First Survey on Junior High School Students Values and Financial Behaviors and Teens Financial Summer Camp Announced

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1 [Citi Foundation - Women s Rescue Foundation United News Release] June 19, 2008 First Survey on Junior High School Students Values and Financial Behaviors and Teens Financial Summer Camp Announced The research shows that junior high students learn finances from parents and television; 60 percent wish to become wealthy; they are most and suitable try saving, insurance and mutual funds Today (Jun. 19) Citi and the Taipei Women s Rescue Foundation (TWRF) held a joint press conference to announce the results of the first national survey directed at junior high school students on their values and financial behavior. They also announced a summer camp for youth, focusing on health and financial behavior. Citibank Country Business Manager Victor Kuan, Taipei Women s Rescue Foundation President Sandy Yeh and National Parents Association Union President Gordan Hsieh attended the press conference, calling on everybody to work together this summer for the benefit of youth, helping them learn early the basics of a financially healthy life. This survey also showed the results of over four years of joint cultivation on high school campuses which extended this year to junior high schools - by Citi and the TWRF. After holding educational activities on financial behavior at school campuses, it was discovered that students willing to keep financial records and plan their expenses went way up from 26% to 72%; students willing to deposit their money in savings accounts went up from 77% to 93%. At the same time, Citi and the TWRF are promoting the first free financial education youth camp for high school students, which will be held on July 26 (Saturday). Citi volunteers will lead 50 high school students in activities that will examine the financial affairs and spending habits of each. It will teach them how to set and realize financial goals. Students will be engaged in financial activities that they will later experience in life. The camp will accept applicants from the present date until July 20. Application forms can be downloaded from the TWRF website ( 1

2 This is also an innovation by Citi in recent years, which has been cultivating youth around the world with the wish to strengthen popular financial self-discipline. Citibank Country Business Manager Victor Kuan pointed out that since 2004, the Citi Foundation has already invested over NT$ 40 million in Taiwan, constantly promoting finance and money management education in schools and communities. The influence of financial health in everybody s life is growing more and more important, giving rise to widespread repercussions around the world. In Taiwan, Citi has declared this year to be Financial Health Year, and promoted the series of activities in order to help people learn to practice this skill. Taipei Women s Rescue Foundation President Sandy Yeh pointed out, Cooperation between Citi and the TWRF on youth values and financial education has proudly entered its fifth year. Face to face, we have directly shared correct financial values through our programs across campuses, winning positive feedback from teachers and students. In taking the initiative to promote education, we hope to encourage more schools, families and communities to share their strength in order to together inoculate our youth from wrong financial behaviors brought about by incorrect financial values. We also encourage them to cherish themselves and save for a great future. The financial health youth camp announced today is part of a series of Saving for the Future program, organized jointly by Citi and the TWRF to educate youth on financial planning. The financial knowledge will help all to make correct financial decisions. Since 2004, Citi Foundation has supported the TWRF giving over NT$ 13 million (over US$400,000), together promoting Youth Values and Financial Education in over 250 schools. They have passed correct financial values to over 80,000 teens around the nation. The subjects of this Teens Values and Financial Behavior survey research were junior high students who took part in activities organized at schools. The territory of the research was spread across the entire nation, from end to end. The survey was held between Feb. 22, 2008 and Apr. 18, It was separated into two parts, one held before the activities and one held afterward. 740 questionnaires were handed out in the first part of the survey, 811 were handed out in the second part. The two parts of the survey were held to learn the changes in students before and after the financial education held in schools regarding their financial behavior and values, Internet behavior and attitude, afterschool activities and interaction with family. Through the research results of this survey, we have discovered the following important facts: I. In regards to junior high school students financial behavior: 1. Financial knowledge comes from family and television. Household values on money and spending will continue to influence the next generation. 2

3 The main source of financial information for junior high students is their family (93%), with the second biggest being television (61%), followed by Internet (43%). Because of this, teachers have to pay more attention to information students absorbed through the media or through the financial conversations held by adults. What deserves attention is that the amount of financial information gained from teachers (40%) and fellow students (37%) is also high. Interestingly, female students learn more finances from family, while male students learn more from the Internet. 2. Students in the South are the most capable of keeping financial records. Students willingness to keep records of spending increased largely after the activities. Around 26% of junior high students have the habit of keeping financial records, with the ratio of females (28%) higher than males (25%). Moreover, it was discovered that students in the south were more likely to keep spending records (36%). Campus education had a huge impact on junior high students, with 72% of students expressing the benefits of keeping records of spending and willingness to give it a try after the school activities, regardless of whether or not they had the habit beforehand. Interestingly, male students and older students were more likely to be influenced by the educational DVD in the activity, with a higher proportion expressing that they wished to start keeping spending records. 3. After campus education, 93% are willing to save money. The main method that junior high school students save money is through savings accounts at the post office or banks (77%). However, saving money by hiding it in secret places also reached a high percentage, 76%. Besides, over 80% have heard of insurance, mutual funds, stocks and other investment tools. Through the school activities, after understanding of the rewards and risks of each financial tool, the willingness of students to try savings accounts, insurance, mutual funds and stocks went up across the board. The ratio of students who saved by hiding the money in secret places or giving it to parents for both went down after the campus financial education program. 4. Junior high students mostly feel that their allowances are not sufficient, with only 2% saying they save their allowances. On the whole, 17% of junior high students have no allowances at all. And over half receive NT$500 in allowance. There are differences between what the students see as an ideal allowance and what they actually receive. The more money they own, the more students expect. Moreover, male students allowances are higher than female students, and they all receive more in allowance the older they get. Those with higher allowances receive the majority of their money from family, while those with smaller allowances receive most of their money from doing chores 3

4 around the house or working part time. As to the ways they use their allowance, the majority spend their money on stationary (61%), followed by material enjoyment (49%) and food (27%). In addition, the older they are, the more they spend on material comfort and food. What worries some is that only 2% of junior high students save their money. This is probably because few junior high students receive much money for allowance, and their parents goal in giving them allowance is to pay for daily necessities, not learn financial responsibility. 5. More people use money rationally than irrationally. Junior high students have already begun to look out for themselves when they spend money. The ratio of students who show happiness through acquiring goods after planning is 64%; those who are happy because of spontaneous spending registered only 27%. Besides, more female students understand financial planning than male students, make less rash purchases and have begun review their spending. II. Regarding junior high students values and behavior 1. Most describe profession, rather than power or wealth, as success, but most wish for good interpersonal skills. On the whole, junior high students define success as having specialized skills and knowledge (84%), giving social service (82%) and developing good morals (81%). Students who define success as having money, being heroic or beautiful, or having power were all less than 50%. Interestingly, junior high students who wish to become a person with good people skills were first place in the survey. And even though only 40% of students defined success as having money, over 60% wish to become rich when they are older. 2. They are worried about bad grades and confused about the future, but family can decrease junior high students anxiety through companionship and support. On the whole, junior high students are most worried about bad grades and academic records (83%), and confusion regarding the future (48%), followed by people skills and family relations. Another 8% of students are scared of being bullied or picked on in schools. In converse, the older students get, the less they worry about people skills and make high demands on themselves, and the more time they spend with family. Anxiety about family and personal skills also decreases with age. 4

5 3. The time spent watching television and surfing the Internet are both higher than the time spent with family. According to the survey, watching TV (89%), surfing the Internet (77%) and sleeping (61%) are the three activities that junior high students engage in the most. Besides these activities, activities engaged in by males and females are different: males like to play video games and exercise more; females, on the other hand, prefer reading books outside of the school curriculum and shopping. Besides, junior high students spend an average of nearly an hour per day surfing the Internet, while the majority spend less than half an hour per day talking with family. Over 30% of junior high students spend over one hour per day online, and even less time speaking with their family. Parents should pay attention to students who spend more time online. The main topic that junior high students talk about with their families is homework and the future (71%). Students in the south talk more with their parents (80%), with most also talking about homework and the future. This shows that teachers can pay more attention to other life topics. These statistics also show that junior high students need to be guided and worried about more. Society needs to provide more activities for junior high students at all levels. 4. Making friends online has already been popularized. More attention should be paid to the online behavior or junior high students and their attitude toward playing roles on the Internet. With the popularization of the World Wide Web, 60% of junior high students have Internet friends, especially males (66%) who have more online friends than females (55%). Fortunately, junior high students have begun to understand that they need to protect their identity and ideas -- 52% don t admit what they are truly thinking online. However, the number of students who play a role completely at odds with their true selves while online reached 32%. In the future, correcting junior high students online behavior and role models should be improved, so as to avoid personal problems. According to the results of the survey, our advice and appeals: 1. Care for young people and activities with family can help improve youth awareness of money matters: Young people s family interactions are not only related to family issues. Research has shown that the most important topics young people talk about with their family are homework, the future 5

6 financial matters and spending. Family and parents can use this method to help young people build a proper attitude and plan for the future, avoiding self-doubt and anxiety. At the same time, family is the most important source of financial information for young people. Because of this, parents play the key role in letting young people develop better uses for money. 2. Helping young people understand how to make proper financial plans in order to achieve their dreams: Besides helping students understand the difference between their needs and wants, and the meaning and benefits of saving, we should also teach them how to start setting up savings accounts, and how to use the most appropriate financial tools to reach the best results. At present, young people have heard of all manner of financial tools. Teaching them concrete ways to use these tools is the best way to help them actually achieve the habit of saving and financial responsibility. 3. Help young people who are willing to start on the path of financial responsibility understand financial tools, the most appropriate and acceptable financial products are insurance and mutual funds. Students willing to try out insurance and mutual funds reached 42% and 32%. Actually, this is also the most suitable tool for helping young people start to experience and understand finance. Parents and teachers can try teaching young people correct ideas about the use of these financial tools through the professional financial institutions and information. For example, the younger that somebody buys insurance, the lower the rates. Also, the benefits and risks of investing in mutual funds, as well as the power of time and compound interest rates, can help them learn early healthy financial affairs and financial planning. 4. Separating needs and wants helps young people develop the habit of keeping financial records: At present, only ¼ of young people have the habit of keeping financial records. The first step in creating a good financial concept is to understand where money is spent. The next step is to control and then plan how to spend money. The best and easiest method is to keep financial records. Because of this, school activities, using both movies and other educational material, can help young people understand the importance of keeping financial records. At the same time, the method of proper book keeping can be taught, letting students in reality develop good behaviors. 5. It is important to avoid overindulgence in the Internet world, and attention should be paid 6

7 to the situation of making friends online: Surfing the Internet is already a mass popular activity for young people, and is only second to television, making it the second most important activity for youth. As a result, when using the Internet for entertainment purposes, attention should be paid to avoiding over indulgence in online activities. It is important to teach young people to be suspicious of online friends, whether they have many or few. Young people should also be taught to avoid revealing too much personal information online. They should be taught the correct attitude, and the correct method for protecting themselves online. Citi and the TWRF sincerely invite schools and parents concerned with young people to join the Teens Values Financial Education activities. If you need to know more, you can call the TWRF at (02) , ext ; Internet address: pr@twrf.org.tw. We believe the strength of our concern for young people will have a far-reaching effect on their values and education. # # # About Citi Citi (NYSE:C), the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney, Banamex and Nikko. Additional information may be found at About the Taipei Women s Rescue Foundation The Taipei Women s Rescue Foundation was founded in 1987, during an era when rampant news reports about underage girls being sold by their parents or forced to marry shocked society and government alike. The creation of the foundation, besides being concerned with ending the buying and selling of women, is also concerned with exercising the rights of women in Taiwan. For more information, please visit the Rescue Women s Foundation website at Media Contact: Citi / Maxine Yang Women s Rescue Foundation / Zhang Xiao-wen , ext. 67 7