Growing up is tough enough without the worries of your financial future, so Money101 is here for you. E-mail your questions to Money101@FOXBusiness.com, and let us take off some of the pressure.

There is an illiteracy crisis among worldwide youth. Financial illiteracy.

We use money for everything, from shopping to travel to saving for college, but, for many people, it’s like a foreign language. Indeed, there’s no “one size fits all” mold to learning about it – we all have different means and varied needs. Luckily, there’s also not just one method or style for becoming more informed about the in’s and out’s of money. A number of organizations have sprung up that use non-traditional approaches to the way people learn about their dollars.

Take the one at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., which offers the Peer Financial Counseling Program -- a seminar-based organization with the goal of teaching students the basics of money management. Run by student volunteer counselors, the program focuses on college-friendly issues such as staying on top of debt and credit, paying for college, and investing.

This program was designed with students in mind, but also reaches out to people living in the college town. “The volunteer counselors go out into the UGA/ Athens community and give presentations in these topics,” said Mandy Branch-Friar, staff coordinator of the program. “Our student counselors present to students living in dorms, to fraternities and sororities and to other student organizations. We even visit local high schools.”

The PFC seminars are designed to not only be useful and informative for the day-to-day life as a student, but also for post-graduate life. “They will also learn how to set aside money to help pay for future expenses,” said Branch-Friar. “This will help reduce the amount they take out in student loans. By graduating with less debt, students will be able to pursue their dream jobs instead of accepting whatever job offer comes along simply because they have a student loan payment looming over their heads.”

While college-based financial literacy programs are great for shaping young minds, what if there were a fun, interactive way to learn about personal finance issues while kids are still in high school? That’s where the FoolProofMe program comes in.

As the only consumer-advocacy program for young people endorsed by both the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the free, web-based curriculum is said to reach across the age spectrum to educate people at all stages in their lives about finance.

The idea started with the question: “Why can’t I do a program for young people that actually tells them the truth about the realities of the free-enterprise system, rather than talking around the truth?” said Will deHoo, founder and CEO of FoolProofMe.com. “Out of that conversation, we started working on a concept of using only young people in real-life situations to teach young people—and we decided to make it all video-driven, edgy, and tough.”

The primary goal of FoolProofMe is to teach young people how to safely and smartly navigate the free-enterprise system. “We try to do that by showing what happens to young people when they mess up when it comes to money and key decisions in their lives,” said deHoo. “Consumers must have real knowledge to know how to separate the advertising hype and marketing from the truth—and real financial education and real consumer advocacy helps provide consumers [with] that knowledge.”

FoolProofMe.com is able to offer all of their programs at no cost to consumers due to contributions by credit unions and non-profit organizations. There are individual programs specifically for high school teachers to use in their classrooms, college kids, as well as for parents who are home-schooling their children.

According to the site, 67% of high school students that were required to take FoolProofMe lessons at school signed up to continue the modules on their own. Nearly everybody within the company is under 30, and the majority of the teachers in the online videos are in their teens to early 20’s. 

“One reason that FoolProofMe has resonated with young people is because we match their language and we do not mince words,” said Remar Sutton, who is chairman of FoolProofMe.com.

It’s not just a U.S problem. Financial illiteracy is a worldwide crisis. One program that reaches across the ocean and beyond is the HSBC Financial Literacy Programme, a partnership between the global bank HSBC and non-profit organization Students In Free Enterprise. HSBC has been a sponsor to SIFE since 2005. Grants provided by the bank offer the opportunity to educate college students from around the world about finance . Curriculums have been designed for every age group, from elementary school children to senior citizens, and for a variety of career and personal situations, as well as unemployed adults, and entrepreneurs.

“The goal of the HSBC Financial Literacy Programme is to help people gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life through financial literacy education,” said Bruce Nasby, executive vice president of SIFE International. “Educational projects across the world help to give people hope, a positive attitude, opportunities for success and above all, a better future.”

SIFE teams address a variety of topics, such as market economics, business ethics, and personal-success skills. The team members get a learning opportunity as well, by experiencing the role of finance in other cultures. 

“Rather than mandating a uniform set of projects, teams are encouraged to work within the framework of these topics while adapting their approach to the diverse needs of the people within their communities,” Nasby said.

So why is it important to address financial education on a global scale? Although every culture uses the concept of money (trading goods and services for something of agreed-upon value), knowledge about money is not innate, and must be learned. 

“Financial literacy is essential given the current global economic crisis,” Nasby said. “Individuals must have an understanding of basic financial concepts as well as the ability and discipline to use that information to make wise personal and professional financial decisions.”

You don’t have to be a world traveler to receive or provide financial awareness to others. Check out your college, high school, or local community for programs that might be right under your nose.

While these programs are very different in their approach, the message is clear: financial literacy is important and invaluable to all age groups. With the tools already mentioned available to help, there’s no excuse not to be aware. Whether saving for college, trying to make it through the semester on the money you have, figuring out what kind of a car you can afford, or even saving for retirement, it’s virtually never too early, or too late, to learn and apply sound financial principles to your life. And your wallet will be fuller.

E-mail your questions to Money101@FOXBusiness.com, and let us take off some of the pressure.