Nebraska NEST Financial Scholars is a new financial education program announced in 2013 that is directed at Nebraska high school students and their families. One component of the program provides an interactive, web-based educational program to Nebraska high schools at no cost to the schools. The program, developed by EverFi of Washington, D.C., includes six hours of programming, using new media technology, on financial topics including credit cards, credit scores, insurance, mortgages, savings, stocks student loans, taxes, 401k plans, and other financial topics. A second component provides Nebraska parents and grandparents with a web-based tutorial on financing their children’s higher education and on learning more about investing through 529 college savings plans.
The Personal Finance Challenge competition, sponsored by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, features teams of high school students from across Nebraska taking part in an online competition to test their knowledge of essential financial concepts, including income, spending, credit, savings, and investing. The top-scoring teams move on to face-to-face competition at three regional events with the winner advancing to a national competition in St. Louis.
The Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), administered by the State Treasurer’s Office, awards a total of $14,000 in college savings plan scholarships to members of the top three teams.
The Nebraska Council on Financial Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the economic and financial literacy of Nebraska students. The Council is housed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has centers at UNL, UNO, UNK, Wayne State College, and Chadron State College.
