When it comes to personal finance, a lack of knowledge can lead to expensive mistakes.
That’s where the free MoneySKILL financial literacy program comes in.
“The name speaks for itself. It’s to teach life skills about managing money,” Tim Stanley, board chair of the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.
The foundation’s program features 37 modules aimed at learners ranging from middle schoolers to adults. It covers everything from balancing a checkbook to handling credit cards to retirement and estate planning.
“We’d love to have students, parents, teachers and adults alike access the program,” Stanley said. “It’s absolutely free of charge.”
The classes are available online in English or Spanish.
Around 850,000 students have taken the personal finance classes over the past decade.
“In Arizona, we are just scratching the surface,” he said. “We have about 6,500 students that have used this in Arizona.”
Stanley said AFSAEF’s mission is to promote safe and ethical lending and protect consumers’ access to credit.
“Informed, educated consumers — they’re better customers,” he said. “And they’re better equipped to make intelligent financial decisions as they move through this thing we call life.”
