SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Of all the things kids learn growing up, there’s something many aren’t being taught – a proper financial education.
That’s especially true for young people of color, but one local non-profit is working towards the goal of financial equity.
Talking to kids about money is one way to teach them, but showing them can prove a whole lot more effective.
“Teaching tangible real-world skills early on and helping them apply what they learned in the classroom to how it'll impact them in the real world.” Sid Vivek is with the local chapter of Junior Achievement, a local non-profit that works with local schools to teach kids financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship.
“Those are lessons that are very teachable it’s not innate people learn these things and we can help especially in communities where it hasn't existed.”
According to a recent study about financial literacy, white adults got 55 percent of the questions correct, while Black adults answered 37 percent of the questions correctly, and Hispanic adults answered 41 percent correctly.
Vivek says changing that starts with educating kids early on. “We wanna ensure that for families and overwhelmingly these are Black and brown families here in SD that if they haven't been able to accumulate it'll start now.”
Junior Achievement brings in volunteers and mentors for kids, walking them through mock scenarios like running a business or buying a car to help them understand how their financial choices impact them.
“It is my hope that financial literacy and the connection from classroom to career happens for every child across the county across the country.”
Preparing them for a life that is financially secure no matter where they started.
Junior Achievement is preparing to start a new program at Lincoln High in southeast San Diego in January that will devote an entire semester to financial literacy.
