August 26, 2008 09:00 AM Eastern Time 

PSCU Financial Services Launches GiveMe20.com To Help Parents Teach Money Management to Preteens and Teens

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PSCU Financial Services, a cooperative of 500-plus credit unions nationwide, has launched www.GiveMe20.com to help parents educate their children about budgeting, credit/debit cards and other financial basics. The site name, GiveMe20.com, is a reference to a common request: “Can I have $20 to...?”

GiveMe20.com provides tools and tips to help parents teach the concepts of living within a budget, differentiating wants from needs, and saving money for future purchases. Helpful tools include: a spending/savings worksheet; interactive calculators that show growth of savings; loan schedules that show monthly payments for big ticket items, and the long-term cost of a credit card purchase with interest. Advice is grouped by age: 12-15, 16-18 years, and 19-22 years.

“Research into the financial habits and preferences of Gen Y reveals that these 79 million young adults spend at a rate of $172 billion per year and save at a rate of $39 billion per year,” according to Antonio Hill, director of Marketing Services, PSCU Financial Services. “Reaching out to parents is imperative since most Gen Y-ers will establish their first accounts with their parents’ financial institution. Studies show that these young adults tend to be very loyal to their chosen brands and affiliations.”

Samples of the web site’s money management tips include:

• Setting Allowances: Kids like having a card with their name on it, and this prepaid student card helps them learn to budget for an entire month. Unlike cash, every transaction is available for review.
• Managing Money: Call it a spending plan, not a budget. Most teens prefer spending to saving, so this online tool allows teens to create wish lists and then manage their savings to buy what they want. You can also teach teens how to categorize expenses as either needs or wants.
• Values-Based Spending. Encourage your child to set goals that are based on his or her values, not what other teens have or want.

“In a cash economy, financial issues are very concrete,” says Hill. “However our culture offers a complicated mix of credit, debit and lending options. Every teenager needs to see a spreadsheet that shows how much a new iPod or a back-to-school clothing spree costs when charged on a credit card with minimum payments. Gen Y-ers need to learn the short- and long-term consequences of our society’s financial tools so that they can make decisions that enhance their financial future.”

About PSCU Financial Services

Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, PSCU Financial Services is the nation's largest credit union service organization (CUSO) owned by more than 500 member credit unions representing over 11 million cardholder accounts and more than 650,000 online bill payment subscribers. For more information, visit PSCU Financial Services’ website at www.pscufs.com.