UA News

The annual Jr. Duel in the Desert case study competition offers a chance to manage real-world financial crises.

Tucson teens will have a chance to learn at an early age how not to fall victim to bankruptcy, home foreclosure, mounting credit card debt or lack of savings as part of the fourth annual Jr. Duel in the Desert personal finance case-study competition.

The event will be held Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union South Ballroom at The University of Arizona.

Rodney Glassman, a member of the Tucson City Council, is scheduled to be the event's keynote speaker.

Participants this year come from Adalberto Guerrero, Alice Vail, Ss. Peter and Paul and Wildcat middle schools, and Quincie Douglas Library, Pueblo, Rincon and Sahuarita high schools. Students will take lessons learned during a 10-week program and devise workable solutions for a fictitious family in financial distress. A panel of expert judges will evaluate the presentations.

Cash prizes up to $2,400 will be awarded to winning schools and participating teachers could qualify for awards and minigrants of up to $600.

Members of the UA's Credit-Wise Cats, composed of members of Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE, spend thousands of hours leading some 90 personal finance workshops each year for student groups, dorms, high schools and community groups. Their workshops teach concepts such as budgeting, investing, credit, saving, and insurance.

During preparation for this year's competition, the middle- and high-school students were taught budgeting, needs vs. wants, saving and investing, the wise use of credit, career choices and different types of insurance. 

"The goal is to provide basic money management skills to help students make sound financial decisions as adults," said Kellie Terhune Neely, vice president of marketing for Hughes Federal Credit Union, one of the competition's sponsors.

Over the years, Credit-Wise Cats have reached about 8,700 people through their educational programs. UA's SIFE organization was named the 2008 U.S. SIFE winners in an annual national competition.

"The current economic conditions emphasize the need to increase financial literacy among young people so they can manage their first credit experience successfully and establish strong financial management habits for the future," said Michael Staten, director of the Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research at the UA.

The award-winning competition is sponsored by Hughes, the UA SIFE chapter, the Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research, Wells Fargo, the Long Realty Cares Foundation and the Financial Education Collaborative of Southern Arizona, or FESCA, at the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona.