MAKING A FINANCIALLY ‘SMART TENNESSEE’The statewide “Smart Tennessee” program teaches kindergarten through eighth-grade students how to manage their money. Over the past six years, the program has:Reached a third of Tennessee elementary schoolsTaught 85,000 studentsIncreased the scores on economic and financial literacy tests they give by 40 to 45 percent.Source: Julie Heath, director of the University of Memphis’ Center for Economic Education
Christopher Lee figures being 18 years old shouldn’t stop him from investing.
The high school student managed to scrape together about $3,000, which he tucked safely away in a savings account. After a few hours in a Hamilton County Adult High School financial literacy class, he started thinking it might be better to have a portion of that money growing in some safe investments.
“I’m just putting my money away gradually,” he said. “I didn’t really think about investing.”
State and local educators hope to get more young people thinking like Lee.