By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - You've been offered a crummy job for one month that will pay you a penny the first day. Each subsequent day of the month, your pay will double from the previous day.

Would you take the job?

Only four of the 19 middle and high school students attending the Northern Kentucky University "Bring Home the Gold" financial camp this week said they would - until they were told they would have over $21 million when the month ended.

"It really surprised them," said Dr. Kimberly Code, professor of education at NKU. "It showed them just how powerful investing is."

The one-week camp, offered to Tristate students in grades 8-12, is sponsored by Bank One and the Procter & Gamble Fund.

It covers a range of financial issues, including how and where to invest, how to balance a checkbook, the importance of good credit, the job application process, and how to start a business.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, one in 78.8 households nationally filed for bankruptcy from September 2001 to September 2002. The rate is one in 67.2 in Kentucky, one in 64.9 in Ohio and one in 49.6 in Indiana.

"We want these kids to realize that it's not about how much money you make, but how you spend it," said Elaine Littler, a teacher at Woodland Middle School in Taylor Mill who is helping conduct the class.

"What we're teaching them goes against the consumer mentality of 'I want it now,'" Littler said. "Our whole purpose is to get them thinking about it while they have time on their side."

The class has helped students like 14-year-old Sarah Schultz of Villa Hills, who will attend Dixie Heights High School in August.

"I've learned that when you get paid, you should put 50 percent of it in the bank so it can earn interest," Schultz said.

Debbie Edwards, 17, of Cincinnati has also learned the importance of saving.

"You need to live below your means and save your money. You never know when your job might end," Edwards said.

Teaching the kids to live below their means has been a prime focus of the instructors this week.

"A lot of kids this age are working and have more and more money in their hands," said Nancy Lang, chairwoman of the NKU Department of Economics. "If we teach them early, they will develop a sense that they need to spend that money wisely. The more they can understand the big picture now, the better off they will be making financial decisions down the road."

E-mail williamcroyle@enquirer .com