February 4, 2008
Youth Invited to
Take Part in the ‘Financial Fitness Challenge’ Contest
Montreal -
Canadian youth are invited to get financially fit through an
interactive scholarship contest sponsored by the Canadian
Securities Administrators (CSA). The contest, the “Financial
Fitness Challenge”, which runs from February 4 to February 29,
2008, engages youth aged 15 – 21 with a quiz,
games, tips and interactive simulations. The goal is for youth to
learn the importance of saving and investing money for their
future, ultimately aiming to make smart money management ‘cool’
for an increasingly web-savvy generation.
Part of the CSA’s mandate is to improve the financial literacy of
youth. Over 12,000 youth participated in the contest and
registered for a chance to win last year and while only 33% were
very interested in personal finance before completing the
online challenge, 62% said they were very interested in personal
finance after participating in the challenge. “Young people
have a thirst for learning about saving and investing information,
especially at an age where they hold their first part-time or
summer jobs,” said Jean St-Gelais, Chair of the CSA and President
& Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers
(Québec).
The contest features exciting interactive games such as ‘Slapshot
Shopping’ a game where players are given $200 of virtual money to
purchase a number of necessities and luxuries. The game uses
humour - and our Canadian love affair with hockey - to teach the
importance of balancing financial needs versus wants. Other games,
“warm ups” include ‘The Tradeoffs’, an overview of different types
of investments, ‘A Little Goes a Long Way’, a compound interest
simulator, and ‘Budget Breakaway’, a student-focused budget
calculator.
The quiz, which is available at FinancialFitnessChallenge.ca,
features questions and facts about budgeting, saving and
investing, in a format directly focused on the experience of
students. Thirteen entries, one from each province and territory,
will be randomly selected from eligible quiz participants to win a
$750 scholarship.
Teachers are encouraged to use the Challenge as a fun and
informative learning tool. “The modules and worksheets are
entertaining and instructional,” said St-Gelais. “In fact, 91% of
teachers we surveyed have told us that they plan to use the
materials in their classrooms.” Teachers can go to
http://www.financialfitnesschallenge.ca/teachers to check out
the Teacher Resource Centre, download classroom materials and
enter a contest to win a gift certificate or a $1000 grand prize.
The CSA, the council of securities regulators of Canada’s
provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation
for the Canadian capital markets. Their mandate is to protect
investors from unfair or fraudulent practices through regulation
of the securities industry. Part of this protection is educating
investors about the risk, responsibilities and rewards of
investing.
For more information on the Financial Fitness Challenge and
contest, visit
www.FinancialFitnessChallenge.ca
