“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they
attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.”
- Pearl S. Buck
The Problem:
Gen-Y is in financial crisis and we literally can’t afford to wait any longer to share crucial info about money and real world stuff with our generation. We need changemakers like you to help get the word out, share your stories, and get involved. Get familiar with the issue below and visit our Action Center right now to get started.
Unprepared for “The Real World”
- 74% of parents of high school students were more concerned about their children “developing good personal financial skills” than “following the wrong crowd” or “drugs/and alcohol use.”
[Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa USA 2005 National Back to School Survey]
- “Only 26% of 13-to 26-year olds reported their parents actively taught them how to manage money.”
[Statement on the Introduction of Credit Card Bill of Rights, Senator Menendez, April 2006]
- Young Americans now have the second highest rate of bankruptcy, just after those aged 35 to 44. [Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, "Generation Broke Report" 2004]
- University administrators state that they lose more students to credit card debt than to academic failure. (Junior Achievement Organization, 2004)
- When young adults ages 18 to 25 were asked to name the most important problem facing them in their lives today, the highest response (30%) was financial issues including bills, debt and the cost of living. (Pew Research Center, 2007)
- People in the 18-to-24 age bracket spend nearly 30% of their monthly income just on debt repayment. (Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, “Generation Broke Report” 2004)
Money in the Classroom
- 76% of parents said that schools should be required to teach money management skills.
[Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa USA 2005 National Back to School Survey]
- Only 21 of 50 states actually implement legislation for financial literacy standards.
While nine states require student testing in personal finance, only seven states
actually require students to take a personal finance course in high school.
[National Council on Economic Education, 2005]
- In a recent survey, 76% of college students wished they had more help preparing for their financial future.
[The Hartford Financial Services Group, 2007]
A Growing National Problem
- The average household with debt carries approximately
$10,000 to $12,000 in total revolving debt and has 9 credit cards.
[Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, “Making The Case for Financial Literacy-2005”]
- In 2005, savings rates dipped to minus 0.5 percent, something that hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.
[US Department of Commerce, 2006]
The Solution:
brass has a taken a giant step in the right direction by providing content, information, inspiration and resources where young adults need them most. But we can’t do it alone. We need you–students, young professionals, teachers, businesses, and organizations–to help. Please visit our Action Center right now to help get brassTV picked up by a major TV network.
“For big things to happen, you need big thinkers behind them. Big thinkers imagine things that most consider impossible. Did I ever imagine brass would be where it is today? Yes, absolutely.”
- Bryan Sims, brass Founder/CEO