12/16/2006
Coventry kids get credit for understanding credit
John H. Gendron , Daily Times

Like it or not, credit scores have become an immutable aspect of everyday living.
Whether it's a house, the furniture in the house, a car, or even a cell phone, much of obtaining what we deem 'necessary expenditures' is highly contingent upon having upstanding credit.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston understands this, and to "highlight the importance of economic and financial literacy in our region's schools," the bank held its first ever Reserve Cup - a contest where six high school teams, one from each of the New England states, participated in a quiz competition, answering questions about personal finance, economics, and financial literacy.
Four Coventry High School seniors, Katelyn Palmer, Maura Ryan, Samantha Struebing, and Michaela Dion, accompanied by the school's business teacher, Kathy Woodard, represented Rhode Island in the inaugural Reserve Cup. The competition took place Nov. 21 and a taped version of the event will be broadcast on New England Cable News (NECN) Sunday at 9 p.m. and again Tuesday at 8 p.m.
"Understanding economics and making sound financial decisions have become essential skills for the 21st century," said the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's president and CEO, Cathy Minehan. "Unfortunately, New England lags behind much of the country in teaching these skills to our young people. We at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston would like to help the region address this issue."
According to a 2006 survey conducted for JumpStart, a nationwide coalition for personal financial literacy and co-organizer of the Reserve Cup, high school students in Rhode Island answered correctly on less than half of questions pertinent to personal finance.
Jim Hedemark, the executive director of the Rhode Island's division of JumpStart and also a Coventry resident, said the Reserve Cup was an excellent tool to spread the significance of financial responsibility.
"Hopefully, through things like (the Reserve Cup), some students can begin to understand the consequences of not paying your bills," Hedemark said. "Cell phone bills, utility bills, or credit card bills. A few poor choices early in life can really cost exponentially over a lifetime."
Regarding Palmer, Ryan, Struebing, and Dion, Hedemark said, "I was proud to bring four highly intelligent young ladies who represented not only Coventry High School, but the state of Rhode Island, so well."
Hedemark added, "I think they surprised themselves with some of the things they did know and were a little disturbed by some of the things they didn't know."
Hedemark stressed that the Reserve Cup was "much less about competition, but more about the need to practice good personal finance."
Hedemark said the number of adolescents who show an apparent disregard for their credit is staggering, and is something that will certainly come back to haunt them later in life.
"Interest rates are rising," Hedemark said. "People that aren't properly prepared with the financial literacy or capacity to deal with these issues will have a very, very hard time in the next decade."
"It's not as easy to repair your good standing credit as it is to damage it," Hedemark added. "I've certainly learned that lesson the hard way, just as a lot of people have."
Hedemark said he chose the four girls from Coventry to represent the state in the Reserve Cup because of previous displays of competence he had witnessed from them.
"I chose them because they had done very well last year in something called LifeSmarts, which holds a competition that helps teach consumer awareness and personal finance," Hedemark said. "They did very well last year as (high school) juniors, so I knew they would do a great job this year as well."
In describing the ambiance at the Reserve Cup, Hedemark said, "It was a game show that was incredibly produced. You would have thought you were on "The Price is Right" show. I'm glad people are going to have a chance to see this (on TV)."