Financial website helps those with wasteful spending sagas

Laurie Rivetto<rivettol@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension -

Spending mistakes of others can provide conversation openers to address impulsive spending with youth and adults.

Spending money wisely is not always an easy thing to do. Almost everyone has an example of an impulsive buying decision, wasted money or overspending. Sometimes we have to have the personal experience to learn from the mistake. However, the end goal is to limit the number of times we make poor money decisions.

To help youth and adults recognize the impact of impulsive or wasteful spending, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) created Spendster, a YouTube channel which provides a “safe haven for you to clear the air about what’s cluttering your life or draining your wallet.”  Spendster features videos showcasing confessions of fellow spendsters and encourages viewers to access tools and resources by visiting Smart About Money.

When working with youth, this website is a helpful resource to open the conversation regarding spending behaviors. Invite youth to view various videos and then share some of their spendster behaviors. Continue the conversation by encouraging them to brainstorm strategies they might utilize to avoid repeated, wasteful choices. Youth could even create their own video to educate or share with others.  It is important to support youth in identifying strategies to use in their own life to avoid spending mishaps. Applying these strategies consistently will have a significant impact on the young person’s current and future financial position.

Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H Youth Development help to prepare young people for successful futures.  As a result of career exploration and workforce preparation activities, thousands of Michigan youth are better equipped to make important decisions about their professional future, ready to contribute to the workforce and able to take fiscal responsibility in their personal lives.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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