Last month, the American Bankers Association released a survey in which 72% of respondents said they'd be better off financially if they'd learned the basics of personal finance at an earlier age.
Winnetonka High School, in the North Kansas City School District, may be better suited to help students with their financial literacy than any other high school in the Kansas City area, thanks to the new credit union that just opened inside.
CSD Credit Union has existed since 1959, but this is the first branch it has ever opened inside a school, complete with student employees.
Adam Magnuson is one of those employees. He said he probably talks about money at his house more than most high schoolers.
"Both my parents work in finance, so I know quite a bit about it," he told me.
He’s already got a pretty straightforward financial philosophy.
"You're going to need a bank account sometime in your life, so you might as well start early," Magnuson said.
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He shares that message from his desk at the credit union in his school. It's part of his education, and it's his job.
CSD Credit Union CEO Edward Watts told me the student employees are being trained to do every type of transaction they might need to handle.
"They are bonded and insured. They're doing real transactions, handling real cash, dealing with real loan applications," Watts said.
He also stressed students and staff are still being educated on the fact this branch is the real deal. Watts said now may be the safest time for Winnetonka students to start learning how money works.
"Once you're out in the wild, there are real consequences if you don't understand how to use a debit card, balance a checkbook, what's a good rate, what's a bad rate, what service should have a fee,” Watts said.
Those are all the parts that, honestly, most of us should have a better handle on in our own lives. This branch's goal is to shift the conversation, WHS Principal Edward Tate told me.
"They have no problem making money,” Tate said about the students at his school. “I think all of our scholars have somewhat of a hustle game, if you will. [We’re] teaching our scholars that once you make your money, here's the smart things you can do with your money that you make."
Missouri requires a financial literacy course for high school graduation, but another branch employee, Winnetonka junior David Milosevic, told me what he's learning by working at the credit union puts him ahead of the pack.
"It's for sure going to give me an advantage when I go to college, and even past college because I'm going to know what to do with my money instead of being uncomfortable, where I was before this job," Milosevic said.
The students who work at the credit union are also responsible for marketing and recruiting other students to work there. Both of the students I spoke with intend to keep working at the credit union until they graduate next year.
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