Fourteen percent of U.S. teens 15-17 years old report the need to contribute financially to the family budget, one-third of all teens report less job availability, 53 percent of teens surveyed say they’re choosing activities that cost less money and more than 50 percent say they talk about the economy with their friends, according a new poll released today by Junior Achievement and The Allstate Foundation.
Now in its tenth year, the Junior Achievement/Allstate Foundation Teen Personal Finance Poll is an annual, financial IQ pulse check for U.S. teens.
Jack Harris, president of Junior Achievement of Georgia, commented, “Possessing and using sound money management skills can help young people feel more in control of their futures. Regardless of the state of the economy, Junior Achievement programs teach students how to budget, save, invest and use credit wisely; we’re proud to partner with The Allstate Foundation to increase financial literacy for future generations.”
“The survey results underscore the importance of teaching young people money management skills as early in life as possible,” said Vicky Dinges, assistant vice president for public social responsibility at Allstate. “The Allstate Foundation’s support for this kind of education could not be better timed.”
Other survey results include:
- One third of U.S. teens (33 percent) surveyed said there seem to be fewer jobs available, compared to 20 percent of Georgia teens.
- Close to one-quarter of teens (23 percent) nationally surveyed report that they or their friends have been asked to work fewer hours or have had their hourly wages reduced, compared to 12 percent of Georgia teens.
- Nearly three-in-ten teens (29 percent) nationally said that the economy is causing them anxiety, compared to only 10 percent of Georgia teens.
- A majority (52 percent) of the teens who participated in the Georgia poll—compared to 77 percent nationally—indicated that their parents are talking about the economy more than they used to.
- A quarter (25 percent) of Georgia teens indicated that their parents were discussing current family finances with them as a result of the economy—compared to 49 percent of teens nationally.
- Nationally, 15 percent of teens said they have reduced extracurricular activities as a result of the economy, compared to 11 percent of Georgia teens.
Junior Achievement and The Allstate Foundation have created a financial literacy program for middle grades students, JA Economics for Success™, which teaches young people money management skills—such as budgeting and understanding the cost of credit—using hands-on, age-appropriate lessons. In Georgia, The Allstate Foundation supported JA of Georgia’s efforts in Cobb County through $30,000 in grant funding and volunteer hours.
In addition to providing JA Economics for Success, Junior Achievement and The Allstate Foundation have partnered to create personal finance teaching tools that parents can use to talk to their children about the importance of learning and using sound money management skills. The twelve lessons are downloadable free of charge at http://www.ja.org/programs/programs_save_usa_materials_parents.shtml and teach age-appropriate concepts around budgeting, saving, spending and investing.
The national 2009 Teens and Personal Finance poll was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation the week of February 23, 2009, and surveyed 1,000 U.S. teens ages 12-17 via telephone. Its margin of error is +/- 3.2 percent. The Georgia data was generated by using an online poll on March 1 – 12, 2009. While not as scientifically accurate as the national poll, the Georgia results provide anecdotal evidence of how local teens feel about personal finance and the economy compared to a national scientific sample.
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