LifeSmarts

Missouri LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts teaches high school and junior high school students about:

• personal finance,
• consumer rights and responsibilities,
• technology,
• health and safety, and
• the environment.

LifeSmarts develops the consumer and marketplace skills of teenagers in a fun way and rewards them for the knowledge they demonstrate. The program complements any curriculum in high schools and junior high schools and can be used as an activity for classes, groups, clubs, and community organizations.

LifeSmarts is an integrated educational program that can be used in math, science, language arts, social studies, career education or any curriculum to expand the general knowledge of students. It is open to students in grades 6-12. 

LifeSmarts is a teacher resource, a student resource and a place for competition!

Visual Guide to LifeSmarts in Missouri

If you have never given LifeSmarts a try, this could be the year for you to try the resources, lesson plans, competitions, and community service projects!  https://lifesmarts.org/state-competitions/missouri

For more information, contact: molifesmarts@dese.mo.gov or (573) 751-6878.

2022-23 Calendar of Events

State Competition paperwork due: January 25, 2023

State Competition Dates: JV- Tuesday, February 21, 2023; Varsity- Wednesday, February 22, 2023

The Varsity state winner will be invited to compete at the LifeSmarts National Competition. The competition is free.

Nationals LifeSmarts is April 27-April 30, 2023 in Cincinnati, OH

State Competition

Congratulations to all students and coaches who participated in the 2022 Missouri LifeSmarts State Finals! 

Winners Announced

Junior Varsity
1^st Place: Owensville Middle School GCR2 SEEK #1
2^nd Place: Blair Oaks Middle School Team 2
3^rd Place: Blair Oaks Middle School Team 1

Varsity
1^st Place: Blair Oaks High School Team Falcon
2^nd Place: Lafayette Co C-1 Huskers
3^rd Place: Clearwater High School Tiger Ambush

 

2022 LifeSmarts Competitors

Junior Varsity State Competitors
Team	School	Coach(es)
GCR2 Seek #1	Owensville Middle School	Liz Clancy
GCR2 Seek #2	Owensville Middle School	Liz Clancy
BOMS 1	Blair Oaks Middle School	Jessica Mason
BOMS 2	Blair Oaks Middle School	Jessica Mason
JV Tiger Ambush	Clearwater Middle School	Christy Johnson & Crystal Ely
Tiger 7th Graders	Clearwater Middle School	Christy Johnson

 

Varsity State Competitors
Team	School	Coach(es)
FZS Dawgs	Fort Zumwalt South	Anne Klemme
The Big Herm	Hermitage	Jill Salmon
Huskers	Lafayette Co. C-1	Courtney Bergsieker & Renee Figg
Comet Commanders	Fatima	Erica Libbert
Team Falcon	Blair Oaks	Kristin Buschjost
Odessa Bulldogs	Odessa R-7	Rachel Begemann
Tiger Ambush	Clearwater	Christy Johnson
Bulldog Pride	South Callaway	Tara Vignola
Nixa	Nixa	Ashley Newberry
Brilliant Bison	Buffalo	Sara Gallivan
South High	Fort Zumwalt South	Ruth Koehr
Macon Varsity	Macon	Heidi Edwards

 

Junior Varsity Competition

Junior Varsity LifeSmarts is a consumer education competition that challenges teens in grades 6-8 about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. It is a program of the National Consumers League.

Youth from across the state first compete online for a chance to go to the in-person state finals held annually in Jefferson City, MO.

Varsity Competition

LifeSmarts, a consumer education competition that challenges teens in grades 9-12 about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities, is a program of the National Consumers League. 

Teens from across the state first competed online for a chance to go to the in-person state finals held in January or February in Jefferson City. State varsity champions will compete at the national LifeSmarts competition to represent Missouri.

TeamSmarts

TeamSmarts is a web-based team competition. Each month from September through January teams are invited to take a 100 point multiple-choice quiz focused on one LifeSmarts topic. Quizzes are open for the entire month. Prizes are awarded each month by nationals.

There are five categories of TeamSmarts teams. There are JV teams, Varsity teams, FBLA teams, FCCLA teams, and 4-H teams. FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) teams must be coached by a business (FBLA) or family consumer science (FCCLA) teacher and all of the members of those teams must be members of the student organization. Each winning team from each of the three categories receive $100 for winning that monthly competition nationally.

More information on this program can be found here: https://lifesmarts.org/teamsmarts/

Resources

Sample Competition Questions

Question of the Day Calendars

Coach's Guide

National LifeSmarts Resources

 

Additional Resources/Websites

MIEF link.  http://mief.org/

Yes You Can Financial Education from American Century Investments

Practical Money Skills

Spent- Virtual simulation about living on a minimum wage job 

On Guard Online- FTC online security tips and resources

Sponsors

Missouri LifeSmarts Sponsors:

Missouri Family Consumer Sciences and Human Services Education

Missouri Association Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)

Missouri Insurance Education Foundation

National LifeSmarts Sponsor:

National LifeSmarts is sponsored by the National Consumers League (NCL), based in Washington D.C. Founded in 1899, it is a national nonprofit organization that identifies, protects, represents and advances the economic and social interests of consumers and workers through education, research and advocacy.