Learning Practical Money Skills Is Fun With "Financial Football" Video Game

Too often people are taken advantage of in both legitimate business transaction and through frauds by con artists.  So I wanted to give a plug to a very well done educational tool that utilizes a football video game to entice people into learning practical money skills.  Financial Football which was created in partnership between the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Visa's Practical Money Skill's for Life program, and the NFL  lets children, teens, and adults test their money management skills and financial literacy by answering questions that allow you to move down the field and score touchdowns when you make the correct choices.

Available to play online via your personal computer or laptop for FREE, Financial Football puts players fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. Visa has also released the game as a FREE iPhone app on iTunes, along with an optimized HD iPad version.  The game can be played in single player mode or against a friend in head-to-head action. It really is a fast-paced, fun game that can be challenging for all ages.

To start the game you can pick its length ranging from 5 minutes to 20 minutes plus select which NFL team you want to play as.  Difficulty settings are also available with Rookie (Ages 11 -14), Pro (Ages 14-18) and Hall of Fame (18+) to choose from.  Players are than able to select defensive and offensive plays with difficulty levels of easy, medium and hard which are followed up with questions about financial literacy and money management that correspond to the selected play's difficulty.

If  you get a question right you than your team is successful with their play, but if you get the question wrong than your QB will get sacked, your running back hit for a loss, or a wide receiver drops the ball.  The harder the successfully completed question the better your players do so an easy question might get you one or two yards, a medium question 5 yards and a hard question could get you ten yards or maybe even a break away touchdown.

This game takes a topic that can be boring and mundane for many kids and adults and adds some excitement to it that will help ingrain important tips and information into people's heads as their competitive instincts get them involved with this game.  As a parent, I'm always keeping an eye out for opportunities that combine entertainment and education to assist getting kids to embrace learning.  Financial Football is a great way to catch children and teens' interest and help them become financially savvy.

For more information about the FINANCIAL FOOTBALL video game, CLICK HERE.

AVENGERS SAVING THE DAY - FREE DIGITAL COMIC BOOK TEACHES KIDS TO SAVE FOR THEIR FUTURE

While your kids may be anxiously awaiting the arrival of MARVEL's Avengers: Age of Ultron at movie theaters on May 1, 2015 now may be a good time to wrap up April which is Financial Literacy Month with the team of super heroes providing some help on assisting them in being money smart.  VISA's financial education program, Practical Money Skills for Life, has a FREE digital comic book featuring some of MARVEL's most popular characters that can be downloaded to help parents and teachers begin a conversation with children about being money smart and financially literate.  AVENGERS: SAVING THE DAY features Ant Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Iron Man and Thor teaming up with Spider-Man to save a bank from being robbed by The Mole Man and his evil army while also providing tips to help Spidey from overdrafting his bank account as he considers what to buy his Aunt May for her birthday.  This comic book features some nice artwork and action scenes that intertwine an entertaining super hero story with educational tips and information.

AVENGERS: SAVING THE DAY is a 16 page comic book that introduces children to concepts of budgeting, savings, and banking terms.  Spider-Man's youthfulness (remember he is only a teen / young adult in most of his portrayals) and wise cracking personality create the transitions for the comic book's author, James Asmus, to provide educational insights while keeping the publication fun and interesting for its readers.  Andrea Di Vito also contributes with providing a decent job on the artwork for AVENGERS: SAVING THE DAY that I am sure most kids will appreciate and enjoy.
This comic book was originally published in 2012 to coincide with the movie release of THE AVENGERS, but is just as fitting and relevant of a tie-in now with its sequel.

The comic book is available in eight languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Russian, and Bahasa Indonesian) and includes a budget worksheet and financial literacy terms checklist.  CLICK HERE to download AVENGERS: SAVING THE DAY.

"A wise man once said that with great power there must come great responsibility and that certainly applies to managing your finances.

In an uncertain world, understanding how to save

and properly budget your hard-earned money is one of the keys to personal success.

The Avengers are not only the world's greatest heroes, but they also know a thing or three about financial health. After all, Iron Man hasn't managed his vast wealth of Stark Enterprises by accident, and as Spider-Man learns, you don't have to be a millionaire to be a saving hero." 

-Marvel Editor Bill Rosemann

There is also an alternate version of the comic book available on the Practical Money Skills For Life website printed in Spanish and English that is essentially the same story but replaces Spider-Man with a super hero named Nova.  A teachers guide with a lesson plan can be downloaded from the website too.