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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A young man took home an iPod on May 31 for displaying an uncanny grasp of managing his own finances.

Trey Talbot, 16, shows the iPad he won in the Financial Fitness Challenge on June 15. - Heather Lange/NNSL photo

By the time some students are in their second year of post-secondary school, they are deep in debt. The Financial Fitness Challenge is trying to crunch down the number of student sinking into the red.

The Financial Fitness Challenge is a national event aimed at increasing the financial education of youth between the ages of 15 and 21 so they can avoid financial trouble later on. The challenge is run by The Canadian Securities Administrators, whose mandate is to educate Canadians about the securities industry, stock markets and investment scams. Students had to answer online questions from the CSA website challenge questions from February 15 to April 15 to qualify for the contest.

Trey Talbot, 16, a student at St. Patrick High School, won the challenge in the NWT. He thinks that sitting around the dinner table with his financially-savvy mother and grandfather, who both work for Manualife Securities as insurance agents and his grandfather is also a mutual fund adviser, paid off.

"I pay attention when they talk at the dinner table, I didn't know it would come in handy," said Talbot.

Talbot also has some practical knowledge of finances.

"I have been banking for a few years and I have a job and paid for my own car," said Talbot.

His mother, Corol Sundberg, is proud of her son's financial prowess.

"He's managed to save up to buy quite a few things," said Sundberg.

Talbot didn't know there was any prize involved when he signed up, and was surprised when he got the e-mail informing him he'd won an iPad.

"My teacher didn't tell us there was a prize, she just wanted for use to improve our financial knowledge. When I read the e-mail, I thought it was spam, didn't believe in until they called," said Talbot.

The office of the superintendent of securities with the Department of Justice carries out the work of the Canadian Securities Administrators in the NWT. Donald MacDougall, deputy superintendent of securities legal and enforcement with the department, said the rate of participation in the challenge this year was a great success with the highest per-capita rating in Canada.

"Our participation rate is six times the national average and the Department of Education,Culture and Employment was a big reason why. They spent a lot of time promoting the challenge to the schools," said MacDougall.

MacDougall said that once students get student loans, they are seen as having credit and are a prime target for credit card companies.

"That's when you get to manage your own money and you have a lot of it comes at you all at once," said MacDougall.

"A credit card can be an incredible tool but you have to know how to use it," said MacDougall.

This is the fourth year of the Financial Fitness Challenge.

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