Financial Literacy Update #4

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

As I mentioned in our last update, April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States. In Canada, the Task Force on Financial Literacy has been busy holding consultation meetings in cities across the country. Before I get to the roundup of great financial literacy articles, I’d like to remind you that you can win a copy of Your Money Ratios by Charles Farrell. Just comment on the book review by the end of the day this Friday, April 30th. I’ll randomly select the winner on Saturday and announce the winner on Sunday.

Here are some of the financial literacy articles I’ve found around the web since our last update:

• Ellen Roseman testified at the Task Force on Financial Literacy’s Toronto session, suggesting, among other things, that grass-roots groups rather than industry groups should be used to spread the word on financial literacy. It seems to me that quality personal finance blogs could be very helpful in this regard.
• Jon Chevreau sat in on the Task Force’s first Toronto session and wrote about Developing a National Strategy on Financial Literacy.
• Don Stewart, CEO of Sun Life Financial, is the Chair of the Task Force on Financial Literacy. You can visit the Task Force Chair’s Blog to get the latest on the work of the task force and on their ongoing public consultations.
• Financial Highway had 3 more articles in honour of Financial Literacy Month: 8 Financial Terms Everyone Should Know, Why Credit Cards Can Be So Devastating, and 5 Important Goals for Financial Literacy Month.
• I found this article on Why Lack of Financial Literacy Is Crippling Consumers from cardratings.com via @Fiscal Literacy.
• You can read about Your 30 Step Path to Financial Wellness at financialliteracymonth.com.
• Austin at Foreigner’s Finances presented his Curriculum for Money Education in High School. There are some fantastic ideas here and I’m sure many of us wish that we had access to this kind of education when we were in high school.
• Jim Yih noted that April Is Financial Literacy Month in the U.S. and compiled a very comprehensive list of links to websites and articles pertinent to financial literacy. This article is worth bookmarking as a reference for yourself.

Remember that you can participate in the Task Force on Financial Literacy’s Online Forum until May 13, 2010.

What elements of financial literacy do you think are the most important for students to learn?