Blog: Tackling Financial Literacy Is a Team Effort
By Jason Alderman, Visa Inc.
Mastering your personal finances can be a daunting challenge, even for those of us with years of experience in the financial industry. So, imagine how overwhelming it must seem to young people just starting to learn how to handle money, especially those who didn’t grow up with much of it. Given that our industry touches consumers’ financial lives in such a personal way, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to give individuals the information and tools to spend, save and budget responsibly.
While many parents and educators agree on the need to educate students and youth on financial basics, it’s an often overlooked subject. Drawing on our own collective knowledge and resources, the prepaid industry has the ability to help improve future generations’ financial know-how. Wherever you sit in the industry, you can help the end users of prepaid products (or future users) by supporting basic financial education.
New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees addresses a crowd during a Visa Financial Football event in New York.
Finding the Fun Factor
Recognizing that learning personal finance can be deadly dull, Visa has created a nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL players to make financial education more engaging. Financial Football is an educational video game and corresponding classroom curriculum in which a team can move the ball only by correctly answering personal finance-related questions. Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with 42 states and the District of Columbia to distribute the NFL-themed Financial Football game to every public middle and high school in those states.
Throughout the year, Visa partners with our financial institution clients, elected officials and NFL players to bring Financial Football to life for students across the country. Earlier this month, former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees and Tampa Bay Buccaneer legend Derrick Brooks joined Congressman Gregory Meeks at a special Super Bowl Financial Football event in New York, where Brees coached a team of local high school students as they tackled their financial future.
Visa has been developing financial literacy programs for more than 15 years to help get people of all ages engaged and excited about their financial futures. We haven’t—and couldn’t—do it without the support of our partners in government and industry, which continue to play an integral role in providing foundational personal finance skills. By taking the time to educate youth today, you’ll be sowing the seeds of good financial stewardship for decades to come.
Whether through your company or on your own, getting involved in financial education is as easy as raising your hand and knowing where to find resources. One great resource clearinghouse is Visa’s Practical Money Skills for Life Website, which has a wide array of free digital and print resources, including Financial Football and a similar FIFA soccer-themed game. Schools and community-based organizations are always in need of volunteers to teach these important life skills, and it’s never too soon to get involved.
Jason Alderman is a vice president at Visa Inc. and runs the company’s global financial literacy initiative, which includes the award-winning Practical Money Skills for Life and What’s My Score? programs. As part of his work at Visa, Jason writes a weekly personal finance column that’s carried in more than 500 community newspapers throughout the U.S. He may be reached at [email protected].
