More on financial literacy

In an earlier blog I talked about a book I had been reading, Findependence Day. The author, Jonathon Chevreau (financial columnist from The National Post) commented and linked me to a column he had written on his blog entitled Financial Literacy. Now this was a term I hadn't really thought about before but then on my way between Cavell School and the VSB yesterday, I was listening to the CBC program,The Point, and they were discussing the importance of teaching high school students, you guessed it, financial literacy. It appears now that if you go to Zellers, you may be asked if you would like a cash advance on your HBC/Zellers card. It was noted how problematic credit card debt has become. The panel were discussing how important that students understand financial planning and even referring to their own educational experiences in high school. Anyway, saving money is obviously "hot" this year for obvious reasons but how hard is it to change habits and how can we help our students and ourselves become more financially literate?