3 Reasons Girl Scouts Are Having The Worst Season Ever
Girl Scouts have gotten off on a less-than-positive personal finance note this spring.
From scams to trouble with Uncle Sam, we've rounded up three reasons why someone should give these kids a Hard Knocks badge.
1. They lost $24,000 in a hoax. A hoax in Portland, Ore., left one troop $24,000 short after a huge corporate order turned out to be a joke. Luckily, they were able to scramble and sell them all to the public within two weeks. And a troop in New Mexico faced a similar loss after 5,000 boxes of cookies were stolen from a storage warehouse.
2. They're losing a cut of their profits to taxes. A new sales tax on the girls' famed cookies in Idaho was passed earlier this spring. The tax will take 22 cents from each box sold, a $150,000 cut out of the state's troops' total cookie revenue.
3. They can count cookies but can't manage their finances. A new survey reveals a sky-high 88% of all surveyed Girl Scouts believe they aren't ready to handle financial decisions. The Girl Scouts CEO said the survey showed many girls needed more confidence to " become financially independent and responsible citizens.”
At least it's not for lack of trying. The Girl Scouts organization has been working on the financial literacy front over the last couple of years.
In 2011, the group introduced a new set of personal finance-themed patches to get the young ladies ready to handle their financial futures. The badges include "Good Credit," "Money Manager" and "Budgeter."
"The greater lesson is the power of community and how people can come together to help them when they need it," a Girl Scout spokesperson told Oregon Live .
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