November SmartStart

November is Consumer Rights & Responsibilities month at LifeSmarts, and that's a perfect time to measure the teens we work with against the Fall 2024 Piper Sandler 48th semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens® survey. The survey of more than 13,000 Generation Z American teens reports the following consumer trends and spending patterns:

34% of teens hold a part-time job – down slightly from 37% in 2023.
Teen "self-reported" spending was up 6% to $2,316 and up 4% vs. spring 2024.
Among the names of Gig Economy, the most dominant providers are Uber in ridesharing (79%) and DoorDash in food delivery (75%).
Favorite teen snacks are Goldfish, Lays, and Cheez-It.
Stanley Cup drinkware moved up to the No. 2 'most popular trend for teen women' (No. 3 in Spring 2024) but also moved up to the No. 3' fashion trend on its way out' (No. 8 in Spring 2024).
Teens' favorite consumer, shopping, and social brands are Amazon, SHEIN, Nike, Adidas, Converse, Bath & Body Works, CeraVe, e.l.f., Rare Beauty, Sephora, Ulta, Target, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Chipotle, TikTok, Instagram, Netflix, and YouTube.
Teens prefer energy drinks (39%) over coffee (31%) and soda (30%). Monster, Red Bull, Celsius, and Alani Nu held their top four rankings.
66% of Gen Z shoppers are prioritizing second-hand shopping, while 90% are loyal to their favorite brands and retailers.
87% of teens own an iPhone, and 22% of teens expect to upgrade to an iPhone 16 this winter.

As the survey illustrates, teens are active consumers. The goal of LifeSmarts is to help young people become savvy consumers who take control of their financial resources. Learning the value of comparison shopping, understanding how behavioral economics impacts the choices they make, and choosing products that align with their values are all valuable lessons learned through LifeSmarts.

New StudySmart guides and podcasts
We have posted six new StudySmart Guides and two new accompanying podcasts. These resources not only help you keep up with current consumer trends, but they will prepare your students for competition questions in state LifeSmarts championships and partner competitions!

Additional Learning Tools
LifeSmarts has a variety of fun ways to keep your students engaged while they learn!

The Daily Quiz consists of five brief questions that students can take multiple times to stay engaged. After completing the quiz, students receive the correct answers, reinforcing their learning.
The LifeSmarts Content Vocabulary of the Week can be used in many ways – as class bell-ringers, ice breakers, with LifeSmarts in a Box game, and more.
Our LifeSmarts Question-of-the-Day Calendars are great study tools for teams. These can be used for quick competitions, reviewing content, and initiating discussions.
NEW: The LifeSmarts Interactive games page provides fun ways for educators to highlight LifeSmarts content.
Additional creative ways to incorporate LifeSmarts with your class, club, chapter, or team is available here.

November TeamSmarts Challenge
The November TeamSmarts Challenge features this month’s focus on Consumer Rights & Responsibilities and is open now through November 30 at 11:55 PM EST. Top-scoring JV, Varsity, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA teams earn a cash award of $100. Don’t miss out!

October TeamSmarts Winners
Congratulations to the October Personal Finance TeamSmarts Winners!

Junior Varsity: Seek-1, Trailridge Middle School, Shawnee, KS
Varsity: West Fel 1, West Feliciana High School, St. Francisville, LA
4-H: Gwinnett 4-H Varsity, Gwinnett County 4-H, Lawrenceville, Georgia 4-H, GA
BPA: MHS BPA 1, Montgomery High School BPA, Montgomery, TX
FBLA: Lauren Chung, North Gwinnett High School FBLA, Suwanee, GA
FCCLA: La Vernia FCCLA, La Vernia High School, La Vernia, TX

Congratulations to the FBLA Fall Challenge Qualifiers
More than 200 teams competed in the LifeSmarts/ FBLA Fall Challenge. The top 12 teams advance to compete in the LifeSmarts/FBLA finals next summer at the NLC in Anaheim, CA. Coaches, you will receive preliminary details within the next two weeks.
Congratulations to the top 12 teams:

FBLA ERHS Fall 2024 – Team 1; Kezy Christopher and Delisha Azad; California
Timmy Gates and William Malpass; Timothy Gates and Will Malpass; North Carolina
CHS Comets1; Sophia Andahazy and Kia Esfahani; Pennsylvania
Timbo FBLA 2; Bryce Morrison and Hailey Depew; Arkansas
Heartland FBLA; Austin Schmidt and Tara Buzek; Nebraska
Normal_Chen_Parsi; Sum Yu Chen and Sarayu Parsi; Illinois
Lakewood_Nguyen_Dykstra; Jayden Nguyen and Seth Dykstra; Florida
Clinton_Diana_Olivia; Diana Vasquez and Olivia Whitley; Kentucky
Creek 1; Saahithi Kasa and Hana Gragus; Colorado
Berkeley High FBLA Team 1_Ayden_Zaryah; Zaryah Scott and William Brewer; South Carolina
Robinson FBLA #2; Knotty Maelstrom; Katie Bae and Michael Christopher Orilla; Virginia
Tullahoma FBLA; Edward Henry and Jonah Rathjen Vallejos; Tennessee

Matt’s Buzzers – Don’t Forget to Apply
If you need a buzzer system for your team/club/chapter/school, don’t forget about the opportunity to apply for a grant from Matt’s Buzzers! To find out more and submit an application, click here. The deadline is soon, so be sure to complete the simple application immediately. Several LifeSmarts programs have received grants in the last three years. Good luck!

FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl Qualifier Closes 11/24
FCCLA teams competing in the FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl must complete the online FCCLA Fall TeamSmarts NLC Qualifier Quiz by November 24. The top 40 teams will be invited to compete in the in-person finals at the FCCLA National Leadership Conference next summer in Orlando. Learn more here or contact LifeSmarts.

SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge – Closes 11/30
LifeSmarts is offering a new competition, especially for SkillsUSA teams. Teams of four SkillsUSA members will compete against other SkillsUSA teams to test their knowledge in the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge. The competition is great practice for the SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl. The quiz is open now, and it must be completed by November 30. High school SkillsUSA teams take an online Health & Safety quiz consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions. The top-scoring teams in the competition will earn cash prizes!

SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz – December 1-31
Are you a member of a SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl team? Take the December LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz to prepare for the LifeSmarts topic in the SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl.

To compete in the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz, Team Coaches (chapter advisers) must first register here.
Important: Make sure to select your team type as SkillsUSA QB and Varsity (grades 9-12) or Junior Varsity (Grades 6-8).
The Coach designates one student as the team captain. The team captain must register at the above location and join the team you have established.
The SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory quiz will only be available to the team captain. To take the quiz, the team captain logs in between December 1-31, clicks the “Quizzes” tab on the left side of the page, and opens the folder labeled “SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz.”
The captain opens the folder and follows the instructions to launch the quiz. The team works together to complete the quiz.
Only the captain is required to register and log in for the competition. However, all student team members can benefit by registering at the above location and joining the team you have established to take practice quizzes and use the daily quiz as well as other free study tools. This also makes the team eligible to participate in other LifeSmarts competitions, events, scholarships, and awards!

Questions? Email LifeSmarts.

Enter the new LifeSmarts Promotional Video Contest!
Enter the promotional video contest and tell us what you love about LifeSmarts! The young leaders on LEAP are excited to offer this new contest to all LifeSmarts students and teams. Learn more here and dazzle us with a short video highlighting your experiences and what you’ve learned through LifeSmarts. Cash prizes will be awarded. But hurry – entries are due no later than midnight on December 1!

Updated LifeSmarts Calendar
Curious about what’s going on? We have updated our LifeSmarts event calendar to keep everyone in the know! Be sure to check back often for your state competition dates, upcoming deadlines, and more.