Financial Fitness Fair helps teens learn about money

An event designed to help teens understand how money works and how to make smart personal financial decisions will be presented Saturday, Jan. 19, by the NH JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

“Today’s teens live in a world that bombards them with messages about spending and the importance of fitting in by owning lots of stuff,” said Daniel Hebert, president of NH JumpStart. “Teens are faced with financial options their parents couldn’t have imagined at their age. Unfortunately, we provide our kids with very little information about how personal finance really works. Our Financial Fitness Fair will offer objective information on a number of personal finance topics from area experts.”

The event begins with a keynote presentation by Jeff Yalden, teen life coach on the “MTV Made” television program. He has authored a series of books, including “Keep It Simple,” “Twenty Ways to Keep It Simple,” “Traits of a Leader” and “They Call Me Coach.”

Hebert said the fair will help teens understand how credit cards work, renting an apartment, what to do in a job interview, how to manage student loans, how to budget your money and control spending, among other topics.

Parents and their teenage children are invited to attend the fair, which is sponsored by the NHHEAF Network, Consumer Credit Counseling of NH & VT, Citizens Banks and AARP-NH.

The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Frost Hall at SNHU. Cost to register is $10 per person up to a family maximum of $25. Fee includes a hot lunch buffet.

For more information visit to www.nhjumpstart.org.