April is National Financial Literacy Month! Aren’t you excited?

I am well aware that money . . . how to get it,  and what to do with it, once you have it . . . isn’t the most fascinating topic for all of us. However, it is one of those necessary evils, and it’s best that we all are well versed and aware of [...]

Teen review: The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

Caroline – I am a 16-year-old from Point Breeze and a junior in high school. Along with reading and listening/singing along to music, my hobbies include journaling, chemistry, and fencing. The Other Countess by Eve Edwards Begin blog: Flash back four-hundred years to the Middle Ages, where dukes, earls, and queens reigned the land. With the [...]

Save It For Later: Money Savings Tips for Teens

After the excess of last month’s spending, eating and celebrating I’m ready for a little more structure and a few more limits.  I didn’t even over spend this holiday season (and only over ate a little) but I’m ready to scale back a bit over the next few months. The holiday season is the perfect [...]

Start It Up! Entrepreneurship: A different way to think about your future

“High school is like the training wheels for the bicycle of real life.” Ghost World – Graduation Speaker Well, I think high school is a lot more than that, but in some ways this quote is true. The time we spend in high school is largely devoted to planning and getting ready for the rest [...]

Predatory Pre-Paid Debit Cards

  A debit card that you can load with your own cash sounds like a great idea.  None of the hassle of applying for credit, and no minimum amount that a bank requires to open a checking account.    But the new line of re-loadable cards aimed at teenagers and emblazoned with pop culture touchstones like [...]

A Teen Recession?

According to this week’s issue of Time magazine, teens having a hard time getting and keeping jobs in the current economic climate.  In the article, available online, Andrew Sum, the head of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University is quoted as saying: “Proportionally, more kids have lost jobs in the past few [...]

Do you have the skills, young Jedi?

You know how you can’t be a Jedi unless you train as a Jedi apprentice and do everything the Jedi Masters tell you to do (well, almost everything, right Anakin?) so you’ll have the skills needed to resist when the Dark Side of the Force comes calling (right, Anakin?!!), well pretty soon your apprenticeship (i.e. high school) [...]

Student Loan Debt Sucks

Student loans are a necessary evil for most people with higher education in their post-graduation plans. Some people will be paying off their student loans for the rest of their lives because the only way to get out of them is if you die or become permanently disabled. Completing general ed requirements at a community [...]

Writing Contest with Cash Prizes!

Hey Ya’ll! The 2nd Annual United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh’s Celebration of Reading Writing Contest is now underway with prizes up to $500 in cash!  Topics are:  Middle School:  Grades 7 -9   The hero of a tall tale is “larger than life,” even when the character is based on a real person, and tall [...]