Financial literacy courses in New Jersey middle schools will be taught starting September under a new state law.

Rider University finance expert Maury Randall says when children are taught the basics of handling money, "I think that it could even help the reasoning process, the setting of the priorities, and to kind of give kids a little bit more structure."

"There are just so many reasons why having knowledge in this area can pay off in so many different ways, to enable people to avoid all kinds of problems that can be avoided. They can do much better if they have some of this knowledge."

He also says parents can start teaching them before they get to middle school.

"Understanding the value of money, why you should be careful about how you spend it is really valuable, even at an early age, because even smaller kids they see advertisements, they are lured into wanting something and there may be reasons why they should not really spend the money on those things."

Randall says once kids understand money management basics, they can later evolve into more involved tasks, such as credit and loans.

There's already a requirement in New Jersey that students be taught basic financial literacy by 8th grade.

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5