Teenagers are notorious spenders. Between iPhones, clothing and outings with friends, the average teen can easily drop $300 a week on "extras." And they often do, to the dismay of their parents and future debt counselors.
The spending and the debt continue as teens leave the "safety" of home for greener pastures in college. According to finaid.org, a student loan information website established in 1994, the average debt load for a college graduate is roughly $24,000. However, this number does not take into account attendance at a private, for-profit school or continuing education programs for master's degrees. In these cases, the average student load debt creeps up to $30,000 and more, not including the credit card debt that tends to accompany financially impulsive youngsters.
There is hope, however, in the form of education. That's why, for the last six years, MountainOne Financial Partners has been vigilant in establishing its Junior Board, a group of 10 students selected from northern Berkshire high schools. Their mission, according to Junior Board Co-chair Katie O'Neill, is to talk some money sense into their peers.
"They're so proud of what they're doing and they know the worth of a dollar," O'Neill said. "Each year the board is charged with creating a bank product that we can use with young people. We give their (the boards') opinions a lot of
weight, especially when it comes to marketing toward or working with teens to prepare them for their financial future. It's important for the board not to have a fluff piece. This is a real project with real results."
Powerful results mean a lot to Tanner Bird, a senior at Hoosac Valley and the board's project manager. While Bird is new to the Junior Board this year, he said that even after just two meetings (they meet once a month), he is already feeling confident about the project and the group as a whole.
"It seems like a simple thing," he said. "We meet every month and discuss who is going to lead this and who is going to do that. We've only had two meetings and I've already learned a lot about how the business world works. I've also learned that you shouldn't overthink things and don't try to do everything yourself."
Bird has been listening closely to his peers and to the adult experts who address the board at every meeting. In fact, it is paramount to the success of the project that board members have exposure to key players in the "outside" world of business and finance. These interactions, according to O'Neill, are invaluable to the teens as well as to MountainOne's mission of financial education.
"At a typical board meeting we go over the minutes, look at the agenda, approve things; just like any other board," she said. "And every month we have a different representative from a different bank department come in and talk with the kids. Then we work on our annual project. The students are wonderful. They come up with outstanding ideas and they have a lot of impact with us as a bank."
While the bank considers the brainstorming sessions with the Junior Board a viable set of ideas, the board itself is determined to bring those ideas to the community. Although not a financial expert, Jordanne Wotkowicz, the board's PR manager and a senior at McCann, recognizes that in the current economic crisis money savvy is not a luxury reserved for economics majors. She also has come to realize that there is nothing boring about money.
"It's really interesting. There's so much I didn't know about the banking system and about just being on a board," she said. "We get to do something where we actually have a budget and something is actually going to happen at the end of the year. These are real world finances that we are trying to teach other students about. When I talk about debt and money with some of my classmates they look at me with this blank stare. That's not good."
With her peers in mind, Wotkowicz is eager to see the results of the board's hard work. In May of next year, they will be expected to present, in full, their yearlong project -- a complete financial education program for teens that will be distributed to and used by area banks and schools to teach youth about how to manage their money, both now and in the future. In fact, it is this uncertain future that weighs heavy on Wotkowicz's mind.
"Going into college right now is kind of scary when you think about it," she said. "This economy plays a huge role in what I want to do as a career when I get older. There's definitely a limit on what schools I can attend based on how much they cost. You need to choose what you want to do before you go to school, which is a lot different from 10 years ago when you could kind of be anything."
While there is seemingly little room for whimsy in the financial future of most young people in the country, Bird said that his experience with the Junior Board may be just the stepping stone that he and other teens need.
"We're teaching kids to save their money and be responsible," he said. "Just from working with the banks I am thinking that this might be a field that I want to go in to. We're really doing something to help the community with an issue that's important."
