Looking for more financial education news, topics and tips — and can’t wait until the next quarterly Iowa Jump$tart newsletter? Sign up for National Jump$tart’s Financial Fridays e-newsletters — and get new tips every Friday! Click here to subscribe.
The National Jump$tart Coalition has announced a new program, called Groundswell, to help parents, grandparents and guardians advocate for financial education in their schools. The goal of the program is to help increase the number of K-12 students who receive financial education in the classroom by 25 percent by 2025. “Parents, grandparents and guardians are the most vocal advocates for their own kids’ education,” said Laura Levine, president and CEO of the Jump$tart Coalition. Jump$tart is planning to develop a virtual toolkit for those interested in taking part in the effort. Click here to learn more.
In 2017, the Investor Protection Institute (IPI) and state securities agencies sponsored the DASH for the STASH contest in which an estimated 1,300 individuals participated in. DASH for the STASH is a “scavenger hunt”- like contest that teaches and then quizzes participants on investing topics such as financial fraud, building a nest egg, selecting financial advisers and the cost of investment fees. A total of 138 public libraries and other locations in eight jurisdictions participated in the contest. Participating jurisdictions included Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
Of the 1,300 individuals who participated at host locations, 346 submitted completed responses and 171 of those responses had the correct answers. One individual, from each of the jurisdictions, who submitted all correct answers was randomly selected as a winner and received a $1,000 IRA contribution.
The DASH for the STASH contest also included an online version for the first time in 2017. The online version was open to anyone, regardless of location, and ran from April 1, 2017, to October 31, 2017. Of the 184 completed online responses, 53 were correct and seven winners were randomly selected to receive $150 IRA contributions.
Between the DASH host locations and online version, 15 winners were selected. Of those 15, two winners were from Iowa.
In addition to IPI, other organization that were involved with the 2017 DASH for the STASH included Alaska Division of Banking and Securities, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation Securities Division, the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, the Ohio Division of Securities, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, and the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office.
For more information about the 2017 DASH for the STASH, click here. Information on whether the DASH will occur in 2018, has not yet been released.
Find even more financial literacy resources by signing up for the Department of Education’s quarterly Financial Literacy Update. Click here to view past issues and to sign up for this additional quarterly newsletter resource.
Join the Money Smart Week Team for the CFPD’s Five Principles for Effective Financial Education webinar on Thursday, August 17 from 1 – 2 p.m. CST.
The webinar will include information on CFPD’s five principles that can be put into practice through financial education aimed at adults. These principles include the following:
The above principles are built on research-based insights about how people make financial decisions, on feedback from financial education practitioners and on what the Money Smart Week Team has learned about consumers’ own experience in the financial marketplace.
To register for the webinar, click here.
We know it’s short notice, but this webinar will be too good to pass up. Join financial educator Karen Chan during tomorrow’s Investing: 101 webinar. Learn about stocks, bonds and mutual funds through the story of the young company Freddie’s Finest Furniture. Chan will also explain index funds and target date retirement fund and how they can simplify your investing decisions.
For more information on joining the Investing: 101 webinar, see the information below.
January 26th 1:00pm CST- 1:30pm CST
https://join.onstreammedia.com/go/71972246/investing101webinar
Dial in Access: 1-855-377-2663
Participant Code: 66141401
Each year, during Money Smart Week, the Iowa Bankers Association sponsors the Money Smart Week essay contest in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Through the contest, students are asked to answer a financial question and relate it back to their life. This year’s question is:
“Do you think there is a connection between financial health and physical health? Please explain your answer. What can you do to become more financially healthy?”
One student will be named this year’s Money Smart Kid and will receive a $1,000 College Savings account. Participants must reside in the Money Smart Week Iowa or Quad Cities region and must be in grade 7-11. The deadline to submit an essay is Friday, March 24, 2017, and the winner will be notified by April 19.
Download the MSW Essay application at http://www.moneysmartweek.org/kids_competition. To stay up-to-date on contest information, “like” MSW Iowa on Facebook.
