After writing about college students and their use of credit
cards last week, this seemed like a good time to highlight an
effort to teach the younger set about money. Quite often,
teenagers learn about money as they move from one purchase
request to the next. I overheard a tough-love lesson offered
during a recent shopping trip to Lakeside Mall. The end-of-
summer sale offered half off swimsuits and the typical looking
teenager had found the perfect fit. It suited her tastes, but
not Grandma's wallet. "I'm not spending $60 on a swimsuit. Your
mother might, but I'm not doing it," the grandmother said. The
grandmother got her point across in that teachable moment, but
it seems such lessons are too rare. There's a growing
recognition that Americans need to do more to teach the next
generation about money long before they're old enough to get
into debt. Today's highly indebted consumers were once teenagers
who probably didn't get lessons on the best way to juggle daily
expenses, long-term financial goals and inve