Teach students to Buy - and be - Smart

June 20 2012

With more than 10 per cent of Queenslanders applying for bankruptcy under the age of 25, the Office of Fair Trading is moving to make school students smarter consumers.

The annual Buy Smart competition encourages young people to become informed, learn to be wise with money and learn how to avoid financial problems later in life in a world where the average age young people begin using mobile phones is 13, and 20 per cent under of 18s say phone debt has caused them major problems.

The Buy Smart competition is open to all Queensland students from Years 4 to 12 with activities mapped to the relevant curriculum.

Teachers' resource kits and curriculum mapping are available to download for free.

Competition entries can be used as an assessment piece with past entries ranging from Powerpoint presentations to websites. Innovation and creativity is encouraged, with a prize pool of more than $11 000 on offer.

For more information visit the Office of Fair Trading website and click on the Buy Smart Competition link. Entries close on 21 September.