The National Financial Capability Challenge is a non-monetary awards program designed to increase the financial knowledge and capability of high-school aged youth across the United States. It challenges youth to take control of their financial future by learning more about personal finance, and it challenges teachers and schools to incorporate the important information and topics into their curricula. The program encourages schools to get involved in financial fitness. All teachers who sign up to participate in the Challenge will receive a “teachers’ toolkit” to help them incorporate the topics into their curricula.

In March 2010 students will take a voluntary online exam designed to illustrate the relevance of financial capability, allow students to demonstrate what they have learned, and assess their financial knowledge. In April, top scoring students from each school will receive awards. In addition, a select group of outstanding schools and educators will be recognized.

I encourage you to pass on the word about this great program and have educators visit www.challenge.treas.gov to register. You can also view the full report and summary report of US Financial Capability Survey to learn more about the state of financial education and literacy in America.

The review states, “There may be no more important skill a parent can instill in their child than teaching them how to manage their money properly – and Thrive Time helps do exactly that!”

Be sure to read the full review here.

Thank you Jim Piccolo for your support!

Visit thrivetimegame.com for more information.

The program will air on the Hallmark Channel on Tuesday, November 24th at 7:30am (6:30am CST), with support airings running on the Hallmark Movie Channel Friday, November 27th at 7:00am, Saturday, November 28th at 5:00am and Sunday, November 29th at 4:30am.

Mark the date on your calendar and be sure to tune in!

The half hour long interview is something every parent should listen to and find helpful, no matter what their previous experience in educating their children about money. So grab a pen and pencil and tune in here.

Kofke has set up three jars for his daughter labeled GIVE AWAY, SAVING and SPENDING. This is what every parent should be doing with their children. From a young age we can help instill in our children a sense of philanthropy and the ability to make financially smart decisions like saving.

Here’s a nice clip of Kofke talking about his method on Fox Atlanta.

The annual financial education event, this time with the newly released ThriveTime for Teens board game, has women CEOs and leaders working with young girls to boost their financial IQ.

The events took place in 11 Sam’s Club locations: Ypsilanti, MI; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Minneapolis, MN; Orange County, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Renton, WA; Secaucus, NJ; and St. Louis, MO.

Over the course of an hour and a half each girl, from ages 10 to 16, learned such concepts as the benefits and risks of owning your own business, the value of charitable giving, the expenses attached to assets and much more.

“This wonderful event allows young women to learn first-hand from successful women business owners, while applying the real life lessons of the ThriveTime game,” said Sharon Lechter, founder of Pay Your Family First, inventor of the ThriveTime game and a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

Girl’s take away valuable lessons

In Phoenix, Arizona, over two dozen girls from three local Boys & Girls Clubs sat down to learn and play the ThriveTime board game.

The ThriveTime game teaches young girls the values and responsibilities of real life lessons such as owning a car, saving for college, charitable giving and even quirky consequences like having a mid-day energy drink. They’re lessons many adults often fail to grasp or apply to their own finances and lives. About an hour into playing, the girls’ had some startling revelations.

“You really should save money and not spend it on silly things,” said Erica, 11.

“It’s really excellent. It shows you choices when you are a teen – the right choices for life,” said Yodit, 11, about the game.

By the end of the game, every single girl was visibly confident in their potential to succeed and had picked up some valuable life lessons. Each one of the girls received their own ThriveTime board game to take home, continue their education and involve their friends.

“I learned a lot and [ThriveTime] teaches you how to manage money. Each time I got a paycheck [from my real job] I would blow it on shoes and clothes, but I really need to save,” said Hillary, 15. Hillary was one of several girls who left the event with a strong desire to start her own business, and the confidence to realize it was possible with hard work and education.

Game leaders impressed with reactions

The kids weren’t the only ones who took away valuable lessons and good impressions from the afternoon. WPO members and volunteers all had positive things to say about the experience.

“The girls learned some of the consequences of their decisions and started to learn the value of a business as they progressed through the game,” said Deb Miller. Miller’s company helps establish strategic management for K-12 school systems.

“I would recommend ThriveTime to teens and parents, because there is real life stuff in there – the girls have to make choices in their time,” said Miller. Those choices include how much of their time to devote to education versus part-time work, or whether purchasing a car makes sense for them or not.

Several girls realized the possibility of affording a secondary education for the first time in their lives.

Karie Montague, Chair of the WPO in Arizona, said, “I thought the girls got very involved. A lot of them started to make the connection that going to college is possible through scholarships, funds and other ways. Quite a few of the girls wanted to become business owners after playing ThriveTime.”

ThriveTime in the future

Sharon Lechter and the Pay Your Family First team are coordinating plans to have the ThriveTime game appear in retail stores shortly. The team will continue working with organizations like Sam’s Club and the WPO to provide young people with the chance to learn.

“The game has some really fantastic lessons to teach teens that will set them on the right path towards a financially healthy life,” said Lechter. “We’re proud of the amazing response we’ve had from both kids and parents, and know the game can make an impact in many kids’ lives.”

The ThriveTime for Teens board game is available to order on www.YOUTHpreneur.com and retails for $29.95.

You can read more and see the video from wibw.com. This is yet another great victory for financial education.

Sharon was featured in a recent iCademy Globe report by financial reporter McKenna Tucker. The K-12 online school newspaper is run and written by young entrepreneurs with the drive to succeed and share with others. Below is an excerpt, but be sure to read the full article.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Lechter for The iCademy Globe and my financial column, “Money Makes the World Go ‘Round.” One of the first questions I asked of her was this: “Has financial literacy and education always been a passion of yours? If so, what inspired you to follow this passion?”

“Financial education has always been an interest of mine throughout my life,” Mrs. Lechter responded, “But it became my true passion after my son Phillip ran into financial trouble in college. Unbeknownst to me he wracked up credit card debt. I thought I had educated him about money and staying out of debt like my father had taught me,” she continued, “In fact, I had taught him the same lessons my father had taught me — except there were no credit cards when I went to college. That is when I knew I had to do something different to help educate our nation’s youth about financial education in today’s rapidly changing world.”