One by One

Approximately 86% of teens believe they will be at least as financially well-off as their parents. And, among teens who do not manage their money, 32% think budgeting is for adults so it doesn’t matter how they spend their money now.

These statistics, from the 2010 Junior Achievement/Allstate Foundation Teens and Personal Finance Survey, are only a snapshot of the staggering misconceptions kids have about economic stability. The answer, says Jack Kosakowski, President of Junior Achievement USA, is doing a better job of ensuring our youth are financial literate. And that is where Junior Achievement and Amway come in.

Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. And Amway, a company built on the spirit of entrepreneurialism, has been actively involved with JA for more than 20 years.

Roger Colman, Vice President of Acquisitions at Amway, joined the Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes board of directors in 2007. “JA is innovative with their programming and constantly updating curriculum to be relevant and fresh. Cool initiatives, like BizTown, JA Titan Challenge, Global Marketplace and Finance Park, engage students while challenging them too.”

Each year Amway employees volunteer to teach general accounting, economics and business throughout the school year. Sometimes it takes caring adults willing to share their time and experiences with students to show them what it takes to be successful.

Thanks to Lindsey Kerstetter for contributing to this story.