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Last week while traveling to a financial education retreat in New Jersey, I had the pleasure of stopping into the airport food court and filling out a financial disclosure form in an attempt to purchase a blueberry muffin for $2.89. During this major financial transaction I handed the young man a $5.00 bill. As he handed me my muffin and my change that totaled 11 cents, I waited patiently for the rest of my change which never came. When I inquired as to where the balance of my change was, he stated that he had accidently punched in $10.00. A bit puzzled by his response I said to him, “that’s fine son, but I still need the rest of my change. He continued to look at me in a befuddled look and repeated, “I punched in the wrong amount for the muffin.”It was at this point that I finally realized this young man could not do simple arithmetic to figure out what my correct change should be without the guidance of the computerized cash register. As the line began to grow behind me I asked him to simply subtract $2.89 from $5.00.He immediately grabbed a piece of register paper tape, whispering something under his breath, and began to try and figure out what he owed me. I am sure by this time he was secretly wishing that I would somehow disappear. After a few minutes he looked up at me and blurted out, “I owe you two dollars,” as if he were a contestant on the Jeopardy game show. And just like a game show, the crowd of adults behind me expressed their sadness by delivering a long disappointing sigh. The elderly woman beside me shook her head and said,” I used to be a high school math teacher; I guess they don’t teach basic subtraction anymore.”

Needless to say I found this to be very disturbing considering that the purpose of my trip to New Jersey was to attend a seminar on financial literacy for teens and young adults sponsored by NJ Coalition for financial education, Citibank and the Muriel F. Siebert Foundation.
The opening remarks by Muriel Siebert state, “young adults must be taught about money. They must be prepared before they graduate from high school to make informed decisions on spending and saving and the use of credit cards.”
As the first woman member of the New York Stock Exchange, Muriel Siebert knows a thing or two about money. The realization that many people lack the knowledge and skills to handle basic financial matters has led her to develop a program to promote financial literacy to high school and college students in New York.

A 2007 survey by the Hartford Financial services Group, Inc.found that:

•Students and parents agree that college students are not well prepared to deal with the financial challenges that lie ahead. Less than one-quarter of students (24%) and only 20% of parents say students are very well prepared to deal with the financial challenges that await them after graduation.

•More than three-quarters of students (76%) wish they had more help preparing for their financial future.

Getting financial management information couldn’t be easier. There are many educational programs on the internet as well as private financial coaching businesses available to everyone. Education is available for teens, young adults, adults and senior citizens. Check with your local community center, church or library to see if they offer educational programs. If they don’t offer any programs be proactive and contact a local FDIC bank and ask if they will sponsor a program for the community.