Economic Education

Many leaders of the credit industry have been concerned by the lack of economic education, especially money and credit. In her article in Business Week, Susan Marks describes a new web site [TheMint.org] that provides an engrossing lesson on personal financial management. The site is the product of a joint effort of the nonprofit Northwestern Mutual Foundation and the nonprofit National Council of Education. The site is divided into the following parts: earning, saving, spending, tracking, investing, and owning. There are no advertisements, no "preaching." It is cleverly designed to hold the users' attention through the use of on-screen calculators, games, simulations and quizzes. It is aimed at teenagers and offers easily accessible information on a variety of financial decisions that a teenager might face and will face as an adult. A practical example of where a paycheck goes should be sobering. The advantages and dangers of credit cards are carefully explained. Try it; you might like it.