Today I'm very excited to let you know about this new development for our teens! Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 8^8h, 2015 – DollarSmartKids Enterprises, Inc. and Apprenty Online Corporation today announced their partnership to develop an educational finance app that will help teens prepare for the financial decisions they will ultimately have to make on a daily basis.

The application will take teens through real-life financial situations and help them learn the concepts needed to make more conscious financial decisions. “Apprenty Online has extensive experience in eLearning and helping students acquire important knowledge in an interactive way,” said Nancy Phillips, Founder of DollarSmartKids and the mother of two children, ages nine and twelve. “The design and interactivity of this app will help teens walk through, and become familiar with, the financial thought processes they will need to use thousands of times per year as adults. Whether looking at the cost of things, how to understand the true sale price of an item or interest fees, the app will give them the opportunity to think through, and learn about, many of the circumstances and implications of their decisions - before the risks are high. We are really excited to announce this partnership and develop this app to help our youth get off to a strong financial start in life.”

Financial literacy has been talked about a great deal since the 2008 recession, but neither the United States nor Canada have made financial education mandatory at the elementary or high school level. While there are numerous children’s games, financial calculators and financial management tools online, these don’t offer the same type of cognitive learning outcomes this app is designed to create.

"With technology making spending easier and faster, it is also a lot easier for our youth to get into significant financial problems more quickly than ever before. Financial literacy is an essential life skill that most teens aren’t learning at school, and many aren’t learning at home either,” commented Phillips.

DollarSmartKids recently launched the Teen Steps to Success Guide, 25 Financial and Life Lessons to Help You Achieve Your Dreams. The activity guide, approved by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is designed to be part of a teenager’s preparation for a successful independent financial life. The teen app will compliment the activities in the guide.

“DollarSmartKids has already proven its financial programs for youth make a difference," said Davinder Jawanda, Managing Director, Apprenty eLearning. The Memorial University Enactus team is using the Zela Wela Kids program in a financial literacy pilot for grade three primary school children. Over 1,900 children have completed the program resulting in a knowledge increase of 30% in key topics such as saving, needs versus wants and entrepreneurial concepts. "By focusing on gamification, our teen app is designed to have a similar measurable impact on the financial literacy of secondary school children." 

The app provides an opportunity for teens to improve financial literacy while on the go, anytime and in any circumstance. “Together with DollarSmartKids, Apprenty is committed to helping teens get the most out of life, not only in the short-term but as they move into independent adult life,” commented Jawanda. “We believe the best way to do that is by making learning fun, relevant and always on, hence the focus on mobility.”