Staff Writer
As the United States grapples with its worst financial crisis in recent history, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is educating the next generation of consumers about how to manage and use credit.
JALA attorney April Charney hosted a JALACARE training seminar last week at Florida Coastal School of Law to instruct lawyers and law students about how to teach the information to students. CARE stands for Credit Abuse Resistance Education and the nationwide program teaches both high school seniors and college freshmen about the dangers of consumer debt. It was created by Chief Judge John Ninfo of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York.
“There is little consumer credit to access out there right now,” said Charney, “which is both a good and bad thing.”
The goal of the program is to create more financially responsible consumers, but it also offers another opportunity for lawyers.
“This is a great pro bono program,” said Charney. “It gives children a chance to see you in a different light in the community.”
About 20 people attended the training, with a majority of those being law students.
“My family has had some rough times in the past with credit, so I want to try to help other families avoid those problems,” said Maria Georgiou, a first-year student at Florida Coastal School of Law. She also wants “to help students to realize what they are doing to their financial history.”
Typically, law students are paired with a lawyer to teach two 90-minute classes at area high schools. The training session helped give future instructors a feel for what they would need to do to prepare for the classes.
“You are all sitting there being quiet and paying attention right now,” said Charney to the class. “The 12th graders you will teach will not be quiet and they won’t sit still.”
One of the tricks to keep students’ attention is to keep the lesson interactive. One of the tools used to meet this goal is an interactive game developed by VISA and the National Football League called “Financial Football.” The game lets students choose their favorite NFL teams and score points by answering financial questions of varying difficulty.
“We’ve developed a basic teaching plan to introduce high school students to credit,” said Charney. “We’re not going to ask lawyers to try to teach high school students about compound interest.”
The next training is scheduled for April 15, and information is available at 356-8371 or www.jaxlegalaid.org
TEN SIMPLE RULES TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS
1. Set up a written budget
2. Set financial goals
3. Credit is a debt decision (One card is all you need)
4. Compare and ask for best rates and terms
5. Plan for everything
6. Know your financial limitations
7. Cash is king
8. Know your credit score
9. Avoid financial tricks and traps (payday loans)
10. Stay debt healthy (cash in, cash out)
356-2466