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We think it is important to teach young adults about the value
of saving, investing and home ownership.
Lessons like these should be communicated early and often, instilling
a sense of financial responsibility and empowerment in today's youth.
Towards this end, this Web site was designed with several purposes
in mind. They include:
- teaching America's youth about the value of saving, investing
and owning a home;
- doing this in a way that is fun, interactive and motivating;
- empowering young adults to take more control over their lives
and their financial future;
- providing educators with ideas and
resources that reinforce the concepts of saving, investing
and home ownership;
- making these resources relevant with regard to National
Standards; and,
- ensuring that those resources remain dynamic.
Why is Ginnie Mae targeting middle-school students?
Ginnie Mae's mission is to support expanded affordable housing
in America. The path to home ownership includes responsible financial
planning and investment. By targeting middle-school students, we
can educate our youth about saving, investing, and homeownership
before they start earning their own incomes.
To illustrate the importance of teaching this information to this
age group, consider the following example. In 1997, a coalition
of government agencies, universities and non-profit groups released
the results of a nationwide survey of high-school seniors' money-management
skills. Overall, students averaged 57 percent on the 31-question
multiple-choice examination, which was designed by a team of educators
to test basic financial survival skills. Since there were just four
multiple-choice answers to each question, random responses would
have yielded a score of 25 percent.
Questions were divided into four categories: income, money management,
savings and investment, and spending. By far the weakest area of
knowledge was savings and investment, where students answered only
47.3 percent of questions correctly. For example, only 14.4% of
students felt that stocks would have a higher rate of growth over
18 years than savings accounts, checking accounts or U. S. Government
savings bonds. In addition, 51 percent said that a certificate of
deposit at the bank is not protected against loss by the Federal
Government. Finally, fewer than a third knew that interest earned
on a bank savings account may be taxable if total income is high
enough. *
It is never too early to start.
For more information about the 1997 Personal Financial Survey,
visit the American Savings Education Council at http://www.asec.org/jumphm.htm.
* Source: American Savings Education Council.
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