Visa Inc. is launching a newly revised financial literacy resource for students and young adults in Canada, the company announced on Friday.

The resource, Choices & Decisions: Taking Charge of Your Financial Life, was originally published in 1996. It is an in-class resource used by educators to help students set financial goals, develop budgets, identify how and when to use credit and the basics of the banking system.

“Whether you’re teaching math, career education or business, the Choices & Decisions program offers great lessons teachers can use to help enhance their students’ financial literacy,” said Martin Runge, president of the British Columbia Business Educators Association.

The resource includes 15 lesson plans that include goals, lesson objectives, timelines, teacher notes, teaching instructions and evaluation suggestions. There are supplemental activities to help engage all levels of students.

Each lesson is designed to help their students understand financial planning and budgeting, develop better money management skills, set goals and start planning for financial milestones like attending a post-secondary institution, moving out or buying a car. It also includes new information to help students protect themselves from financial fraud.

“The new Choices & Decisions kit has been updated so that it continues to be relevant to today’s students,” said Amy Cole, acting head of corporate communications at Visa Canada. “It offers a comprehensive suite of materials that will help students make informed financial decisions.”

Visa’s updated resource comes a week after the federal government introduced a $5 million plan to improve financial literacy in Canada, as part of the 2009 budget. The government plans to establish an independent task force that will make recommendations to the minister of finance on a cohesive national strategy on financial literacy.

Visa Canada also has an educational website, Practical Money Skills, which is designed to help educators, parents and students practice better money management for life.

As part of an ongoing commitment to financial literacy, Visa has pledged to reach an additional 10 million people worldwide by 2013 with personal finance education.

IE