UNITED STATES—Like it or not, our lives revolve around money. We need money to get food, basic supplies, pay bills, and build a meaningful existence. Yet, many educational systems fail to prepare our children for a life where personal finance is a necessary life skill.
Up until they turn 18, children and teenagers have little contact with the idea of putting together a budget or saving for the future. Also, unless they have parents interested in this niche, young adults know little about investing or money management. Plus, young generations are not the only ones impacted by the lack of financial education – current adults and even senior citizens learned the hard way that money should not be ignored.
A recent survey shows that 63% of Americans think that personal finance should be taught in school. And, given that money is part of everyone’s everyday life, here are a few solid reasons why personal finance should be a school subject:
First Steps as an Adult
Young adults often take low-paid part-time jobs to make a living or to start paying off their student loans. However, if they would have some financial education, they would be more capable to identify lucrative part-time jobs that don’t require an 8h or 10h workday.
In today’s gig economy, a student or a high school graduate can easily find a solid part-time job just using their skills. Furthermore, some can even start successful startups and become future technology moguls that take the world on a new path.
Less Stress
Money is one of the most common reasons why people are stressed. Whether it’s a job that doesn’t pay enough, a bad investment, or a large purchase that stretches the budget, if you follow the source, you’ll almost always land on a financial cause.
As a result, almost 40% of Americans don’t have enough money to cover a $400 emergency. Not to mention that millennials are forced to start their adult life with huge loans pressing on their shoulders. On the other hand, most homeowners have at least one mortgage on their house while a significant percentage of them are close to losing their property because of crushing debt.
Loans and debt, in general, are not necessarily predictive of a person who is not financially responsible. However, it takes a bit of financial education to understand how a loan can impact you and your savings in the future.
Achieving Your Full Potential
The lack of financial literacy is literally holding back young adults from achieving their full potential. The fact that they haven’t been taught proper budgeting and saving methods, is now forcing them to go into debt or accept soul-crushing jobs that don’t even pay well.
Furthermore, you can easily see the difference between generations. If Millennials started their adult lives buried in debt (usually from student loans), people from Gen Z and X, who had access to financial information are more prepared to start saving from a young age. Furthermore, they are less tempted to make purchases without consulting a professional or doing proper research.
Plus, young adults with financial education understand that each decision they make can impact their credit score, which will impact their entire life.
Key Takeaways
Personal financial education, as a subject in schools, can lay the foundation for a better society, with healthier individuals. Also, in today’s day and age, when people want to work from home or become entrepreneurs, everyone needs a basic course in finance.
In a society that bases its very own fabric on the idea of money and commerce, the educational system needs to be more involved and better prepared.
