Tag: money smart week

Helpful Information, News/Accolades

Iowa eighth grader Katherine Currier named 2015 Money Smart Kid

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2015 Money Smart Kid Essay Contest Winner Katherine Currier receives a $1,000 award presented by members of the Money Smart Kid Essay contest planning committee. Pictured left to right are Traci Stiles (Des Moines Metro Credit Union), Lori Ristau (Iowa Bankers Association), Katherine Currier (Goodrell Middle School), Matt Brown (Iowa Student Loan) and Kellie Masters (Wealth Advisors of Iowa)

Katherine Currier, an eighth grader at Goodrell Middle School, has won the statewide financial literacy essay contest for Money Smart Week Iowa and has been named Iowa’s 2015 Money Smart Kid. Currier was recognized April 24 at Goodrell Middle School. Currier will also receive a $1,000 Certificate of Deposit sponsored by the Iowa Bankers Association.

“Financial education is an important subject for students to learn early, and it is exciting to see these students’ learning more about real-world applications and solutions to help with saving,” said Lori Ristau, vice president of marketing and communications at the Iowa Bankers Association. “Iowa banks are committed to helping Iowans reach their financial goals, and providing access to financial education resources through programs like Money Smart Week is just one of the many ways banks can help. That is why we are happy to sponsor this fun and educational opportunity for Iowa students on behalf of our member banks.”

Approximately 229 students from across the state participated in the essay contest. To be eligible, students had to be in grades seventh through eleventh and submit a 300-word essay. The essay asked students to describe the biggest obstacle to saving money and what technological and/or banking solutions might help them (and their friends) begin to save. The top six essay finalists also participated in an interview with contest judges. From those finalists, Katherine Currier was selected to be the 2015 Money Smart Kid.

“For the second straight year, we have had over 200 essays from bright students across Iowa,” said Matt Brown, chair for the Money Smart Youth Outreach Committee. “This year’s question placed a fundamental financial concept–saving–in front of middle and high school students, and we got a glimpse of the future by reading their creative ideas for technological and/or banking solutions. I could not be more pleased or hopeful for Iowa’s future.”

Currier wrote in her award-winning essay, “Many people start saving money, but soon quit because the urge to spend gets the better of them. The sooner kids are encouraged to save, the sooner they develop good habits for balancing wants and needs.”

Currier is the daughter of Larry and Vona Currier. As Iowa’s 2015 Money Smart Kid, Currier will serve as a spokesperson promoting financial education during Money Smart Week, April 18-25, in communities across the state. In addition to Currier, the five essay finalists were: Samantha Dilocker (Red Oak), Laura Stowater (Algona), Rachel Kerger (Ankeny), Andrew Wise (Johnston) and Christian Elliott (Bettendorf).

More information about Money Smart Week is available at www.moneysmartweek.org.

Contests, Upcoming Events

Team up to win the Finance Challenge!

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The Iowa Finance Challenge is a new online financial literacy program available for middle and high school students. This online competition includes 30 questions for students to test their knowledge on income and money management, spending and credit, and savings and investing. Students compete in teams of three or four in the challenge, and test individually to measure the knowledge they have gained.

In addition to providing students with a fun and engaging way to build their financial literacy knowledge, the challenge offers students the chance to win cash prizes. Prizes will be awarded in April during Money Smart Week to the first, second and third place winning teams. The first place team will receive $25 per team member, the second place team will receive $15 per team member, and the third place team will receive $10 per team member. Every team that participates also is registered for a drawing for a $100 gift card.

Teachers interested in having students participate in the challenge can contact Erica Vonk of the Iowa Center for Economic Education at Dordt College at 712-722-6341 or Erica.Vonk@Dordt.edu. The challenge is being facilitated and managed by the Iowa Center for Economic Education at Dordt College, and made possible through a joint sponsorship by the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition and Wells Fargo.

Visit their website at http://financechallenge.unl.edu and click on Iowa.

Financial Literacy Tools, Helpful Information, Upcoming Events

Money Smart Week® Returns April 18-25, 2015

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Saving for college? Preparing for retirement? Repairing your credit? Just wish you were better at managing your money? Sign up today for one of many financial education programs during Money Smart Week® April 18-25, coordinated by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and hundreds of local partner organizations in your community.

Money Smart Week events are open to the public at businesses, financial institutions, schools, libraries, nonprofits and government agencies on topics including kids and money, credit building, managing student debt and retirement. Event information is available here.

Financial Literacy Tools, Helpful Information

2015 Money Smart Kid Essay Contest Announced

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Iowa Bankers Association Communications Coordinator Shawnna Stiver (left) and Iowa Credit Union Foundation Executive Director Jaimie Miller (right) present a certificate to 2014 Money Smart Kid Laura Stowater of Algona Middle School (center)

In support of Money Smart Week April 18-25, the Iowa Bankers Association is sponsoring the annual Money Smart Kid Essay Contest in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The student winner of the contest will receive a $1,000 college savings account. Students in grades 7-11 may enter the contest by answering the essay questions: What is the biggest obstacle to saving your money? What technological and/or banking solutions might help you and your friends begin to save? The deadline to submit an essay is March 27, 2015, and the winner will be notified by April 10. Click here for more information.

Iowa Jump$tart Information

Iowa Jump$tart Members Participate in Panel Discussion on Financial Literacy

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FinancialLiteracyPanel2A panel of Iowa financial literacy and education experts, including members from Iowa Jump$tart, recently participated in a panel discussion on financial literacy during the Iowa Bankers Association’s Annual Convention in Des Moines. The panelists included Lincoln Hughes from EverFi, Kevin Klemesrud from American State Bank, Steve McCullough from Iowa Student Loan, Joanne Kuster from Kuster LTD, and Bob Mantell from TS Institute. The panelists discussed with Iowa bankers trends they are seeing in the areas of financial literacy and shared tips for implementing effective financial literacy programs. They also shared a number of tools and resources available to assist schools with financial literacy programs, including the EverFi technology platform, which is sponsored by more than 50 Iowa banks in more than 150 schools, Project Financial Literacy assessment tool, student debt calculators from Iowa Student Loan, opportunities available through Money Smart Week programs, and resources available from the TS Institute, an organization created by TS Bank to offer K-12 financial literacy programs.