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Health & Fitness

LEARNING TO WIN: Maryland Personal Finance Challenge Prepares Students for the Real World

The 2013 MCEE Personal Finance Challenge included 28 four-person teams from 18 MD schools. Local nonprofit CCCS of MD & DE sponsors this event to teach teens financial skills they can use for life.

Quizmaster Dr. Allen Cox asks, “What’s the highest FICO credit score possible?”  The teams confer.  The tension mounts.  A quiz buzzer rings, and the room falls silent. Then the winning team gives its final answer -- “850.”  As Dr. Cox softly concedes “that’s right,” cheers break out.  So ends the final round in the 2013 Maryland Personal Finance Challenge, an annual event where high school juniors and seniors from across the state gather to test their knowledge in six crucial finance areas.  Students compete in three rounds of exams, the two teams with the highest score then compete in a Quiz Bowl. This year’s winners, the Howard County Academy of Finance (AOF) senior team, take home $500 each and a chance to compete at the National Personal Finance Competition in St. Louis next month.  Members of the second place team from Lansdowne High School Academy of Finance each receive $250.  While gratifying, these prizes pale when compared to the long-term reward ALL of the Challenge competitors share:  personal finance knowledge and skills they can use for the rest of their lives.   

When asked why the Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE) holds the annual Challenge, Executive Director Mary Ann Hewitt, says:  “In today’s world, personal finance education can make the difference between success and failure. Almost all the decisions we make in life have financial consequences.”  Lori Jankalski, Executive Vice President of local nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling of Maryland and Delaware (CCCS), which sponsors the event, agrees:  “We hope the competition helps students recognize essential skills, like the value of saving, that they can use in their everyday lives.  The lessons they learn now will help them make informed decisions when they go to college or get their first job and even later when they have families of their own.”

Twenty-eight four-person teams from 18 schools participated in this year’s Challenge.  That’s almost double the number who took part in 2012.  To compete, students must first gain knowledge in six finance categories that mirror the Maryland State Department of Education Personal Finance Standards.  These include: 1) informed and responsible financial decision making; 2) careers, education, and income; 3) financial planning and money management; 4) credit and debt management; 5) creating and building wealth; and 6) managing risks and preserving wealth.  According to Dr. Cox, Managing Director of MCEE’s Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy, “Once schools register for the Challenge, we provide them with resources and ideas on how to get ready.  Each school can have multiple teams.  Research has shown that student clubs and competitions increase student involvement.  The Challenge encourages students to gain vital financial skills.  Along the way, they also learn about teamwork and how to think on their feet.”

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Each school develops its own strategy for learning and competing in the Challenge.  Lansdowne AOF Coordinator Mike Martin, who spearheads the effort at Lansdowne High School Academy of Finance with teacher Greg Karpers, notes his students benefit from the AOF classes they attend on subjects such as personal finance, credit, economics, and international finance.  “Throughout the year, we also share materials and links with them and quiz them.  But ultimately they do most of the work.”

Lansdowne High School AOF team member Anjelecia Jacobs says this approach works.  “Even though we didn’t win the final quiz this time, we were still really excited, because we scored the highest on all three qualifying exams beforehand.”

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Dr. Maddy Halbach, who oversees team preparation at Howard County Academy of Finance, says her students also benefit from course work.  “A large focus of our program involves personal finance and investment.  In class, students learn to analyze stocks and even put together a portfolio for an imaginary investor.”  She also credits the Academy’s active advisory board with helping students prepare.  “We are especially lucky to have local financial planner John Hauserman on our board.  This year he met for an hour each week with our students to discuss the primary finance areas.  He also developed tools like flashcards and mock competitions to help them identify their weak spots and sharpen their skills.” 

Howard County AOF team member Eddie Lee says this approach was one of the keys to his team’s success. “I especially enjoyed the quizzes -- that’s where you really find out what you do and don’t know.  It also was great to learn from someone who works outside with people on finances.”

Halbach believes the Challenge teaches students other life skills, such as self confidence, how to bond as a team and work effectively with adults.  “It even leads them to talk about personal finance with their parents. It opens the door to money management discussions at home.”  Howard County AOF team member Taylor Bruner confirms this fact.  “When we were studying how to manage risk, I went home and asked my parents lots of questions about our health insurance.  You know, do we have a HMO or a PPO?”

Both Martin and Halbach say their students love competition, but gain more from the process than from winning.  Martin notes, “It’s not just about memorizing facts -- it’s about developing a mindset.  The Challenge gives students a chance to learn and apply financial concepts that will help them succeed in the tough economic environment they face.  It arms them with skills to use in the real world.”

What about those skills?  Jacobs says, “I’ve learned how important it is to save -- to pay yourself first. I’ve also learned that well thought out investments may offer an even greater return.”  Bruner says, “I’ve learned about saving for retirement.  Social Security is running out.  But by starting to save and invest now, we will still have something to live on later -- we can still have a bright future.” 

Jankalski agrees.  “This is exactly why CCCS sponsors the Personal Finance Challenge.  At our agency, the people we help are often in financial crisis due to economic setbacks or a lack of knowledge.   These students are already a step ahead.  By applying the lessons they’ve learned, they will be able to make better informed personal finance decisions.  Their families will have a better chance to be financially secure.”

To learn more about the Personal Finance Challenge, visit the MCEE website at www.econed.org.  To obtain financial advice or learn more about the services CCCS of MD & DE offers, call 1-800-642-2227 or visit its website at www.cccs-inc.org.

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Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MD & DE, Inc. (CCCS) is an accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that helps stabilize communities by creating hope and promoting economic self-sufficiency to individuals and families through financial education and counseling. CCCS MD State License #14-01 / DE State License #07-01.

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