H&R Block Budget Challenge

Do Your Teens Have Real Life Financial Skills?

I was an accounting major in college, so teaching my kids fiscal literacy has always been very important to me. In high school I don’t remember learning a single practical thing about budgeting, investing, or even balancing a bank account.

There may have been a life skills class, but it was unavailable to the college-bound students simply because there wasn’t room in our class schedules. Looking back, I spent a lot of time on trig, calculus, and Latin. Great classes and good knowledge, but should it have taken the place of learning the skills I need every day?

When I taught a few classes at our homeschool co-op, financial skills were high on the list of what I thought was important. My favorite class was exactly what I wished I’d been taught in school. Over the semester I taught basic personal bookkeeping, how to write a check (this was ten years ago), and a very high-level understanding of investments. The kids really loved it! One of the students said he felt like he was learning the secrets all adults know.

The real secret is adults don’t necessarily know even the basics needed to manage money. Do you? Do your kids?

Luckily, H&R Block if providing a free financial literacy program for your teen’s classroom, or for your homeschool student. I’ve partnered with H&R Block to bring you this sponsored post encouraging teachers and students with financial literacy through the Budget Challenge.

The mission of their Budget Challenge is to get teens ready with the financial skills every adult needs. Go to the H&R Block Budget Challenge homepage for all the information you need. For your kids in public schools, pass it on to your student’s teacher.

Earn Classroom Grants and Student Scholarships

Besides the gift of financial literacy, your student can win a $20,000 student scholarship. That’s a nice incentive! Also, great performance by an enrolled class can win a Classroom Grant.

There are six start dates throughout the upcoming school year. Registration for the first session closes on September 3, so enter soon. Scores are tabulated based on behavior, knowledge, and skill, but the real reward is the knowledge and discipline your child will soon need as they work, spend, save, and invest, in the real world.

Speaking of educating for the real world, check out WeAreTeachers for the winning lesson plans submitted by creative teachers all over the country. Last year’s winning teacher, Keyona Nwaolu, won with a lesson plan that helped high school students craft a real-life portfolio that would need after college once they started “real” jobs.