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MSU Federal Credit Union focuses on youth education
Through its new Financial 4.0 app and website and its Financial Peer Education Program, MSU Federal Credit Union aims to guide young adults to develop the necessary know-how to manage their personal finances wisely.
The $2.9 billion credit union has joined with Visa to provide $250,000 in funding to Michigan State University over eight years for the financial literacy program. MSU FCU is developing curriculum for the peer education program that will cover budgeting during and after the college years, managing credit, and preventing identity theft. Those topics will be covered in group and one-on-one sessions to help college students develop their household budgeting skills.
The Financial 4.0 app and website, which launched in August, feature articles on financial topics, financial education videos, free resources, and contests to challenge students to improve their financial literacy, says Whitney Harrell-Anderson, MSU FCU’s VP/sales and financial education.
Articles featured on Financial 4.0 at launch covered “Building Credit Without Building up Debt,” “6 Weekly Purchases That Will Drain Your Bank Account,” “7 Tricks to Save Money Without Realizing It,” and “Credit Unions vs. Banks.”
The site offers financial calculators, a budget tracker, and a link to “Ask an Expert,” along with quizzes offering prizes on topics like “How much do you know about credit reports?”
Operations for the website and peer education will ultimately be based in the MSU FCU Financial Innovation and Education Center, which the credit union plans to open in East Lansing near campus next spring.
The online resources MSU FCU is offering through the app and website are available to the general public and are aligned to the needs of high school and college-age students and recent graduates. “Budgeting and the proper use of credit are especially important for students during and after college because it allows them to become comfortable with managing their own finances, which will help prepare them for a successful financial future,” Harrell-Anderson notes.
U.S. high school students scored below average in financial literacy on the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment. With students from 18 nations participating in the assessment, 15-year-olds from Shanghai, China, scored the highest in measures of financial literacy, with an average 603. The average of all students was 500; American students averaged 492, and 18 percent of U.S. participants did not achieve a baseline level of financial literacy, unable to make simple decisions on everyday spending and recognize basic financial documents like an invoice.
Karen Bankston is a long-time contributor to Credit Union Management and writes about credit unions, membership growth, marketing, operations and technology. She is the proprietor of Precision Prose, Middleton, Wis.
