Financial Education

Class of 2003 wins Leadership Carroll challenge The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Carroll recently held Alumni Challenge Part I to highlight the program. Since 1992, budding leaders have participated in the 10-month program to enhance their knowledge of the community, government and business. With more than 130 graduates, each class was challenged to send the highest percentage of alumni to the Leadership Carroll alumni luncheon April 29. The Challenge Part I winner was the Leadership Carroll Class of 2003.

Parents and educators agree that financial education starts at home, but for parents who never were taught money skills, the prospect of teaching kids can be overwhelming. M-tPeople are wrestling with how to make it happen,M-v said Susan Beacham, founder of Illinois-based Money Savvy Generation, an organization that offers resources to parents and students. M-tWhatM-Fs that first line? What do I say? People still donM-Ft feel comfortable talking about money.M-v And many agree that the sooner parents start, the better.

When Don Phillips, a managing director of Morningstar Inc., was 13 his father bought him 100 shares in a mutual fund. It was Phillips' first investment. And though not the most exciting gift at the time, it became invaluable to him. "My dad sat me down and explained what a mutual fund is," he said. "But more importantly, I saw that investing was something he did and that it was part of being a responsible adult." Parents teach us a lot about money management, even if we never discuss with them the finer points of investing.

Dreaming of retiring and then sailing the world? You may want to try it the other way around. Big-ticket purchases at or early into retirement can crush even well-financed portfolios, experts say, particularly if they're accompanied by a period of poor performance in the financial markets. Some retirement advisers are beginning to urge clients to take the cruise, buy the new home or renovate the kitchen before retirement, not after. Even if it means forgoing retirement account contributions in the final year or two of employment, getting those costly items out of the way while you still are earning paychecks can be worth it, said Christine Fahlund, senior financial planner for T. Rowe Price.

Lime Kiln eighth-grader Clare Napoli set out to be a big spender, envisioning herself with an expensive house and a sporty Ford Mustang. Then the Junior Achievement online economics education program, called JA Finance Park, gave her a virtual identity, and Napoli discovered that she was a parent of two children. "It told me that I should plan better because I have to pay for their education," said Clare, who with other Howard County eighth-graders is using JA Finance Park as part of their consumer science curriculum.

OFTEN, IT'S some major financial decision appearing on the horizon that causes do-it-yourself investors to throw in the towel and seek professional help. And once they decide to hire an adviser, they typically ask friends, family and co-workers for the name of a broker or financial planner and consider their homework done. Far from it. "If your entire financial future rests on somebody, it doesn't hurt to do as much research as you would to buy a car," said William Droms, a finance professor at Georgetown University.

Active-duty service members and their families have a new financial tool in their arsenal: free FICO credit scores. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation is making the widely used credit score and other financial tools from myFICO.com available for free as part of its military outreach program. The usual price for this FICO standard service is $19.95. Scores play a big role in the credit decisions of banks and others, making this three-digit number critical to service members and civilians alike.

The Maryland Bankers Association announced its 2011 Financial Education Award winners and, for the first time, The Columbia Bank placed in all three categories. The bank won first place in the Adults and Seniors category, and second place in both the Young Adults and School-Age Children categories. This past year marked the eighth year where members of the Maryland Bankers Association could showcase their banks' efforts by participating in Maryland Bankers Association's Financial Education Awards Program.

Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Friday that a Massachusetts debt management company has agreed to refund about $55,000 in fees to more than 800 Maryland clients. American Consumer Credit Counseling, which is licensed to do business here by state regulators, violated Maryland law by adding on fees for a financial education program and newsletter, state regulators said. The fees ranged from $39 to $114 for education and $2 a month for a newsletter. Maryland's debt management law prohibits add-on fees.

Basic retirement planning sites SEC's Financial Facts Tool Kit:www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/toolkit.htm The American Savings Education Council's Tools and Resources section: www.asec.org/toolshm.htm The National Endowment for Financial Education: www.nefe.org/pages/multimedia.html MSNBC: www.msnbc.comSophisticated planning tools T. Rowe Price (Choose Retirement/IRAs): www.troweprice.com T. Rowe Price's Retirement Income Calculator: www3.troweprice.com/ric/RIC/ Fidelity Investments (Choose Retirement and Planning)