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It is Personal Finance Month here at LifeSmarts, and educating teens about finances has never been more relevant. Financial
education has the potential to improve the lives of millions of students by giving them the skills they need to make informed decisions. Yet according to Intuit’s Financial Education survey released in April of this year, most students rely on their parents for any financial knowledge.
The survey of 2000 high school students showed there are life-changing opportunities to fill this gap and to empower the next generation by teaching financial education in schools and organizations. The Intuit Financial Education survey found that 85% of U.S. high school students are interested in learning about financial topics, while 95% of students who currently receive financial curriculum find it helpful. Their desire to learn financial skills stems from their understanding of how this knowledge can impact their futures. Students shared the top three things they wished to
know about managing their finances: - How to become wealthy (43%)
- How to save money (40%), and
- How to avoid debt (37%)
The surveyed students also shared the top three financial terms that they do not understand which are: “stocks/bonds” (53%), “401k/retirement” (45%), and “taxes” (28%).
As an organization that has been teaching teens about Personal Finance for more than 30 years, LifeSmarts can equip every participant with the education and skills they need for a successful financial future.
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We are excited to provide you and your students with these new / updated educational resources:
Personal Finance LifeSmarts U Lessons
Be sure to check out all the LifeSmarts U lessons on Personal Finance including Higher Education, Credit Reports, Retirement Planning, Buying a Used Car, and more.
StudySmarts Guides
New
guides include Cryptocurrency, Moving Expenses, and Post-Secondary Education.
Do You Need Buzzers for Your LifeSmarts Team?
We receive many requests yearly about buzzers. Practicing with buzzers or buzzer apps can help your team excel in live competitions. If you need buzzers for your LifeSmarts team, Matt’s Buzzers provides grants to help fund buzzer systems. To find out more, and to submit an application, click here. Additionally, a special selection process for a limited number of added buzzer grants will be announced via Matt’s Buzzers Facebook page on November 20, 2024. Be sure to follow their Facebook page for news and updates. To be fully considered for both rounds of grants, complete your application as soon as possible and before November 20, 2024. Selections will be made on Saturday,
December 7, 2024. Several LifeSmarts teams and programs have been awarded this grant in the last four years! Good luck!
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October Personal Finance TeamSmarts Quiz
The October TeamSmarts Quiz featuring Personal Finance topics is open until October 31 at 11:55 PM, EST. Compete now with your team! Add your team’s name to our winners list for this season! TeamSmarts, the
LifeSmarts web-based team competition, is a great practice tool. These monthly quizzes show up under your team captain’s "quizzes" tab. The captain logs in, clicks on the quizzes tab on the left side of the page, and selects the October TeamSmarts Quiz folder. Teams work together to take this 50-question multiple-choice quiz. Prizes are awarded each month to the top-scoring Junior Varsity, Varsity, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA teams (one prize per year, per school or individual club/organization).
September Health & Safety TeamSmarts Winners
Congratulations to these teams who are winners in the September Health & Safety TeamSmarts Challenge!
Varsity: FMS 1, Francis Marion High School, Marion, AL
Junior Varsity: Northview JV 1, Northview 4-H Club, Pensacola, FL, Florida 4-H
4-H: Madison A, Madison County 4-H, Jackson, TN, Tennessee 4-H
FBLA: Easy On Me, Suncoast High School FBLA, Riviera Beach, FL
FCCLA: Stamford FCCLA, Stamford High School, Stamford, TX
Want to see how your team did? Log in and click here. The top 50 team scores are listed.
State Competitions Begin in December
Most LifeSmarts State pages are updated or are in the process of being updated, and we are adding dates daily to our LifeSmarts Events Calendar. Be sure to check these often to stay up-to-date on deadlines for your state competition! You don’t want to miss our 31st LifeSmarts National Championship in Chicago, Illinois, April 24-27. 2025!
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LifeSmarts / FBLA Fall Challenge
Attention FBLA teams! It is time for the Fall LifeSmarts / FBLA Challenge! Teams can begin competing on October 14th until 11:55 PM EST on November 8th. You can prepare now by registering taking practice quizzes, and participating in the October TeamSmarts Challenge. The top twelve teams (from different states) advance to the Finals at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, CA next June. Teams of two students compete online at https://lifesmarts.org/, with the
team taking two TeamSmarts quizzes together – one fifty-question Personal Finance Quiz and one fifty-question Consumer Rights Quiz – and each team member also completing an individual quiz. Participation Notes: FBLA Teams are allowed to return and compete in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge
on the state and national level as long as that team did not win first place in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge at a previous FBLA National Leadership Conference. Individuals may compete again with a new partner as long as neither was part of a first place in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge at a previous FBLA National Leadership Conference. Learn more here. Feel free to contact us if you need help or have any questions.
FCCLA / LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl Update
FCCLA teams! Get ready to compete in the FCCLA / LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl for the opportunity to compete live at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando next
July! All teams who wish to compete should register now at LifeSmarts. Advisers should visit this page for additional information. The Round 1 – FCCLA Fall TeamSmarts NLC Qualifier Quiz will be available from October 21 – November 24, 2024. The team captain logs in at LifeSmarts.org, clicks on their Quizzes tab (on the left side), and selects the folder for FCCLA Fall Qualifying Quiz 2024. The top
40 scoring teams advance to compete in the FCCLA / LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl Finals at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando in July, 2025. The FCCLA Advisers page also has great information. Feel free to contact us with any questions you have.
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Making Life Easier Scholarship
Encourage your high school seniors and recent grads to apply for a Making Life Easier Scholarship! Again, this year, our friends at Toyota Financial Services are providing $1 million in scholarships to college-bound students. LifeSmarts students and alumni are eligible to apply for scholarships of up to $20,000 distributed over four years. The deadline is October 31, 2024. Urge your students to begin the application process today!
LifeSmarts Promotional Video Contest
Share what you love about LifeSmarts! Enter the LifeSmarts Promotional Video Contest. The competition is open to LifeSmarts individuals or teams in the Junior Varsity (grades 6-8) or the Varsity (grades 9-12) levels. The individuals and teams that create the top six videos will receive cash prizes of 1st Place - $200; 2nd Place - $150; 3rd Place - $100; and three Honorable
Mentions - $50 each. Videos will be judged on creativity, originality, and effectiveness in promoting LifeSmarts. Complete rules and the entry form are available here. Entries are due December 1. Good luck and happy videoing!
USA Today Grant
LifeSmarts received a grant from USA Today to provide digital access for our participants to the daily newspaper. This grant will provide you and your team access to current events and consumer issues that will show up as competition questions. To access, login on a desktop computer (the links may not work on cell phones) at http://usatoday.va.newsmemory.com/charitablefoundation.php OR http://bit.ly/pwKxDV
User Name: 75021
Password: usatoday
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Help LifeSmarts reach even more students this year! Donate today.
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