WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
APPEAL TRIBUNE
●
3B
Teaching financial literacy life lessons
Jessica Roshak
C A N YO N V I E W S
While many think of
April as the tax season
deadline, the month also
offers a great opportunity
for Oregon households to
talk to their children
about financial responsi-
bility. April is National Fi-
nancial Literacy Month,
recognized by the U.S.
Congress as a way to high-
light the importance of
maintaining healthy fi-
nancial habits.
So, what does “finan-
cial literacy” mean? A few
years back the President’s
Advisory Council on Fi-
nancial Literacy gave this
definition: “the ability to
use knowledge and skills
to manage financial re-
sources effectively for a
lifetime of financial well-
being.” Research shows
that America’s youth
lacks a solid foundation
when it comes to properly
managing money. The Na-
tional Financial Educa-
tors Council’s test of thou-
sands of 15-18 year olds
across the country re-
vealed that only 60% of
students had the ability to
earn, save and grow their
money; in Oregon the re-
sults were a little higher,
around 65%.
A national movement
is underway to incorpo-
rate financial literacy into
school systems, but so far
just 17 states require a
course in personal fi-
nance to graduate high
school. While Oregon is
not one of these states, it
does have financial litera-
cy incorporated into the
state curriculum stan-
dards.
To help supplement the
financial lessons students
are learning in class,
there are lots of ways par-
ents can teach their chil-
dren money management
lessons at home:
Wants vs. Needs: It
can be tough to explain to
children the difference
between a want and a
need, but it’s essential for
good financial literacy.
Parents can talk about
how people need food to
survive, but children
probably don’t need a new
video game to do the
same. To explain the dif-
ference between a want
verses a need, parents can
go over their own monthly
LIFE CALENDAR
FRIDAY
20th Annual Sr. Marilyn
Schwab Memorial Lecture:
Doctor and author, Miles Hassell,
MD presents "The Lifestyle
Prescription for Graceful Aging"
focusing on how the foods we
eat can greatly reduce our risk
of heart disease, stroke, cancer,
and even dementia, as well as
reverse type 2 diabetes, 7 a.m.,
Queen of Angels Monastery,
840 S Main St., Mount Angel.
RSVP. 503-845-6841.
SATURDAY
Silverton Cemetery Associa-
tion: The annual meeting of the
Silverton Cemetery Association
is open to all interested persons,
2 p.m., in the meeting room of
Silver Falls Library, 410 S. Water
St., Silverton. 503-581-8337.
Garden University: Monarchs
and Milkweed: Kris Hendricks
and Barbara Slott of the Elkton
Community Education Center
will teach about the lifecycle,
identification and preservation
of this species during an educa-
tional presentation, 11 a.m. to 1
p.m., The Oregon Garden, 879
expenses with children
and show them how the
money left over is avail-
able to buy items they
want.
Budgeting: Talk to
kids about the family’s
monthly budget. Showing
children the household
bills helps them under-
stand the concept of bud-
geting, where the money
goes and why. Parents can
give kids hands-on budget
experience by letting
them control the family’s
entertainment budget for
a month. Tell them once
the budgeted amount is
used up, the family will
have to stay home and eat
frozen pizza instead of go-
ing out to the movies!
Goal Setting: Encour-
aging students to set fi-
nancial goals will help
them learn patience and
become better financial
planners. Have children
create a wish list of things
or activities they want to
save for, and then build a
budget and plan to reach
the amount needed. Par-
ents can work with their
children to calculate how
much to save each week
and set a target date to
make the purchase. For
younger kids, try using a
clear jar instead of a pig-
gy bank to help children
visually watch their mon-
ey add up, getting closer
to their savings goal.
Allowance: Children
can pay for items on their
wish list by saving money
from their allowance.
While there are mixed
opinions on whether or
not to give children an al-
lowance, some say it’s a
good technique for teach-
ing students the basics of
earning, saving, and
spending. One option for
providing an allowance is
based on a chore reward
system, with various pay
rates for completing daily
or weekly chores, depend-
ing on the family.
Grocery
Shopping:
Parents can turn a trip to
the grocery store into a
teachable moment. Illus-
trate basic money man-
agement habits by start-
ing with a shopping list
and showing children how
preparation can lead to
savings. Make sure kids
bring a calculator, note-
pad, and pencil with them,
so they can calculate the
prices of products and the
total bill. Explain how
coupons work and how
comparing the price dif-
ferences between name
brands and generic prod-
ucts can add up to big sav-
ings.
Bank On It: A visit to
the bank or ATM is a good
way to show students
where money comes
from. Children can learn
that banks don’t just hand
out money, it’s also place
for money to be stored
and a place where people
go to take out loans. Many
banks allow parents to
open a savings account in
their child’s name. Par-
ents can demonstrate how
to deposit in the account,
and the added responsibil-
ity of maintaining the ac-
count helps children learn
important life skills. Even
though parents are in the
habit of using debit and
credit cards to make pur-
chases, adults can use
cash for transactions,
which helps children wit-
ness money being ex-
changed for goods.
(There are many web-
sites about financial liter-
acy but I’ve included just
a few below that might be
helpful for parents.)
www.federalreservee-
ducation.org/
www.moneybun-
ny.com/
www.sesames-
treet.org/parents/save/
foundation
www.cashcourse.org/
www.mymoney.gov/
www.mint.com/educa-
tion/resources
Jessica Roshak of Eu-
gene is an Oregon Connec-
tions Academy High
School social studies
teacher. She can be
reached through www.O-
regonConnectionsAcade-
my.com or (800) 382-6010.
Related stories:
LETTER OF THANKS
The Silverton Zenith
Woman’s Club wishes to
thank all who attended
our Bunko Fundraiser on
April 9th. A tremendous
amount of fun was had by
all and we raised over
$1,000 that will go toward
our annual community
projects of: scholarships
for Silverton High School
graduates, layettes for
the Silverton Hospital
Birthing Center, mainte-
nance of The Town Square
Park and the Tree of Giv-
ing at Christmas time. We
want to express a very
special thank you to the
Elks Lodge for sponsoring
our fundraiser and pro-
viding wonderful snack
foods for our guests.
Barbara Fischer
-Chase
Silverton
We Are Here to Help Answer All Your Questions!
W Main St., Silverton. $12 early
bird; $15 nonmember and non
early bird. 503-874-8100, oregon
garden.org.
Taste. Learn. Celebrate.
Cascade Foothills Winegrow-
ers: Taste award winning wines
and learn why grape growing
and fermentation is special in
the Cascade Foothills, 1 to 5
p.m., Mt. Angel Community
Festhalle, 500 S. Wilco Highway,
Mt. Angel. $10. 971-338-9760,
Cascadefoothillswine.com.
Junior Gardener’s Club:
Monarchs and Milkweed: Join
butterfly specialists Kris Hen-
dricks and Barbara Slott for a
fun, craft-filled afternoon aimed
at teaching children about the
importance of preserving mon-
archs and milkweed, 2 to 4 p.m.,
The Oregon Garden, 879 W
Main St., Silverton. $15, includes
one adult and one child; free for
Garden Members. 503-874-8100,
Oregongarden.org.
Who do I call fi rst?
When a death is unexpected and a person is not on hospice, nor in a licensed care facility, your fi rst phone call
may be to the funeral home. However, the police must be notifi ed fi rst. Often the funeral home will call and
notify the police for you.
Once police are notifi ed, they will come to the place of death and assess things. They will also contact EMT to
come and certify the time and that a death has occurred. Afterward, the police may phone the nearest funeral
home to assist in transportation of the individual. In certain cases, the medical examiner’s deputy may also
be requested at the scene to determine if an autopsy may be required. In other cases, an autopsy may not be
necessary. If family wishes to pursue an autopsy, they should notify the funeral
director.
Is embalming required?
No. Only in certain circumstances. Embalming is required in cases of
communicable disease or prolonged public viewing (6 hours or longer). Most
often times the funeral home will utilize mortuary refridgeration, as required after
the fi rst 24 hours of death.
Proudly Serving Our Communities
with Burial & Cremation Options Since 1919
Scratchdog Stringband at
Mac’s Place: Americana, 9 p.m.,
Mac’s Place, 201 N Water St.,
Silverton. Free. 503-380-8895,
Scratchdogstringband.com.
Unger Funeral Chapel
25
PO Box 275
190 Railroad Ave
229 Mill St.
Mt. Angel, OR
Silverton, OR
(503) 845-2592
(503) 873-5141
www.ungerfuneralchapel.com