Balancing a checkbook and other things Jersey kids don’t know (Opinion)

It's a relatively simple concept right? Saving money, making sure you spend only what you have, simple ideas and concepts that should work to keep people out of debt and financial trouble.

Of course, most students don't have a grasp of what we call "Financial Literacy". The folks at Doughmain Financial Literacy Foundation aim to change that.

Among the states that offer financial lessons in high school, Jersey is one of seventeen which require a certain number of hours before a student can graduate high school.

On Monday, May 20th, I'll be speaking to the dinner at their fifth annual golf outing. One of the stories I'll share is how I went through a financial crisis of sorts in my early twenties, out of the Marines and working in Washington, I had zero understanding of some of the basics. Credit cards would come in and I would see the balance for the first time. That is no way to manage your finances for sure.

It's a good thing to teach kids the value of money and household budgets at a young age. Like driving, the earlier they start and the more they do it, the better they will be as they get older.

Join me Monday in Ringoes!

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

More from New Jersey 101.5: