Mclean, Va. (Oct. 27, 2003) -- Parents might be overly optimistic about their teens’ knowledge of money management, according to a recent survey.
While more than half of parents polled think their teens' knowledge of money management is good to excellent, only 20 percent of the teens agreed, according to a survey by credit card provider Capital One and consumer advocacy group Consumer Action.
Nearly 73 percent of parents surveyed said they’ve talked to their teens about money management, however, 53 percent of the teens said that they want to learn more. More than 70 percent of parents said they’ve spoken with their teens about credit and using credit cards wisely, but less than 44 percent of the teenaged children of those respondents said their parents have talked to them about credit cards.
More than half of parents (54 percent) rated their teen's knowledge about managing money as "good" or "excellent." But 78 percent of those parents’ teenaged children rated their knowledge as only average or poor.
To address the issue, Consumer Action and Capital One partnered to develop a free workbook called “Talking to Teens About Money,” which includes activities, worksheets and samples designed to guide teens and parents through a discussion of money management basics. The workbook is a part of the "Money Wi$e" series, a national financial literacy partnership between Capital One and Consumer Action that combines multilingual financial education materials with community training and seminars for consumers.
Free copies of "Talking to Teens About Money" are available at
-- WebCPA staff
