| Now that you've made the decision to create a plan, | | | | lack the skills and knowledge to make sound financial |
| your next step is to understand why getting (and | | | | decisions, too. |
| staying) in control of your finances is imperative for | | | | We've seen it happen with the 1.6 million bankruptcies |
| you and your family. Scare tactics do not work. | | | | filed in 2003 and filings in the first quarter of 2004 |
| Better-informed decisions come from knowledge that | | | | were higher than in any quarter since the U.S. |
| we intend to give you. For example, did you know | | | | Bankruptcy Courts started keeping statistics. The |
| that most high school seniors do not have access to | | | | increase in bounced check fees bank account holders |
| basic personal finance classes? | | | | are paying each year for not having sufficient funds |
| According to a 2002 national survey by the | | | | in their checking accounts are also ghastly. |
| JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, | | | | But there is a bigger problem. We are living in a |
| most high school seniors do not have basic personal | | | | society of information overload. Where do you go to |
| finance knowledge. Handling credit cards, paying | | | | get good reliable advice? How can you determine |
| taxes, and even saving for the future are concepts | | | | which professional to use - your Aunt Marge's broker, |
| that our future generation in the United States | | | | your cousin the life insurance agent, the Internet, the |
| cannot grasp and will, therefore, have trouble | | | | bookstore, or free seminars sponsored by a local |
| managing all of their lives. | | | | brokerage firm? We cannot tell you exactly what do |
| But this financial illiteracy doesn't stop at high school | | | | do, but we can help by sharing our knowledge and |
| students. The Coalition also suggests that man adults | | | | insight of the world of personal finance. |