College seniors are graduating with credit card debt averaging more than $4,000.¹ But that doesn’t mean your child has to enter the real world with a similar burden.
 

Parents provide the most influence on their children’s financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. So, whether your child just graduated from high school or is home from college for summer break, now is the perfect time to help him or her learn to manage money and exercise wise financial decision making.
 

Our four-part graduation series provides information and topics weekly to help you start a conversation with your kids.

¹2009 Sallie May survey

Hosting a Graduation Party on a Budget

High-School Grads: Show me the Money

Money in the Bank: Help Your Child Manage Finances Responsibly

Getting a Grip on College Living Expenses

Tuition and More: Start Early to Effectively Manage College Costs

Parents: Know What You're on the Hook for While Child is at College

What Does New Credit Card Legislation Mean to College Students?

CashCourse is a free online financial education resource that has expanded its unbiased noncommercial content to include helpful worksheets, articles and tools to ensure colleges fill in the gaps of financial knowledge in their students. CashCourse answers every college student’s financial concern, from housng issues and technology to financial aid and studying abroad.

CashCourse Benefits Include:

• Helping students build money management skills to survive in any economy
• Customizable website right down to your school's logo and colors
• No maintenace and no cost
• Workshop materials

For more information on getting CashCourse at your school or to see how the 435 enrolled universities and colleges across the country are using the site, click here.

For a quarter century, NEFE has been addressing youth financial literacy with the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP). This award-winning, free, noncommercial curriculum has reached nearly seven million students and individuals in schools, youth organizations, community programs, and many other settings in all 50 states.

The HSFPP was designed and developed around a special type of education called performance-based learning, where students take what they learn and apply it directly in the course of each unit. Carefully designed exercises and activities move the student step-by-step toward each of the seven core competencies that the program teaches. In the process, students: 

• Create their own financial plan
• Create their own budget
• Propose a personal saving and investing plan
• Select strategies to use in handling credit and managing their debt
• Demonstrate how to use various financial services
• Create a personal insurance plan
• Examine how their choice of career and lifestyle will affect their financial plan

The NEFE HSFPP consists of a student manual, instructor’s guide, and a dynamic suite of web pages that makes it easy for teachers and administrators to bring personal finance to their school. To learn more about the HSFPP, click here.