Business

Girl Scouts can now earn merit badges in financial literacy

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Sales — cookie sales — used to be the only business acumen you needed to be a Girl Scout.

But now a new generation of scouts is looking beyond the confection connection and learning more about all things financial.

In fact, now the 3.2 million members of Girl Scouts of the USA can even earn merit badges in financial literacy by mastering topics like budgeting and money management.

And the need is certainly there. “Girls age 11 to 17 reported having the most knowledge around financial behaviors they perhaps engage in more frequently, like saving money and being a savvy shopper, but are less clear on how credit works and how to invest for their financial futures,” according to a report from the Girl Scouts Research Institute.

The report, which surveyed more than 1,000 girls between ages 8 and 17, found girls believe that a gender gap will not stop them from achieving professional goals and earning a good salary. Some 98 percent of respondents said they expect to have a good career.

However, only 12 percent of the respondents said they are very confident making financial decisions. And “only a third of girls say they are knowledgeable about how to invest money and make it grow (36 percent), and what a 401(k) is.”

“Parents need to talk to girls about finances and how they pay bills and do other things,” says Kimberlee Salmond, senior research strategist at the Girl Scouts Research Institute.

And, of course, those cookie sales help, too, says Jamie Ehrenthal, a Girl Scouts troop leader in Queens.

“Those [girls who take control of their own cookie sales rather than having parents move the baked goods] get the most out of it, having to collect money, calculate change and add up their total boxes sold,” she says. “As the troop receives a . . . rebate for each box sold, all of the girls have a vested interest in how many boxes are sold,” Ehrenthal points out. “We earned enough to pay for a sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History — an unforgettable experience.”