Young people need to be suspicious of everything when it comes to their finances, says the founder of FoolProof, a financial literacy program for teachers and students.
The program is the brainchild of Will DeHoo, founder of the FoolProof Foundation and head of the foundation’s Walter Cronkite Project. The Cronkite Project is one of the supporters of the FoolProof program.
FoolProof, which is funded by credit unions, has tested its curriculum with students and teachers in Oklahoma. The goal of the program is to get students to question everything about their finances and do research before getting a credit card or making any purchase, DeHoo says.
“Most financial literacy classes teach the fundamentals but they do not teach students to question everything they are told,” DeHoo says.
“Young people are going to need credit cards, but they need to know they can be dangerous,” adds Remar Sutton, FoolProof’s volunteer coordinator.
The program is available free of charge to students, teachers and financial advisors at www.FoolProofme.com. The videos show students lessons such as how to handle student loans, how to buy a car, how to be skeptical about any purchase, and how to save money.