Mississippi ranks dead last in the nation when it comes to financial literacy. That's according to wallethub.com, an online financial watch-dog community. But efforts are under way to improve fiscal understanding.
A group of Central Mississippi high school students visited the Capitol yesterday to play a football video game. But, instead of just mashing buttons, the game required participants to answer questions about financial literacy. State Treasurer Lynn Fitch says the game is part of an initiative to help Mississippi's teens get a basic understanding of personal finances.
"Understanding money is a critical life skill," says Fitch. "This gives us an opportunity to outreach to students to talk about money, to talk about debt, to talk about savings and in a fun way."
The initiative has also drawn the attention of former NFL player, Ken Lucas, who helped instruct the students on how to play the video game. His personal experience has taught him how important money management is.
"These kids are in a position now to where they have to decide on to put money away [sic] or learn how to deal with money. A lot of us when I was coming up didn't have this education, and we had to learn by just living life.
According to the state treasurer's office, less than 10 percent of Mississippi's high school students took a personal finance class in 2012.
