A local financial expert says too many kids are graduating high school and even college with no real training in how to handle their money.

First Education Federal Credit Union Vice President Ann Lucas says the state has no educational  requirements for teaching kids basic money management, such as how to balance a checkbook or use credit cards responsibly.

She says as a result many young people only learn financial lessons by making mistakes as young adults, which can often be expensive and damaging to personal credit. Lucas says the situation can be especially serious for people who attend college and build up mountains of student loan debt.

Lucas says Laramie County schools have no requirement for financial training, although she adds some very good money training courses are available in local schools as electives.

She says the ideal time to train young people about money management is often when they are about 15 or 16.

She says they are usually open to learning about money because they are often trying to work towards buying a vehicle, which presents an opportunity for some basic lessons on financial management

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