Students & Families Adult Education Adult & Community Learning Services
Adult and Community Learning Services

Financial Literacy Resources

Learning More Leads To Earning More

In April, 2009 the U.S. Census Bureau announced that workers with a bachelor's degree earned about $26,000.00 more on average than workers with a high school diploma. Over the course of a lifetime of working this can account for nearly $ 1 million difference in earnings.

To help ABE students understand the impact of higher education on earning capacity in Massachusetts explore the Crittenton Women's Union website, Live. Work. Thrive. at: www.liveworkthrive.org

An excellent tool that has been developed for students to assess the real cost of living in Massachusetts can be found on the Crittenton Women's Union website. The Self-Sufficiency Calculator is an interactive, on-line tool where you can easily determine how much it costs for a specific family type to live in any community in Massachusetts.

Useful in any units and or lessons that integrate learners' lives, goals and literacy needs (including numeracy) this on-line tool is linked to the "Hot Jobs, Good Wages" page. Here high demand occupations that require 2 years of post-secondary education are listed with their potential salary. Providing students with information regarding real jobs and estimated real wages can serve as motivation to persist toward a needed educational credential.

A great resource for encouraging and supporting students to take the next step to college can be found at the website of the National College Transition Network (NCTN) Here many resources for educators are available. The companion website for students is: www.collegeforadults.org