The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) offers the award-winning High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP), a free and flexible curriculum that has been proven to change students’ knowledge, actions and self-confidence about managing their money.
Money & Me is a hands-on experience that teaches teenagers the basics of money and how to make it work for them. The program covers budgeting, credit advantages and pitfalls, savings and checking accounts, how to save for a big purchase and investing for the future.
The brass|Student Program provides high schools with access to brass|Magazine, a personal finance publication written by young adults that delivers relevant content for classroom discussions and activities. The program also includes online resource centers for teachers and students, and the Credit Unions for College scholarship database.

LifeSmarts…the Ultimate Consumer Challenge is a game show style competition for teenagers designed to better prepare them as responsible consumers in today’s dynamic marketplace. Questions cover personal finance, consumer rights and responsibilities, health and safety, technology and the environment.

Biz Kid$ is a fun, 30-minute PBS television series for kids about making and managing money. It highlights young entrepreneurs who have turned hobbies into successful businesses, raised funds for good causes and much more.

The Kid’s Cash Kit & Caboodle includes practical, hands-on tools to teach children and their families the basics of money management using the concepts of saving, spending and sharing.

Who Are You? Identity Thieves Really Want to Know! is an educational program that utilizes marketing materials, train-the-trainer workshops and instructive sessions to help credit unions and community organizations inform their members about the dangers of identity theft.

Financial Literacy Statistics

Financial Education

LifeSmarts


2009/2010 Program Changes: This year's Varsity competition will be online only - there will not be an in-person state championship. The first place online winning team will be invited to represent NYS at the National Competition.

Questions: Contact diane.lavigna-wixted@cuany.org.

What is LifeSmarts?                                                                

LifeSmarts …the ultimate consumer challenge is a game show-style educational program created by the National Consumers League (NCL) that develops the consumer knowledge and marketplace skills of teenagers. It is FREE and open to students in grades 9-12 (Varsity) and grades 6-8 (Junior Varsity) from any school, group or community-based organization.

lifesmarts
The content and competition questions focus on five key areas:

  • Personal finance
  • Consumer rights and responsibilities
  • Health and safety
  • Technology
  • The environment

When & Where to Play

NYS Competition: Opens September 14, 2009 and runs through February 5, 2010                                       Online ONLY for '09/'10 Varsity

The online competition operates on a rolling basis. You DO NOT have to be registered by Sep. 14 to participate.  Teams can register for and compete in LifeSmarts ANYTIME between the September 2009 and February 2010 dates. Some teams register early and

take their time with the program, others register later in the cycle and complete the program in one or two weeks. That means a team could register on January 29 and be done by the February 5 deadline.

National Competition: April 24-27, 2010 • Miami Beach, FL

How to Play

Teams compete in an Internet-based competition where players complete a series of three 20-question quizzes for a final score. The NYS winner moves on to compete in the National Championship. Click here to learn more.

2009 New York LifeSmarts State Championship Competition Results

On March 24, 2009 the top 12 teams from the on-line qualifying competition competed in Albany, New York. Here is the 2009 NYS Competition results:     

                                                1st:   Saranac Lake High School, Saranac Lake    

     2nd:  Starpoint High School, Lockport

     3rd:   Irondequoit High School, Rochester

     4th:   Pittsford Mendon High School, Pittsford

     5th:   Fairport High School, Fairport

     6th:   Pembroke High School, Corfu              

     7th:   William Floyd High School, Mastic Beach         

     8th:   Cairo-Durham High School, Cairo

     9th:   Tonawanda High School, Tonawanda

     10th:  Brentwood High School,Brentwood 

     (tie)   Torah Academy of Brooklyn, Brooklyn                            

                                                11th:  Sachem High School, Lake Ronkonkoma

In April 2009, Saranac Lake High School went on to compete at the National Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. Congratulations to the 2009 National Competition winner Oconto High School in Oconto, Wisconsin. Highlights from the LifeSmarts National Competition

Special thanks to all of the sponsoring 2008/2009 New York State credit unions and corporations, that paid for the team’s travel and lodging expenses to participate in the state and national championship.  List of Sponsors

The NYS competition is coordinated by the New York Credit Union Foundation.

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©2009 Credit Union Association of New York