Local students face off in a Jeopardy-style competition to test their knowledge on topics such as personal finance and consumer rights.
Boston, MA – March 20, 2015
Students from all over Massachusetts were tested on their consumer and marketplace knowledge at the local LifeSmarts 2015 state competition on Thursday, March 19.
The state competition was run by the national nonprofit American Consumer Credit Counseling and the Massachusetts Jump$tart Coalition. Participating teams came from across the Commonwealth, including communities such as Palmer, Chicopee, Milton, Medfield and the Bromfield School in Harvard, Mass.
LifeSmarts was established in 1994, and is part of the National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer organization. The program is a powerful educational opportunity that teaches students in Grades 6-12 to be smart, responsible, and successful consumers.
At LifeSmarts, student teams from local high schools and middle schools go head-to-head in a Jeopardy-style competition and are quizzed on topics such as consumer rights and responsibilities, the environment, health and safety, personal finance, and technology.
“ACCC is proud to be a part of such a great educational program that brings together students from across the Commonwealth,” said Steve Trumble, President and CEO of American consumer Credit Counseling. “LifeSmarts offers students a unique experience to truly gain an understanding of how one participates in today’s dynamic global marketplace.”
Events like these get kids thinking critically about personal finance so that they may never need help with credit. This also allows them to learn and test their knowledge on important financial issues they will face as adults, like credit card debt, debt management, loans, and budgeting.
LifeSmarts is designed to complement the curriculum already in place in middle and high schools and is set to align with national education standards. The competition begins online, with the highest scoring teams advancing to in-person state championships.
State-wide competitions are locally coordinated by state partnering organizations and agencies. Winners are invited to the National LifeSmarts Championship, held every April.
Last year Massachusetts came in 2nd place for the national competition.
ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:
- For credit counseling, call 800-769-3571
- For bankruptcy counseling, call 866-826-6924
- For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180
- Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com
About American Consumer Credit Counseling
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management and debt relief through education, credit counseling, and debt management solutions. In order to help consumers reach their goal of debt relief, ACCC provides a range of free consumer personal finance resources on a variety of topics including budgeting, credit and debt management, student loans, youth and money, homeownership, identity theft, senior living and retirement. Consumers can use ACCC’s worksheets, videos, calculators, and blog articles to make the best possible decisions regarding their financial future. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free financial education resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com.
