What's New

A Word on the Economy:  Why Is the Country Facing
a Financial Crisis?

Need a little help understanding and explaining current events in financial markets to your students? Check out this easy-to-understand presentation on the current economic situation developed by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and posted on their education resources Web page.

http://stlouisfed.org/education/

An independent blog about what happened to the global economy and what we can do about it.

Baseline Scenario Blog

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FREE Lesson on Voting, Civics and the Economics Available on NCEE Web site

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State Department of Education Posts Passport to Personal Financial Literacy Lessons! The new PASSPORT FINANCIAL LITERACY lessons are posted on the State Department Web site!  Go to:   Introductory materials: http://sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/PFLP/pdf/Welcome.pdf   Student Materials: http://sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/PFLP/Student.html.   Teacher Guides and Slide Presentations: http://sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/PFLP/Teacher.html   Glossary: http://sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/PFLP/pdf/Glossary.pdf   Student Cumulative Record: http://sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/PFLP/pdf/CumRecord.pdf.

The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled a new multi-media campaign today aimed at combating financial illiteracy among young adults. The ad campaign, featuring an interactive online game and radio and television spots, warns its audience, "Don't let your credit put you in a bad place."

The campaign features a new website, www.controlyourcredit.gov, where the audience can play an online game, The Bad Credit Hotel. The website also provides free financial information and tools.

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"It Just Adds Up," the award-winning weekly series developed by the Oklahoma Council on Economic Education and published in partnership with JPMorgan Chase and The Oklahoman for a ten-week period during the Fall and Spring, has won the Excellence in Financial Literacy Award for Books/Curriculum for Children in the General category from the Institute for Financial Literacy.  Additionally, the series received second place honors in the National Newspaper Association's Best of Newspaper in Education "Best Ideas" for Daily and Non-Daily Division.  Click here.

 

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Watch information about the new Passport to Financial Literacy Legislation and Building Financial Futures CD on the OTAC Web site

Watch a Web cast of Dr. Sasser discussing the new Passport to Financial Literacy legislation and the Building Financial Futures: A Personal Finance Training for Teachers of Teen and Adult Women CD on the OTAC Web site:  http://csdcotac.org/WebcastMain.htmm 

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Did You Know?

A recent study shows that moving one percent of your food dollar to local farms and farmers’ markets would increase farmers’ income by 5 percent.

The number one cause of bank overdraft is due to the use of debit cards. Even if
an account has insufficient funds most banks will not deny a debit card purchase or use of ATM, but will charge an overdraft fee.

Many families who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit can get that money in each paycheck during the year instead of waiting for a tax refund. Talk to your employer to see if you qualify and submit a W-5 form.

 Federal law limits your liability for unauthorized credit charges to $50 per card with proper notification to your card issuer. Credit card loss protection insurance is an unnecessary fee.

NOW THAT TAX SEASON IS OVER, you might be pleased to learn that on average, each household in the U.S. paid about $4,300 in federal taxes just to cover the interest payments on our $9.4 trillion public debt, according to Jim Jubak at MSN Money. Jubak also pointed out that we rang up a $700 billion federal trade deficit in 2007, we have $950 billion in credit card debt as of March 2008, and we have $1.6 trillion in auto loans and other non-revolving debt.

Two thirds of college graduates owe significant money after graduation. According to the Project on Student Debt, debt levels for graduating seniors with student loans from 1997 to 2007 more than doubled from $9,250 to $19,200 – a 108 percent increase.

For more "Did You Know?" facts, click on this link.

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National Financial Literacy Challenge

A new initiative of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy will use a voluntary test to determine and reward high levels of financial literacy among America's high school students. The Challenge will be offered online, and will involve 35 questions on basic personal finance. It is estimated that the Challenge will take the average student 40-45 minutes to complete. In most instances, a
computer lab will be required.

Beginning in late April 2008, the new Challenge will be offered for approximately three weeks. Teachers may choose any day within the challenge window to ask their students to participate.  Students scoring in the top 25th percentile of national scores will be eligible for recognition from the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

High school teachers may sign up for the official distribution list by emailing: flc@do.treas.gov.
Include "Interest in National Financial Literacy Challenge" in the subject line. Additional details, including a user guide for teachers, will be distributed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, plan on saving a class! For more information, contact by email at: ed.bodensiek@do.treas.gov
at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Fall Challenge dates: November 3 - 26, 2008

Web site: http://flc.treas.gov/teacher.aspx