Megan Smoller of Spanish River High School in Boca Raton is one of five top winners in the Florida Students $ave Essay Contest, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced Monday.Megan won $250 for placing first in South Florida. Students wrote about taking charge of their finances with specific goals such as launching businesses, buying their first home and graduating from college debt-free.
The essay contest was sponsored by the Department of Financial Services, The James Madison Institute and Florida Council on Economic Education.”We had a wonderful time reading the essays and seeing personal finance through the eyes of our youth,” said Dr. Michael Gutter, associate professor at the University of Florida. “It is important to keep the dialogue alive with them so they can be ready to take charge of their finances as they get older.””It is critical to prepare our young people not only to take their place in the workforce but to safeguard their financial security through thoughtful approaches to budgeting, saving and investing,” added Florida Economic Education Council Executive Director Robin Warren.dgehrke@tribune.com or Twitter @donnagehrkehttp://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-04-08/business/sfl-personal-finance-essay-winner-20130408_1_essay-contest-florida-council-tirah-valley