Why Personal Finance Should Be Taught in Modern Schools

About 59% of Americans have less than 1,000 dollars in savings. I think that Financial Literacy should be a requirement in schools all around the country. Financial planning should be taught in schools because finances affect everything, a lack of financial knowledge has consequences eventually, and many Americans already want to add personal finance to the curriculum.

Whether the population notices it or not an individual’s finances affect many aspects of their lives. After graduating high school many students make the decision of what they want to do as a career. Personal finances for your future is affected by your salary and career choice. That important decision at the end of highschool sets up your finances for the future. Even in the most seemingly unaffected places like inside your home your financial situation follows you. Besides paying your mortgage for your home or your rent for your apartment there are also bills for electricity, water, and cable. Another place you wouldn’t expect personal finance to make a big impact is your family life. Getting married even can put a financial strain on couples. In the US, 28% of couples reported going into debt when paying for their weddings. The national average cost of a wedding in America is about $33,900. Then when couples have children they then have to pay for more food every week and eventually for their college. Though if schools taught personal finance most students would be learning this in high school, they would at least have the knowledge for the future.

A young adult not having a foundation of financial skills could create many problems in their future. If a student doesn't understand how a loan or interest works then when they go into college not understanding how much money they will have to eventually pay. This will sometimes create student debt that could follow the individual around the rest of their lives. An individual lacking knowledge in financial literacy could also experience a lack of a retirement plan. Data shows that 42% of people aged 18-29 have no retirement savings what so ever, along with 26% of Americans in the 30-44 age grouping. Among those closer to retirement, 17% of people aged 45 to 59 years old report a complete lack of any retirement savings and that number is 13% for those aged 60 and older. These numbers prove that many people start thinking about finances for retirement at a later age rather than earlier in their lives so they aren't as prepared. While retirement may be something most people don't look at till later in life, lacking financial knowledge could also show by lacking a savings account. An unexpected cost of $400 can push more than one-third of Americans 18 and older into a difficult financial situation. Unexpected things happen every day whether it is a fender bender, or a trip to the doctor's office when you get sick, but not everyone has the savings to be prepared for a situation like that. Many high school graduates in America have found themselves wishing that they have this knowledge prior to going into adult life because it allowed them to prepare for the real world.

Some people believe that it should be a required class in the school systems. There are many accounts of Americans who have already graduated from high school who believe that a personal finance class would be helpful to students. A lot of people who were not taught personal financing in schools have turned to teaching themselves finances. Americans feel their level of financial knowledge is keeping them from making progress and becoming more financially stable, with many having had to rely on themselves for financial education, this could be leading to some financial knowledge gaps. This is understandable as many entrepreneurs were not taught this in school so they taught themselves how to handle their finances. The students going to elementary school and high school now are going to be the future of America. Therefore, people believe that if they are taught financial literacy at a young age they may understand just a bit more and be able to improve the economy when they are adults. The American people understand that teaching kids financial planning now will improve their future so they want it to be a class in school.

Taking everything into account I believe that Financial literacy should be a required course in schools. Personal finance is important to teach in schools because finances affect everything, a lack of financial knowledge has consequences eventually, and many Americans already want to add personal finance to the curriculum of the American school system. By starting the financial learning process at a young age, it may just improve the number of Americans struggling with financial situations in the future.