A recent study by AIPCA revealed that only 13 percent of parents talk to their children about money matters regularly.  3 out of 10 parents never talk about money at all with their children. According to the study, parents are more likely to talk about good manners or about the dangers of drugs and alcohol more than they are about financial literacy.  The Knox County 4-H program responded to requests by teachers for financial literacy/work-force prep programs by collaborating with the Youth Service Centers to offer the It's Your Reality Program.  During the program, the 4-H Reality Store, a real-life work-force prep & budgeting activity was conducted.
3 schools and 7 volunteers led approximately 200 middle school students through the program where they received a monthly income based on their grades in school and highlighted career choice. Students were given the challenge to budget their income so that they could make purchases at each of the 12 different booths including transportation, child care, utilities, health insurance and more. When the program began, a pre-test of participants revealed that 60 percent of students thought they understood the concept of a budget, while 80 percent understood the differences between needs and wants. At the end of the program:

• approximately 90 percent understood the need to budget their income
• 90 percent believed they could make wise financial decisions
•  93 percent of youths understood the relationship between good performance in school, career choice and the importance of budgeting. 82 percent of students stayed within their allotted income.