Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give to our young people is an education in financial literacy.

We wish, when we were growing up, that such a subject was on every school curriculum.

This week, Mississippi Treasurer Lynn Fitch came to Vicksburg to announce a partnership with Vicksburg High School and the city of Vicksburg to do just that.

Financial Football is a statewide effort, Fitch said, to improve money management skills among high school and middle school students.

In fact, we wish they would start such an education earlier.

Students these days are introduced to credit earlier and earlier. They are also introduced to the world of material possessions earlier than ever before.

Young people today are familiar with brands, and seem to place an importance or status when they own certain brands of clothing, shoes, handbags, sunglasses — we could go on.

While it’s wonderful to want nice things, young people must understand the hazards of taking on more debt than they can handle, and the consequences, which will follow them for years, if they take on that debt and don’t live up to their obligations.

Knowing what a credit score is, and how it’s calculated, the effect a poor one can have on your life, will go a long way to making young people realize the true cost of the material possessions they may want.

Financial Football is a free, educational video game and classroom curriculum, which was developed by Visa Inc. and the NFL.

Fitch is distributing the game to every middle school and high school in Mississippi. If you want to learn more about it, it can be played at Mississippi.financialfootball.com.

The earlier students learn they are responsible for their debts, and how long it takes to pay off a pair of Air Jordan’s or a Louis Vuitton handbag or some Jimmy Choo’s, the better for them — and us.