Commissioner Considine Discusses Financial Literacy with MRHS Students

Thomas Considine, the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, visited the Matawan Regional High School on Tuesday morning to educate students on financial literacy.

The event, sponsored by the school's Business Academy, focused on helping students in their junior and senior years prepare for upcoming financial steps such as credit cards, student loans and long term saving.

"We all need advice on what effect financial decisions have on our lives and this is a very important public service that the commissioner does. It will really have an impact on our students' lives," said Board of Education President Charles Kenny.

Considine hopes that if students take away anything from his discussion, it is the importance of saving money, building credit and taking financial responsibility. 

"The financial literacy aspect is something important that I've really embraced," Considine said, adding that he tries to visit at least one school each month.

Although Considine has only been with the Department of Banking and Insurance for two years, the department has been spreading it's message of financial literacy for the past six years. So far, they have visited approximately 500 schools and spoke to approximately 30,000 students.

"The financial decisions you make today will, not maybe, will impact the opportunities you are going to have in the future. That's not a maybe, that's not a possibility, it's an absolute certainty," Considine said to the juniors, seniors and members of the business academy gathered in the high school auditorium. "The world doesn't run on money, it runs on credit."

During his talk, Considine explained how easy it is to hurt your own credit. Each college student has an average of five credit cards, Considine said, which he described as "insane." Having at least one credit card is important, he said, as long as you are smart about it. He shared one of his own stories of being financially irresponsible as a college student, when he regularly used his credit card to purchase pizza.

"Pizza on the credit card, pizza on the credit card, pizza on the credit card. I was the credit card company's favorite customer. I was never late with a payment, I made my payment every single month and I paid the minimum. So the credit card company was making massive interest on me and I was never late. So those $7 pizzas back then ended up costing me forty bucks by the time I paid them off," he said. "It's the epitome of being financially illiterate. That's the temptation of having a credit card."

He explained to students how to establish some credit before graduating college without being irresponsible.

"To try to get them to understand how easy it is to be irresponsible with credit is important," Considine. "And the flip side is how important it is to build credit."

Shaina Parikh, a senior in the Business Academy, appreciated Considine's engaging approach and advice.

"He is a great speaker. I didn't lose my attention for one second. He really talked to us in words we understood," Parikh said. "It was interesting to see how all the financial stuff is working around us."

Parikh learned the importance of not having too many credit cards, because she said it can be tempting while out shopping to open a store credit card for a discount on your purchase. For a young woman interested in pursuing the business side of the fashion industry, she said she is glad to have a better understanding of how to make smart financial decisions.