Smart Money Ideas for Kids: Resources

The following are some of the government agencies and non-profit organizations you might want to contact about the basics of money management for parents and kids. (Don’t forget about free information available from libraries, the Internet, financial institutions, credit card companies and industry trade associations.)

The Consumer Information Center is a clearinghouse for free or low-cost booklets published by various federal agencies, many having to do with money matters. For a free catalog, write to Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009, or call toll-free 888-878-3256. If you have access to the Internet, you can get the full text of the publications free (www.pueblo.gsa.gov).

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has a variety of consumer publications in print and on the Internet (www.fdic.gov) explaining deposit insurance, equal credit opportunity and other topics. Our new Internet site for kids is described on the next page of this newsletter. The FDIC also answers questions from individual consumers. For addresses and phone numbers, click here.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York can send a catalog of free or low-cost publications and audiovisual materials issued by the Federal Reserve System nationwide. They include a series of comic books about money, saving and banking published by the New York Fed and free of charge (up to 35 copies). For the catalog, contact the Public Information Department, 33 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10045, call 212-720-6134 or e-mail pipubs@ny.frb.org. The New York Fed’s Internet site also includes an “Econ Explorers Club” with educational projects for fifth and sixth graders.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is a new organization of government agencies, universities, non-profit associations and others seeking to promote the teaching of personal finance to grade school and high school students. For more information, write to the coalition at 919 18th Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20006, or visit its Internet site (www.jumpstartcoalition.org).

The non-profit National Foundation for Credit Counseling and its member agencies around the country have educational programs for kids and adults about the basics of buying, spending and borrowing. Its free newsletter “kids & money” also advises parents on teaching kids about money and credit. To contact your nearest NFCC office and request this newsletter or other information, call 800-388-2227 or visit its Internet site (http://www.nfcc.org/).