Teaching teens needs vs. wants

<p>Barney Kaufman, a personal finance and business instructor, looked over his students on the first day of class and cut to the chase.</p><p>What's the difference between a need and a want? he asked a room filled with more than 60 high schoolers.</p><p>“A need is: you need a shirt to wear. A want is: ‘I already have 10 shirts but this one is really cute and I want it,'” said Jasmine Elliott, an incoming junior at Analy High School.</p><p>And with that answer, Elliott cleared the first hurdle of personal financial management.</p><p>Elliott and more than 60 high school students are spending the week in a free, four-day Financial Academy sponsored by the Redwood Credit Union.</p><p>This week marks the fifth academy, a 16-hour course that covers personal and business finance, the ins and outs of car loans and insurance and long-term savings.</p><p>“We are just a firm believer that people of all ages truly need to understand their finances and manage their finances wisely in order to have a better life,” said Lee Alderman, assistant vice president of educational development for Redwood Credit Union.</p><p>“My mom signed me up,” said Jesse Levine, a soon-to-be junior at Maria Carrillo High School, echoing the sentiments of many students who attended at the urging of their parents.</p><p>“Both of my parents said it would be good,” Levine said. “They had it in high school so they thought it would be good for my future.”</p><p>With financial literacy classes eliminated from many high school course lists and spiking college costs sending new graduates into the world laden with debt, a primer on mortgages, car loans, insurance coverage, bank accounts and retirement plans is sorely needed, Alderman said.</p><p>“Almost every age group has gotten themselves into trouble,” he said.</p><p>Dami Kim, an incoming sophomore at Montgomery High School, said she's already learning the get-it, spend-it lesson.</p><p>“I'm really bad with money,” she said during the break on day one of the financial academy. “Once I save up a little bit, I'll go to the mall or I'll go to Juice Shack.”</p><p>Instructor Kaufman tried to drive home the difference between needs and wants — asking students to audit what they consume and spend for at least a week.</p><p>The findings are usually telling, he said. </p><p>“The difference between needs and wants is huge,” he said. “If you budget correctly, you can have more wants.”</p>