The University of Wisconsin aims to improve the financial survival skills of its students. Great Lakes Higher Education is partnering with UW-Madison to develop a course that will prepare students to make wise financial decisions throughout college and into adulthood and eventually retirement. Michael Gutter, co-director of the school’s Center for Financial Security, says the need for personal finance education has never been greater. “The students graduate with a lot of credit card debt, a lot of student loan debt, and really don’t know how to balance debt management with savings, with spending once they have jobs. And so we really want to help prepare students for life in college of course and life after college so that they make better decisions about their money.”

Gutter says the program started because of the growth in consumer debt and dismal personal savings, which is down to zero percent. He says people can’t blame their teachers, parents, or even society for their debt, they need to take personal responsibility. “We are clearly wanting to focus on the idea that we have to take ownership for ourselves and that, what our parents did or did not teach us, you know, is not something we want to blame, but rather we want to just come to terms with….”

Read more at Young adults learn about real-world money

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