“Improving financial education at the elementary and secondary school level is essential to providing a foundation for financial literacy that can help prevent younger people from making poor financial decisions that can take years to overcome.”

Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board said.

A student will know a lot of information when they graduate from college, but a key question is this; Will they graduate from college financially astute and smarter than when they entered as a first-year student, or will they TOO be burdened with student loan debt, in poorly chosen, low-paying career fields, living paycheck to paycheck, possibly for the rest of their lives AS MANY OF THEIR PARENTS ARE?

IF SO, WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF EDUCATIONAL PROVERTY WHERE THEY ASK THE QUESTION, “If I’m so smart, gifted, and educated, then, why am I so broke?

A young graduate I interviewed for my book, Achieving a College Degree and the American Dream, Debt-Free, signed up for the maximum college loans during her tenure at the University of Kansas. She told me, “I wish someone would have talked to me about this. I borrowed from the government every year and thought it great fun to take more than needed. It meant I didn’t have to work, seek scholarships, or make sacrifices. I had a great time living the college experience. However, I’m twenty-six years old now, in an ill-chosen career and owe $70,000 in student loans. I’ve taken all the deferments I can, but fees and interest keep adding on.”

At this point she began tearing up saying, “It will take me at least thirty years to pay off. It’s frightful!”

Now she is looking for a rich husband, so she can marry his assets, and he, her student debt.

Having the skills to make good money decisions, positive or negative, will have the greatest effect and impact on an individual’s longterm financial, family, and career success. Ask yourself this question.

Would my LIFE AND MY Family’s life be different today, had a practical, ongoing financial skills curriculum been part of my education?

Charley Green, M.S. 844 S. Poplar St. Gardner, KS 66030