Financial Education

At last, Jake Logsdon can reap the rewards of his savvy money management. The 9-year-old squirreled away $150 in birthday checks and allowance for a $200 electric scooter. Mom said she'd kick in the rest, so here they are at Toys "R" Us picking out Jake's dream machine. While his twin sister, Lauren, zips about on another scooter in the toy store showroom, Jake contemplates how he saved so many rolled up bills and loose change in a tiny Ziploc bag. After a long pause, he gives an aw-shucks shrug.

F inancial Literacy: Key to Our Children's Future As the nation slowly recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression, states across the country are looking for ways to better protect themselves from future economic downturns. While long-term economic development planning is vital, perhaps the most effective tool Maryland can use to combat future downturns is to take the important steps necessary to educate our children in the basic principles of financial literacy.

New positionsClark is named manager of Cranberry MallInsignia Commercial Group announced the appointment of Robyn J. Clark as manager for the Cranberry Mall in Westminster. Most recently the marketing director of Westview Mall, she also had management positions at Eastpoint and Towson Marketplace. A graduate of Ohio State University, she was a director of the Eastern Baltimore Area Chamber of Commerce.Johnson to head branch of EA EngineerinEA Engineering, Science & Technology has chosen Gregory E. Johnson as manager of its recently formed Baltimore branch.

Families hard hit by the recession need to make sure that memories of Christmas Past don't imperil Christmas Future.The worst thing families in precarious financial shape can do, warn experts, is to go into debt in an effort to make this year's holiday match those of yesteryear.Mary Stephenson, family resource management specialist with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, said she was alarmed by feedback that many consumers are taking out personal loans to fund holiday spending.

Many parents who beamed with pride at their child's graduation this spring now are facing a new problem.After decades raising your child, you probably dreamed of the day when that young adult joined the working world and you had more money to spend on yourself.Not so fast. With today's tough job market and companies lopping off workers like a hairdresser snipping split ends, you might find the freshly minted graduate isn't exactly packing up a suitcase to leave the nest.Now you may well have to do something tougher than pay tuition bills -- you have to help your child go off on his or her own.It's common to help children when they start working.

IF YOU HAVE a complaint against a certified financial planner (CFP), there's a grievance procedure you may not have known about. The CFP Board of Standards in Denver is putting more effort into enforcing its code of ethics.Sanctions for wrongdoers are mild, to say the least. Injured consumers should first complain in writing to their state securities office or to the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) in Washington, D.C., if the planner sells mutual funds or variable annuities.

WASHINGTON -- Teaching children how to manage money is an important challenge that many parents fail -- a sad fact that the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs is hoping to do something about.The consumer agency has produced a guidebook filled with ideas intended to help parents do a better job of teaching their children how to manage their piggy banks and, eventually, their bank accounts, loans and credit cards.The guide, "Kids, Cash, Plastic and You," offers suggestions on how to turn common household practices such as grocery shopping into learning activities for parents who may have as much trouble talking with their children about money as they do about sex.Some very bright youngsters can have a surprisingly low personal finance IQ. Many high school seniors got the answers wrong this spring when polled on an array of personal financial topics in a survey conducted by the Consumer Affairs office and the Federal Reserve Board.

Mayor Martin O'Malley and a coalition of other city agencies and businesses today launched an effort to promote a federal and state tax credit for Baltimore's low- to moderate-income workers. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -- a refundable tax credit for full-time, part-time or temporary workers -- is worth up to about $4,300, depending on income and family size. Workers with annual income of less than $34,458 may be eligible for the credit. According to the mayor's office, the average EITC for Baltimore workers in 2003 was $1,710.

Don't blame Americans' negative savings rate on Marie Anderson. Despite supporting a family of four on her $18,000-a-year job, the longtime Chicago resident has socked away $900 since April. "I'm not eating fast food. Whatever I eat at lunchtime is from home," said Anderson, a billing coordinator for the Lawndale Christian Health Center, where uninsured residents in her neighborhood can go for medical attention. Gone, too, are pricey sodas at work, and junk food at home. She has started walking to work instead of taking the bus, and buying secondhand clothes.

After a divorce led him to file for bankruptcy in December, Edward Bucking found out just how extensively a new law had changed the system. Instead of the "1-2-3 cut-and-dried" application he had heard about, Bucking had to file reams of paperwork, take classes and pay higher fees. Ten months later, the 37-year-old Plainview, N.Y., electrician is waiting for his debts to be discharged. "It's pretty stressful because you are not sure what's going on," Bucking said. "They keep you hanging.