Singletary: Financial literacy belongs in our schools

“Mom, why are you talking to me about this money stuff all the time?” she complained.

I bent down to look her directly in the face. (I know. That was a bit aggressive.) I needed her to take me seriously. I was hoping to impress upon her that in every purchase situation you have to consider the cost — even if the seller is a friend — and try to avoid spending more money than necessary.

So, I said to my 10-year-old daughter, “It is my full-time job to make sure you’re a good steward over your money.”

“Well,” Olivia started, looking me directly in the eye with her hands on her hips, “can you make it your part-time job?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

I’m pretty sure she had no idea what the word “steward” meant, but it was a teachable moment.

Fast forward 14 years, and Olivia — as well as our other two young-adult children — is fiercely frugal. They are all super savers and savvy shoppers. My youngest likes to joke about finding a discount nursing home for me. (Just in case she’s serious, it’s one of the top reasons I’m aggressively saving for my retirement.)

We’ve also taught our children — all of them are in college right now — to have a healthy hatred of debt. None of them has credit cards or student loans.

Many of their peers are not as fortunate. Recently released data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show that in the fourth quarter of last year, 18- to 29-year-olds had $1.01 trillion in total debt, the highest the study has recorded since 2007 in this age bracket.

Since 2013, debt in this age range has increased at a faster clip than in most other generations. It’s up 26 percent from 2013, compared with 24 percent among those ages 30-39 and 11 percent for those 40-59. For the young adults, student loans accounted for 38 percent of their debt.

Children need to be exposed to financial literacy, and their money-management skills must be nurtured like you would coach a young soccer or basketball player.

But what if you don’t feel equipped to be so relentless about teaching your children about money? What if you’ve made a wreck of your financial life and don’t have the confidence or ability to teach your children how to be money smart?

I believe financial literacy starts in the home, where financial lessons can be reinforced. But when that’s not happening, we have to turn to the next best place to teach them the skills they will need. To that end, the nonprofit Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is leading a new nationwide campaign designed to increase financial education in schools across America.

The group’s “Project Groundswell” initiative seeks to increase by 25 percent by the year 2025 the number of U.S. elementary, middle- and high-school students who are receiving effective classroom-based financial education. For example, an effective program in a high school would entail 70 hours of instruction.

This is such an important project. Your child might stop playing soccer or basketball, but they will forever need to know how to handle their money.