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Federal Reserve's Web site offers financial lessons

WASHINGTON - Ever wonder how a check makes its way from the store to your bank, or where a dollar bill comes from?

The Federal Reserve on Monday unveiled a Web site, www.federalreserveeducation.org to answer those and other questions. Fed officials said the site would provide better access to materials for teachers, high school and college students and consumers trying to decipher complicated financial issues.

"The Federal Reserve has a long history of promoting economic education and financial literacy," Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said.

"This new online tool offers students easier access to a wealth of information in the areas of economics, banking and financial services."

Greenspan has campaigned in recent years to get more schools to teach kids about finances so they are not saddled by poor financial decisions as adults.

The Fed site features matching games and word puzzles for younger students and interactive simulations where older students can become a bank examiner for a day or even try their hand at doing the job of Greenspan and his colleagues by participating in a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the group that meets eight times a year to set interest rates.

The redesigned Web site offers free education materials as well as a teacher resource search engine to guide educators in finding materials to help increase students' understanding of economics and personal finance and how the Fed operates.

The personal finance portion of the Web site helps make people make informed decisions on such topics as consumer banking, buying a home and getting a mortgage, interest rates, loans and credit.

The Fed's effort comes at a time of rising concern that students are graduating from high school without the knowledge needed to make informed financial decisions on such things as credit card debt and wise investments.

[Last modified April 19, 2005, 01:19:14]