SOUTHWEST, Fla -- Kids know how to spend it... but not many know a lot about money.
A new survey questioned over 6,000 12th graders about money and finances and more than half got the answers wrong.

Experts say what teenagers don't know about money can hurt them.

Carol Pizza an economics teacher says, "And it's easy for these students to get the credit, go and buy a stereo, go and buy a television, go buy all this stuff that you want, and then all the sudden, they're in a lot of debt." Pizza says parents can teach their kids about debt, bills and balancing a budget by giving them hands on experience with the family finances. Pizza says, "They need to encourage their child to help them with their bank statement every month, reconciling their checking account. Just let them be more involved, let your child know more about your finances. Know how much your mortgage is a month."

She also suggests giving teens a credit card, but with strict spending limits, so they learn how easy and how painless credit cards can be until you get the bill.

Teenager David Sowisdral says, "We're getting to the point where we're almost in college and we're gonna be getting our credit cards and if we get into a lot of debt then your parents are gonna have to pay and you're gonna have to pay too, and it's not gonna be a good situation."
College students were also tested. They did slightly better, with 62% answering the questions correctly.