(This story was originally published by Mint.com on Wed, May 19, 2010.)
By Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro
Up until a couple of years ago, being financially literate was a skill needed for “later in life.” Nowadays, things have drastically changed. The number of financial literacy classes is multiplying and money management classes are taught to students as early as grammar school.
“It’s never too early to learn about money” seems to be the consensus. An early start to understanding how to manage your assets means an early start towards a financially successful life.
Mint recently conducted an online survey aimed at better understanding what users’ approach was to money as kids and how they are teaching their own children. Nearly half of the survey respondents stated that they earned money before or in elementary school. Mowing lawns and babysitting were the most frequently held jobs and almost nine in 10 respondents had paying jobs in high school. High school jobs were mainly in retail stores, baby-sitting, restaurants and, again, mowing lawns. The survey indicated that earnings in high school were mostly used for entertainment, eating out or car related expenses.
Most importantly, however, the majority of survey respondents said they were not very prepared to manage money after high school.
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