Below are two special reports about raising money-savvy children. Topics covered include how to manage a cash allowance, getting (and staying) out of debt, establishing credit, creating a budget, and financing college, to name just a few.

When it comes to financial literacy, today's graduates fail to make the grade. Asked about basic financial concepts, high school seniors correctly answered only 48 percent of the questions, down from 52 percent in 2006, according to the Jump$tart Coalition's recent survey on financial literacy.

This is an appalling fact. Most kids don't know how to manage money. Period. It's about time we taught them, isn't it?

Six Essential Money Skills from Kiplinger.com
10 Tips to Raising Money-savvy Teens

Welcome to the August 28, 2008 edition of Kids and Money.

Crystal Nichols presents Kids Eat Free! posted at Living the Frugal Life.
We can all save some money right now with this one!

Concerning Kids presents Helping Your Children Stay Fit For Life posted at Concerning Kids.
Great stuff!

Sam presents Student Loans for College. Clear, Quick and Easy Info posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "How should you pay for your college costs? Before you consider which student loan is best, find free or cheap money for college. Instead of a college student loan, or in addition to a loan, look around for other sources of money. Here are your best sources of college money."
Excellent advice and a great resource for student loan information.

Erin Gifford presents 3 Ways to Save on Back-to-School Clothes posted at Coupon Cravings.
Back-to-school!

Sandy Naidu presents Emergency Fund Savings - Emergency Fund Tips | FutureNestEgg posted at Future Nest Egg.
Not so much an emergency fund any more -- rather, a contingency fund.

Tracy Gullett (ParentingCents.com) presents They're Listening! posted at Parenting Cents.


Jim presents 7 Deadly Sins of Personal Finance: Skipping Emergency Funds.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Saving Tips For New Parents: Get Ready For Baby!
You can save a ton of money using these tips!

rothira presents Roth IRA for Teenagers posted at Roth IRA Explained.
Betcha didn't think about this one!

Realm of Prosperity presents Frugal Textbook Buying Tips posted at Realm of Prosperity.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 8 Lessons I Learned From The Cheapest Family In The Nation posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "How a family lives cheaply and instills frugal values in their children."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
Kids and Money using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: kids and money, blog carnival.

Money isn't everything. Enjoy life. Spend time with your family.

Prime Time Money is one of the best personal finance blogs around. About two months ago, I ran across a blog post called 10 Ways to Simplify Your Finances which really hit home with me. I've talked about automating your finances before, but this came at the problem from a different angle: Rather than starting out simple, as I suggest, you start thinking off in terms of where you are and where you want to go.

Over time, each of us accumulates accounts we don't need. Why not just get rid of the ones you don't use any more? Except for credit cards, none of your other accounts matter in terms of FICO scores, so that bank account you have $1.62 -- take it out and close the account. Simple as that.

These really are great ways to simplify your finances.