Back-to-School Shopping Provides Opportunity for Teaching Practical Money Skills
MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2007--Capital One Financial
Corporation's (NYSE:COF) seventh annual back to school shopping survey
shows that an increasing number of teens (52 percent) want to learn
about how to manage their money - up from 49 percent in last year's
survey. In addition, 80 percent believe learning the basics of money
management now will serve them in the future - yet a whopping 86
percent have never taken a personal finance class in school. Yet when
it comes to talking to kids about the basics of money management,
parents still aren't hitting the mark, despite the fact that 35
percent of teens want to learn about money from their parents over any
other option.
"Now more than ever, we're seeing that teens are eager to learn
about money - and the good news is that they want to learn from their
parents," says Lahne Mattas-Curry, financial education spokesperson
for Capital One. "Back to school shopping is often overlooked as a
financial education opportunity, but it's a great way for parents to
teach kids about the basics of money, including how to prioritize
needs vs. wants and create a budget."
This year's survey of 1,200 parents and teens also finds that
while most parents (80 percent) continue to view themselves as
positive money role models for their kids, less than half are taking
advantage of day-to-day learning opportunities to initiate a dialogue
with their kids:
Fifty-two percent of teens are eager to learn more about money
management, yet less than a quarter (19 percent) of parents
have discussed back-to-school budgeting with them - and only
22 percent have made a list of back-to-school items to
purchase.
While almost half (48 percent) of parents have discussed the
difference between 'needs' vs. 'wants'; more than one-third
(36 percent) have not discussed back to school finances at all
with their teens.
Capital One's survey also found some surprising facts about what
teens are most interested in learning when it comes to money, as well
as insight into back to school shopping lists and planned spending
amounts.
What are teens interested in learning?
When asked about the topics they'd most like to learn about, teens
expressed interest in all areas of money management. Surprisingly,
they show the most interest in learning how financing works for large
purchases such as a car or a home - 74 percent said they would like to
learn more. Other popular interests for teens include learning more
about investing money (72 percent), identity theft and how to protect
themselves (68 percent), saving money (62 percent), budgeting (58
percent), stocks (58 percent), checking accounts (55 percent) and
credit cards (55 percent).
What are they buying?
Clothes and traditional school supplies such as notebooks,
backpacks, pens and pencils continue to top back-to-school shopping
lists this fall. Just seven percent of parents and teens expect to
purchase hand-held electronics such as PDAs or iPods, compared to 10
percent who planned to purchase these items last year. Parents and
teens still differ slightly on computer spending - four percent of
parents expect to shop for a new a computer this year, while seven
percent of kids hope to do so.
Are parents going with their teens to shop? How much are they
spending?
Ninety-three percent of teens expect their parents to join them on
back to school shopping trips. This year, 52 percent of parents expect
to spend more than $125 on back to school essentials for their kids,
while 27 percent plan to spend less than $100. Overall, the majority
of parents (72 percent) say they will be spending the same amount as
last year; however, 16 percent plan to spend more. Most plan to pay
with cash (69 percent) and credit (33 percent).
Are teens contributing to the bill?
When it comes to sharing the cost of back to school shopping, 51
percent of teens plan to contribute to the bill, with almost 60
percent responding that the money will come from job earnings. Teens
say the remainder will come from allowance savings (29 percent) or a
cash gift (21 percent).
Financial education: What parents and teens can do to shop smart
"Parents can use back to school shopping to start a conversation
and reinforce basic money management skills with their teens," added
Mattas-Curry. "There is a wealth of free financial education
information online that parents and teens can use to get started
planning - but the most important thing is simply to get involved."
Capital One offers parents tips for working with their teen to
develop good money management skills:
Make back to school shopping a family affair: It's a great
opportunity for kids to learn valuable hands-on lessons from
their parents.
Do your homework: Talk to teachers in advance and try to get a
list of required school supplies so you can buy in advance
(maybe even on sale).
Crunch numbers together - establish a budget: Determine how
much you're able to spend in advance and stick to the amount.
Make a list: Prepare your shopping list in advance. Try to
distinguish between "needs" and "wants" on the list and
prioritize the needs first.
Shop smart: Make sure you shop around for the best price and
the best quality.
Get more tips (if you need them): Capital One offers a number
of resources on budgeting and savings and has partnered with
the national consumer organization Consumer Action to create a
complete guide for parents called Talking to Teens about
Money, available at www.money-wise.org.
For additional help, parents and students can visit the Jump$tart
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy home page at
www.jumpstart.org and search the "clearinghouse" for financial
curriculum and education materials.
Survey Methodology
For the Capital One Study, Braun Research was engaged to conduct
1202 interviews in 857 households with 698 parents of teenagers age 13
to 17 and 504 teenagers age 13 to 17 across the United States. Surveys
were conducted by telephone from July 3rd through July 9th, 2007. The
margin of error for the interview is plus or minus 3.34 percentage
points. Interviews were monitored at random. Sampling for this study
was conducted across the United States using a national probability
sample of all exchanges and area codes of households with someone
between the ages of 13 and 17 living there. All interviews were
conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system.
Statistical weights were designed from United States Census Bureau
statistics.
About Capital One
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial
Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company, with
more than 720 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas
and Louisiana. Its principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital
One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., Capital One, N.A., and
North Fork Bank offer a broad spectrum of financial products and
services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients.
Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had $87.7 billion in deposits
and $142.0 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2007.
Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
CONTACT: Capital One Financial Corporation
Lahne Mattas-Curry, 703-720-2358
lahne.mattas-curry@capitalone.com
SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation
