Zions Bank Press Release
Utah’s General Financial Literacy Course, a requirement for high school graduation, turns 10 this year, and new state data show there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the milestone.
Emery High School students in Shanae Butler’s financial literacy class marked the occasion at on Friday with birthday cake and an extra serving of financial wisdom delivered by Zions Bank Castle Dale branch manager Stacey Conover.
In 2008, Utah became the first state to mandate a financial literacy course for high school graduation, a result of Senate Bill 154, which was signed into law in 2003. A decade later, Utah is the highest-ranked state in the nation for teaching financial literacy and the only state to receive an “A+” grade on Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy 2017 Financial Report Card.
“As a nation, we often talk about the state of Americans’ finances in terms of negative news and the many ways people are falling short,” Conover said. “It’s a pleasure to recognize these students and the progress we are making in Utah by celebrating this 10-year milestone in financial literacy.”
While tackling money-related topics isn’t always a piece of cake, the benefits are well documented; financial literacy is linked to greater personal wealth and economic stability.
An October 2018 report from the Office of the State Auditor revealed that Utah high school graduates who have taken the General Financial Literacy course have better personal financial knowledge and make smarter financial choices than those who have not. Utahns who graduated high school after 2008, when financial education became a requirement, also fared better on the personal finance survey than peers in neighboring states.
The half-credit General Financial Literacy course, designed for junior and seniors, covers topics like saving and spending, budgeting and investment strategies. Each year, more than 40,000 students attend this class and learn money skills they will use as adults.
While Americans in general struggle to save — 55 percent of Utahns and 57 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in a savings account, according to a 2017 GOBankingRates survey — U.S. teens exhibit some promising financial behaviors. A 2017 TD Ameritrade report found that more than half of teens (56 percent) have started saving money and more than 40 percent of teens (43 percent) follow a budget.
In addition to the financial education students receive in the classroom, parents can reinforce money lessons at home by taking these simple steps:
- Look over your child’s pay stub and help them understand taxes and withholdings, and gross pay verses take-home pay.
- If your teen isn’t currently employed, find ways for them to take part in family budgeting and financial decisions.
- Encourage your teen to open a bank account and set aside some savings each month.
- Model healthy financial behavior. Studies show that kids tend to mimic their parents’ spending and savings habits, for better or for worse.
About Zions Bank
Zions Bank is Utah’s oldest financial institution and is the only local bank with a statewide distribution of financial centers, operating 98 full-service branches. Zions Bank also operates 23 full-service financial centers in Idaho. In addition to offering a wide range of traditional banking services, Zions Bank is also a leader in small business lending and has ranked as the No. 1 lender of U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loans in Utah for the past 25 consecutive years. Founded in 1873, Zions Bank has been serving the communities of Utah for more than 140 years. Additional information is available at www.zionsbank.com. A division of Zions Bancorporation N.A., Member FDIC.