The financial world is changing all the time. Many Americans are now facing difficult situations because of
the down economy.

"The financial world has gotten so complex today. Whether it's trying to
think about paying for your own college education, whether it's thinking
about saving for your first home or retirement."

Many financial experts say it's becoming even more important to teach smart finances to our youth.

"I think the sooner we can get kids started in thinking about how to use
their math skills and critical thinking skills and apply them to the
financial realm, the better off we're going to be as a society."

They say there are great materials out there to help with that.

"I think kids, like all of us, they learn by doing. So one of our
programs we've gotten involved with that we're most excited about it,
actually working with young and middle-aged kids on doing their own
lemonade stand."

The program is called Lemonade Day Maine, sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank.

"So they start by reading how to get their goals in regards to, what do I
want my lemonade stand to be? Then they talk about planning and budgeting
and then finding an investor. So they learn if they don't have the money
to start it, then they have to ask for it and it talks about how you pay
interest back to the person you're borrowing from."

"You might make a hundred dollars or two-hundred, but how do you think
about planning the business, having a budget for the business and figuring
out what to sell your lemonade for. Also paying off your investors, what
you want to do with the money afterward? In terms of saving or giving
back or spending it."

Lemonade Day was founded in Texas in 2007. It came
to Maine this year. More than 800 children took part. They're
hoping for more than 1,000 in 2012 and making it statewide by 2014.

"We need to build a more sustainable country and more specifically my
focus in Maine because we're over 90 percent small businesses."

Kate Gooding, Executive Director of Youth Entrepreneurship Adventures,
says she knows programs like this will help build Maine's economy.

"Well the more we teach them at a young age, we have seen proof in
studies how these kids just absorb everything. At a young age they are
also bigger risk takers and so they learn about money at a young age they
can develop that so they can be better budget managers as they grow older."

Bangor Savings Bank offers a Great Start Savings account for children.

"There's a little bit of a starter incentive from the bank and a little
bit of a match from the bank for kids that are in that, which gets them
thinking about steadily contributing to a bank account.

So what can you do as parents to help your children understand these
concepts?

"Just understanding there's no free lunch, understanding if something
sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I think having those
conversations with your kids, rather they're seeing promotions on
television or rather their reading about financial news, why are things
happening? As parents, just like in every other era you don't always know
all the answers, let alone know how to convey them to your kids, but
having those conversations, trying to tie it to their schoolwork."

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