Credit Questions? Just Ask Nicole

Sesame Street Helps Families Deal with Tough Economic Times, Tonight on PBS at 8 pm ET

Tonight at 8 pm ET, Sesame Street will be airing a one-hour special on PBS called "Families Stand Together: Feeling Secure in Tough Times."

Hosted by Elmo, Al Roker and Deborah Roberts, the show aims to give families experiencing tough economic times tips and strategies to use with children ages 2-8.

For a little background on tonight's show, click here. And to watch a couple of promos of the show, and to get more information about this project, click here.

Be sure to check your local listings!

Dalton Sherman, 8-Year Old Keynote Speaker: Believe In Our Youth!

Giving a keynote address for a Back-to-School Convocation in Dallas, TX in front of an audience of 20,000+, this young man is just truly AWESOME!

This video should be required viewing for all educators, parents, adults, and anyone that works with the youth!

Seeking Facilitators: Youth Financial Literacy After School Program, Metro Detroit, Michigan

If you love kids and kids love you, then I just might know of the perfect position for you!

Credit Hour is seeking to fill several Facilitator positions to administer our "StartSmart" youth financial literacy after school program in select elementary and middle schools throughout the metro Detroit area.

As a StartSmart Facilitator, you will engage students in grades 1-8 in various games, activities and lessons focused on concepts such as earning, spending, saving, credit, etc.

This is a part-time position and pays $15-20 per hour.

To be considered for this position, you must:

• Have an interest in teaching children about financial concepts & money.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Love and work well with children.
• Be energetic, fun, creative and attentive.
• Be able to control a group of 15-25 students and encourage good behavior.
• Be available Monday - Thursday, 3-6 pm (actual schedule and the number of days & hours per week will vary based upon the needs of the schools; could range anywhere from a total of 2-10 hours per week).
• Be dependable, punctual, and have reliable transportation.
• Be able to work without direct supervision.
• Be able to complete and submit necessary reports in a timely fashion.
• Pass various background checks and clearances (i.e., criminal, TB, etc.).
• Participate in training.

Prior experience working with children is a plus.

If hired, you will be required to complete all necessary background checks very quickly, within a very confined period of time.

We are currently interviewing and hiring Facilitators to start ASAP!

Show us what you got! :)

Forward your resume (as an attachment) to hireme[at]credithour.com.

Kids Need to Learn About Money and Credit at an Early Age

This past week I was busy preparing applications and proposals for submission to different school districts here in Michigan for a youth after school program focused on financial literacy.

I feel it's especially important for children to learn about money and credit at an early age so they can develop a strong foundation upon which to navigate the unavoidable financial facts of life.

Without some sense of financial awareness and some basic money management skills under their belt, children are put at a great disadvantage as they progress through different stages of life that are impacted by money and credit, such as graduation, marriage, home ownership, parenthood and retirement.

It's really a shame that so many young people lack a basic understanding of money. But it really comes as no surprise considering most children in this country never take a personal finance course by the time they graduate from high school.

School systems all across the country struggle with just making sure students meet the basic requirements for core subjects, like reading and math. So there's really no room for incorporating financial concepts into the curriculum. And with all of the budget constraints a lot of school districts face, many are not able to offer extra-curricular or developmental programs and activities related to personal finance. Financial literacy in schools is a national concern, but it is not currently a national priority.

And to add fuel to the fire, unfortunately, financial matters are not really at the forefront of what parents and guardians focus on teaching their children at home.

So how are these kids supposed to learn about money and credit?

Well, hopefully through an after school program like ours.

We'd hate for the kids to learn about fiscal responsibility the hard way through the "School of Trial and Error" or the "School of Hard Knocks," like a lot of adults already have. We want to see the children succeed and prosper in all of their financial endeavors as they move through life.

Credit Hour is strongly committed to preparing the youth to become more knowledgeable consumers, wise savers and investors, responsible users of credit, and smart decision makers.

So, let's hope all goes well with our pitch to the different school districts with our after school program.

The more children we reach, the more children we teach. And then each one will teach one. :-)

Children are Targets of Identity Theft Too!

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal the other day entitled "How to Stop Identity Thieves from Targeting Your Child."

The author of the article didn't necessarily lay out a step-by-step process to follow, but she did detail a personal experience at her son's dentist office, as well as mention a few of the things she does to try to protect and monitor her child's personal information.

It is quite unsettling that identity thieves target young children, but not at all surprising.

As the article points out, most acts of identity theft against minors is committed by a family member (for a number of different reasons).

And unfortunately, it is not until the child becomes a young adult and tries to obtain credit that they discover they've been victimized.

If you have children,

• Have you ever thought about your child potentially becoming a victim of identity theft?

• How great do you think the risk of identity theft against your child really is?

• What measures do you take to protect your child's personal information?

• Do you limit access to your child's personal information or do you just give it out all willy-nilly to any company or organization that asks for it and claims they need it?

Young Kids Shop Online?

OK, this is definitely a sign of the times.

Stars for Kidz, an agency that attempts to connect brands to young consumers, conducted a survey that revealed that 77% of kids ages 8 - 14 have completed an online transaction.

Say what?!

Well, we all know that shopping online requires some sort of credit card, debit card, stored value card, or bank account, so how are these barely-even-teeny-boppers shopping online?

Well, the survey says 27% of them ask someone else to complete the transaction for them, 26% use a gift card, 23% use their parents' credit card, 15% charge it to their parents in others ways, and 8% use their own credit card.

Now that last statistic is a little suspect to me. Children aren't supposed to be able to get credit cards because they're not even of legal age to enter into a contract. Maybe they got their gift card or debit card confused with being a credit card. Who knows.

Well anyway, 56% of the kids surveyed said they were shopping online to assist their moms with shopping tasks, even though their own shopping interests revolve around celebrities, music, video games, movies, and MP3 players.

Adele Schwartz, the research director for this survey said, "we saw clearly that busy moms and tech-savvy kids are joining forces as online shoppers." And she went on to say, "children who help their moms with such an array of online tasks may exert even greater influence on family consumerism than we thought, which makes the process of building brand loyalty specifically among children something that all marketers should be reconsidering."

Hmmm...

It's no secret that shopping online continues to grow in popularity, and that today's youth, which are tomorrow's adult shoppers, are very tech-savvy and know their way around cyberspace.

Sounds like Stars for Kidz is making a pretty good case for why companies need their services to reinforce their brands online among our youngest consumers and future decision makers.

Are your kids already shopping online? If not, guess it's just a short matter of time before they will be.

Teenagers Actually Want to Learn About Money

According to a recent "back to school shopping" survey conducted by Capital One, 52% of the teenagers surveyed would actually like to learn how to manage money.

That's more than half - which I think is pretty doggone good. It's nice to know that teenagers are interested in more than just music videos, video games, techy toys, shopping, and whatever the latest online craze is.

Also according to the survey, 80% think that learning about managing money now as a teenager would benefit them in the future. Smart kids.

But 86% have never taken a personal finance class in school! Oh, what a surprise!

You mean, they're not teaching personal finance, money management, or any type of financial skills as a basic educational requirement in our schools? I'm shocked!

Well, I guess we better really get to work on rolling out the Start Smart 101 credit class we've been developing for teenagers and young adults. I know they could use it.

And let Capital One tell it, they're looking for it.

Also pointed out in the survey is how parents overlook simple opportunities, such as school shopping, to talk about money management with their kids.

As sure as the sky is blue, there are plenty of opportunities for parents to discuss money, finances, and credit with their children. I mean, there's always bills to pay, food and clothes to buy, extra-curricular activities, etc., etc. Lots of everyday stuff involves money.

So why isn't it talked about more often? Could be any number of reasons...

Perhaps life is too busy and parents don't take the time, or they just don't think it's that important. Or maybe they take for granted that because they don't struggle financially that their children will automatically know how to take care of their own money when it's time. Or it could be that parents just flat-out don't have the knowledge themselves. How can they teach their children something they don't know?

Not only is it important to "get smart about your credit" for yourself, but also for your children. You are the first and primary example they will have as a reference when it comes to managing their own financial affairs in adulthood.

Give your children the best possible chance of achieving long-standing financial security and success in the future. Learn all you can, do better than you have been, and pass on to them some good financial knowledge and skills.

Teach them what they're obviously eager to learn. Teach them about money, credit, and finances. Heaven knows you can't depend on our school system to do it.