And we have an app for that!

Updated on November 20th, 2024
Published on September 9th, 2022

The economy has been front and center in the news all year. And how Americans deal with fluctuations in the economy no less so. The struggles Americans report facing this year to make ends meet reinforce the importance of building a foundation of financial literacy skills early in life. Enabling young people to become money-smart adults is an important key to a stronger economy – and their success.

The good news is that there are more opportunities than ever for young people to become financially capable adults. According to Next Gen Personal Finance, the number of U.S. public high school students guaranteed to take a personal finance course is on track to double to 53% by 2030.

Currently, there are 26 Guarantee States, 10 fully implemented and 16 in progress. Wisconsin became the 24th state to join this important initiative with the recent passage of Act 60, requiring that all students have at least one-half credit of personal financial literacy to graduate high school beginning in 2028.

“Teaching our students the basics of economics and personal finance helps them make more thoughtful choices. The more individuals who make better choices, the greater the probability that we will have a resilient economy,” noted former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

Wisconsin’s Standards for Personal Financial Literacy are required components of Act 60. These include:

  • Education and Employment
  • Money Management
  • Saving and Investing
  • Credit and Debit
  • Risk Management and Insurance

Teach key concepts first

Building financial capability isn’t intuitive, but in many ways, it is common sense. When exposed to the components of financial literacy, students get excited about the potential to achieve their life goals when they start catching on to the impact of “needs” vs. “wants” spending; the importance of goal setting, budgeting, and saving; and the difference between interest charged on purchases and interest earned on savings.

But even after learning basic money management concepts, 75 percent of teens still report they lack confidence in their ability to apply what they’ve learned according to Annuity.org. And 73 percent say they’d welcome even more personal finance education.

Clearly, there is still a significant need to address.

So how do school administrators and educators help teens walk out of high school and into real-world situations ready to make sound financial decisions? Decisions that can lead to a lifetime of financial security?

SecureFutures has a personalized, high-impact tool to guide students as they plan their career, training/academic, and financial futures.

Money Path: A learning tool unlike any other

Money Path offers an experience unlike anything currently available for personal finance education. As they face the complex questions of adulthood, teens need a high-impact, virtual learning solution to help them make decisions from a place of knowledge and empowerment.

Money Path – a comprehensive and unparalleled web-based software tool, specifically for high school students, that uniquely links career and academic planning with lifetime financial planning – is the answer.

Through a personalized, technology-based experience, Money Path helps activate learned personal finance concepts with real-world application for increased financial confidence and readiness. Students use Money Path to apply the financial knowledge and skills they’ve learned in the classroom to build real and actionable plans for their future.

Whether they’re heading to college or a trade school, transitioning to the workforce, beginning an apprenticeship, or entering the military. Money Path will help them research related education costs and the salaries they can expect for the path they choose. It will also take them through the financial impacts of important life milestones including:

  • getting married
  • buying a house
  • having children
  • saving for short- and long-term emergencies
  • borrowing money
  • investing money
  • making charitable donations
  • saving to help educate their children
  • planning for retirement

The ability of Money Path to help students plan for their financial future is unlike any other personal finance tool available for today’s youth. And once they sign up for Money Path, students have access to the app and its valuable planning tools for as long as they need it.

Thanks to sponsor support, Money Path is currently available free to every high school in Wisconsin. Learn more here or request a Money Path demonstration here.