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Financial Literacy Resources

Learning More Leads to Earning More

In Massachusetts, as elsewhere in this country, most careers that will allow you to support a family and to live above the poverty level require a postsecondary education. The earnings gap between high school and college graduates is substantial and continues to grow. According to statistics from the US Census Bureau, a graduate of a two-year college can expect to earn $275,000 more over the course of her working life than someone with a high school or GED diploma. Someone with a degree from a four-year college earns nearly twice as much, up to one million dollars more in lifetime earnings. (See the report at http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf)

Another report, By A Thread (The New Experience of America's Middle Class), notes that workers holding only a high school or GED diploma will find it impossible to enter and remain in the middle class. With the costs of a standard middle class life - a home, healthcare, college education for children - soaring to levels that outpace many incomes, achieving a minimum of financial security requires a bachelor's degree. For the full report see: www.demos.org

A December 2007 report that focuses on the working poor in Massachusetts and their need for higher education from the Crittenton Women's Union can be found at: www.liveworkthrive.org
See the Business Wire news article of March 12, 2008 for a summary of the above report, 1.4 million adults in Massachusetts lack education and skills needed to secure family-supporting jobs (Business Wire)

An excellent tool that has been developed for students to assess the real cost of living in Massachusetts can be found on the Crittenton Women's Union website. The Self-Sufficiency Calculator is an interactive, on-line tool where you can easily determine how much it costs for a specific family type to live in any community in Massachusetts.
http://www.liveworkthrive.org/calculator.php
Useful in any units and or lessons that integrate learners' lives, goals and literacy needs (including numeracy) this on-line tool is linked to the "Hot Jobs, Good Wages" page.
Here high demand occupations that require 2 years of post-secondary education are listed with their potential salary. Providing students with information regarding real jobs and estimated real wages can serve as motivation to persist toward a needed educational credential.
http://www.liveworkthrive.org/online tools.php

A great resource for encouraging and supporting students to take the next step to college can be found at the website of the National College Transition Network (NCTN)
www.collegetransition.org
Here many resources for educators are available. The companion website for students is:
www.collegeforadults.org

For more information contact Mary Rauh: mrauh@doe.mass.edu