- How to balance a checkbook. And how overdraft fees can wreak havoc on your budget if you don’t.
- The ABC’s of retirement funds. What are the different types, why you should start one ASAP, what it should be comprised of at various stages in your life?
- The concept of compounding interest. When it works in your favor (e.g. retirement fund) and when it doesn’t (e.g. debt).
- What student loans look like post-graduation. What kind of monthly payment will you have for that loan you take out freshman year?
- Credit card pitfalls. Considering college campuses are hotspots for credit card offers, shouldn’t somebody be warning kids NOT to sign up for them willy-nilly and abuse them?
This is just something that’s been on my mind lately. For all the busywork kids do from K through 12, can’t a simple personal finance class be squeezed in there somehow? I’m not talking about econ or algebra; students should have a class devoted to how to manage household finances, with hands-on exercises. I remember one thing from my ninth grade math class, and that is the concept of compounding interest. Want to know why that stuck? Because it was drilled in our heads that this was a math function that would affect us our whole lives; that when we buy a house, we should come up with a large down payment to avoid paying thousands in interest. That’s a lot more interesting than doing the 458th critical thinking exercise about trains traveling at X mph. Now that we’re in this financial mess, shouldn’t the next generation be armed with real-life financial skills?
Did you learn any of these things in school? What would you add to the list?
No! And amen to the ABCs of retirements!
I had a high school math class that taught about compounding interest. The assignment was to obtain rate for either a house or a card, then compute the payment schedule. However, my first personal finance class wasn’t until college. My college class has helped out a lot, especially with investing.
Stumbled on this blog while looking for tips on NYC apartment hunting. You write really well and I love your ideas!
Definitely a big fan of this idea about teaching personal finance skills to school kids (and some adults!), not understanding budgets and credits and loans is what got us all into this big mess of a recession in the first place.
@Peggy: Thank you so much! That means a lot to me.