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Next in the long list of: IF THEY HAD HAD THIS WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I WOULDN’T HAVE SCREWED UP MY FINANCES IN COLLEGE AND AFTERWARDS AND WOULDN’T NEED TO WRITE ALL OF THIS ADVICE ON THIS HERE WEBSITE is a report which surfaced a few days ago about the launch of an educational program for high school seniors in Maine lead by Alec Leddy, clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Maine, along with a private bankruptcy lawyer and an attorney at the U.S. Trustee’s office. According to the Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME),

The idea is to teach them about credit cards, loans and other issues of debt before they go off to college or sign any contracts. Although some schools already include some of that information in classes, a formal program run through the Bankruptcy Court would help students to make wise choices, Leddy said.

Some of the lesson plans the trio are drafting include how interest rates work and how to create and maintain a monthly budget. In a few months, the team expects to take those ideas to administrators in several Maine high school to work out the details on how the lessons should be presented. Richard Goldman — the private bankruptcy lawyer mentioned above — told the Portland Newspaper,

In our economic system, you have to be very careful before you take out credit… Master Card says go put your popcorn at the movie theater on the card. You are paying interest on that unless you pay your credit card off in full.

“A lot of people have got the message that credit availability is something that should be used,” Goldman said. He has been amazed at the number of credit offers sent to his house that are addressed to his children, even before they were 18.

Too bad nothing like this existed when I was in high school; school might have been a little more interesting and certainly life post-college would be a little easier. Good thinking, Leddy!

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