How much do your kids know about the Dow or the S&P? Could they use a little help learning about credit or a 401-k? A University of Texas at Dallas summer program is giving North Texas teens a leg up on their financial future.
Joel Spreier is only a high school junior, but he’s getting finance help from a college professor.
“With all the stuff that goes down in New York and Wall Street you kind of have to learn how it happens,” Spreier said.
The teen is a member of the UT Dallas Top Performer Stock Trading Competition, where kids from all over Texas compete to create the best stock portfolio.
Lecturer Jarred Pickens, with the School of Management, is in charge of the group. He said the idea is to promote financial education, while promoting UT Dallas.
“One thing we wanted to do was use technology like Facebook to spread the word about the competition,” Pickens said.
Not only does the competition have a Facebook page, it has a website and YouTube videos so kids worldwide can join in. However, the program is about more than just the stock market.
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“We’re promoting investing and finance, the fun stuff all the kids want to do but we’re also promoting all the smaller things in financial planning,” Pickens said.
Students will also learn the importance of monitoring their credit and saving at an early age.
“Getting in good behavior at an early age is going to pay huge dividends in the future,” Pickens said.
If you have a high school-aged student that you would like to enter into the competition, click here. The cost is $25 per student, and the Top 5 competitors could win an iPad or cash prize.
