSN has put together a list of 15 celebrities that didn't make their deadlines for tax day in the past.  It's a great read that will likely get incorporated into future workshops for Andson.  Here's the highlights:

• #14 - Rapper Xzibit owes nearly $1 million dollars.  He claims money problems began due to the cancellation of "Pimp my Ride."  The clencher - Xzibit's Range Rover was a lease...
• #11 - Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne owe $1.7 million in back taxes.  The saddest part of this story is that their daughter, Kelly Osbourne, already owes $34,000 herself.  If that isn't motivation for what the Andson Organization is trying to do...
• #7 - Marc Anthony owes $3.4 million in taxes.  This after a 2007 settlement of $2.5 million in taxes.
• #6 - Rapper Lil' Wayne may owe as much as $5.6 million after a recent $1.13 million dollar payment to the IRS.
• #1 - This one comes all the way from Australia - Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan allegedly owes Australia approximately $37 million in taxes!

There's more detail in the article.  Go straight to the source at the bottom to read the whole thing - it's definitely an eye-opener.

So, remember that even though your tax bill may be high today, someone almost always has one higher.  Who knows, maybe some of these stars will actually make the deadline since we got 3 extra days in the U.S. this year (sorry Mr. Hogan).

Edit:  Wow, just a few days after the celebs list - looks like CNBC has put out a list of star athletes that has gone a similar route - 15 Athletes Who Have Gone Broke.

Celebrities Source:  Wonder Wall via MSN

Athletes Source:  via CNBC

Andson Workshops in Central Florida - Altamonte Christian Schools

Friday, April 15th we had the opportunity to go give a workshop at Altamonte Christian School, in Altamonte Springs, FL.  We had a great time with the Senior Class, and were able to spend the entire day with them - we may have even got them out a little early (you're all welcome).  It was nice to see that this group is headed in the right direction - they had a good understanding of personal finance, most were even good savers!

As always, we really stressed Investing as well as the Credit Cards lessons.  Time Value of Money is definitely an area that gets young people thinking about interest rates and returns.

We also got some feedback on the presentations, which was definitely helpful and greatly appreciated - hopefully we can just keep making them better and better for future workshops.

Thanks to all the students and faculty for making the day a success!

Andson Workshops in Central Florida - Sanford and Tupperware Clubs.

We recently finished up 2 workshops in Central Florida for March 2011.  These took place at the Sanford and Tupperware Boys and Girls Clubs.  Overall, they went very well.  It was fun to be able to use Prezi for the first time in the workshops - they seem to keep the students more interested, and add a little something to what can be "just another class" for teens.  Next up is Altamonte Christian School, in Altamonte Springs, FL - that is coming up April 15th.  Hope you enjoy the photos, and feel free to work through all our Prezis yourself at prezi.com

CashCourse by NeFe - brush up, or get an idea of what the program is about.

NeFe is the premier financial education resource out there, and what Andson chooses to use for our workshops.  We just discovered this amazing resource by NeFe called CashCourse.  Basically, it takes the key ideas from their materials and puts them into an interactive web format that may be more accessible to Internet savvy teens.

We didn't want to just post it in the "Helpful Resources," section of our site, but it will be there for easy access as well.

If you've taken the course via Andson or otherwise, this is a great way to brush up on your financial skills.  If you haven't, this is a great way to see what it's all about.  Keep in mind, the course gives some great insight and some one-on-one time with instructors, so this isn't a complete replacement by any means.

www.CashCourse.org/prep