Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill December 18, 2008 that would allow a financial literacy course to count as an option toward meeting graduation requirements.* Survey results by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (CEEL) reveal that students really do need these courses.

Last month, CEEL released the results of the holiday economic literacy survey, which shows that Americans lack basic math and personal finance skills—especially as those skills relate to being financially responsible over the holidays. 

The national survey shows that an overwhelming number of Americans are unable to answer basic financial literacy questions.
The survey showed:

• 65% answered incorrectly when asked how many reindeer would remain if Santa had to lay off 25% of his 8 reindeer because of the bad economy;
• 75% of people thought that it would take 15 years or less to pay off $5,000 in Christmas presents if making the minimum payment on their credit card.  In reality, it would take 46 years to pay off those holiday expenses!
• 1 in 3 people did not know how much money a person would be spending on gifts if they spent 1% of their 50,000 per year salary;
• 16% of respondents admitted that they do not expect to have their holiday debt paid off by March 1st, 2009.

“Many Americans don’t even have the basic math skills required to balance their checkbook, forget about understanding complicated mortgages or credit card statements," said James Bowers, managing director at the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy. It is important that all Americans redouble their efforts to ensure that they have the knowledge to make the best financial choices for their families and their budgets.”

See the full survey released in December…
Learn more about Econ4U, an economic education program reaching young people in non-academic environments while they were not intending to be taught!

* The bill signed December 18 also allows students to complete Algebra II over a 2-year period with each year counting as a credit.