Financial illiteracy: A class in high school would not have made the difference, amirite?

It was required when I was in high school. California, class of 2007. And let me tell you, there's tons of people who say 'it should have been required' when it literally was And then federal student loans required us to take a short class about how interest and everything works, then we had sign off on it that we understood how much we'd be paying if we made minimum payments

by Responsible-Cow 2 days ago

I think we should teach it all 4 years with the last year or 2 really going into things like student loans.

by Interesting_Car_5244 2 days ago

Personally, I don't think kids should be able to get student loans without passing some sort of standardized seminar that helps them understand strategies to get ahead of it and what happens if they don't.

by Harrisdeja 2 days ago

I think there are a lot of nuances to it, and while I would like to agree, I feel like it would either be weaponized or ignored but still charged for.

by Interesting_Car_5244 2 days ago

"Data has no value" - telecom supervisor Based on a True Story

by winnifred01 2 days ago

But I always chuckle when I read this because even if you came across this knowledge - would the average teenager have done anything with it? Yes. My sister was a bank teller, worked retail banking and taught me about savings accounts, retirement plans etc. and I took that with me. I opened a high interest savings account after my first part time job because I was given the advice and ensure part of my pay went into it. I won't argue that some teenagers will ignore it but it's no different than some teenager will ignore their english class but we still teach english.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

They won't remember the specifics but maybe they will remember concepts and look into them later. Knowledge is just as much knowing something exists as knowing the specifics of the thing.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

The vast majority of teenagers would ignore their teacher trying to teach that lesson. Far fewer would ignore their sister in the same way.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

A high saving account is like a C plus. You really should be investing

by Carrollkaylin 2 days ago

when you have a personal accountability and someone you respect on your tail about it it hits a little different than some teacher imo but props to her for teaching you how to save

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Whenever people bring up the line "they should have taught us to do taxes" I like to point out that IRS Form 1040 has been 3 worksheets and an instruction sheet since before WWI. If school prepared us for ANYTHING it was reading instructions and filling out worksheets.

by Healthy-Battle-9481 2 days ago

Yes, but as someone who worked in tax, a lot of tax laws can be complex and change often.

by Interesting_Car_5244 2 days ago

Yes, but form 1040 is not and it's sufficient for most people

by oscar42 2 days ago

A high school class about taxes isn't going to help with constantly evolving tax law

by Healthy-Battle-9481 2 days ago

I mean, you're absolutely right, but 4 years in high school learning about it can definitely help them keep up with those changes.

by Interesting_Car_5244 2 days ago

Everyone did physical education, sports and plenty of advice about healthy eating and yet people are still obese. People just have poor discipline.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Its up to the individual to use their skills to be financially literate. Basic math, spend less than you earn. Multiplication for compound interest. Schools can't teach you everything. But they can arm you with the skills to learn specific items yourself.

by ImpressiveSoup 2 days ago

I completely agree and they already technically do , many math classes use finance problems to teach - the proactive ones were always going to find a way

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Yep I agree, schools already do this. Individuals just need to look in the mirror and want to get better with money. You can't be better with money naturally. Nor can you be taught. Think about this, if you need to be taught to spend less than you earn, you've got more issues than money itself

by ImpressiveSoup 2 days ago

You ain't wrong anon, with the braindead behaviors of consumers/customer, a financial literacy course wouldn't have made a lick of difference.

by Direct_Astronomer_51 2 days ago

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I don't think every kid would've done something with it, but all it takes it one to make a difference. Everybody I know who did a fake money account trading stocks ended up trading stocks. Surely I believe it would do more good than bad, especially with all that time kids are wasting in school anyways

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Should've been available for the students who actually would've paid attention.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Disagree with the "Do you remember anything from chemistry?" line. Most people probably do retain something. What you take for granted as general knowledge now was likely built on the foundations that you built in high school.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I think it would still work for some people, just not in the way of just educating people of the facts, but by instilling particular values. I think 16 year old is definitely young enough for someone's brain to be malleable enough to have these values imprinted onto them.

by suzannejohnson 2 days ago

Financial literacy in schools isn't about teaching kids how to be rich, it's about teaching kids how to prevent themselves from making decisions that can put them in, and keep them in poverty.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I agree, why? Because i DID have financial literacy as a class in high school. It was a senior graduation requirement. No one remembers but me it seems like, why? Bc no one paid attention nor did they go It was one of the most skipped classes in my high school.

by Mundane-Guide-2132 2 days ago

In my state (one of the worst in education), personal finance has been a requirement for a long time. So I think it's true that, for SOME students it doesn't make a difference. But I work with high school students on their career plans, and I can tell you that some of them are very financially literate, much more so than I was at their age. The biggest issue many of these students face is figuring out how to attend the right college for a profitable career without having so much debt that it hampers them from getting ahead. They KNOW they should invest their money, etc., but that isn't their most pressing concern (unless parents are in a position to help).

by shemarfisher 2 days ago

We had this class. To learn about the stock market, what various careers pay, the cost of living

by Wildermancandac 2 days ago

You can learn literally every one of these basic adulting skills in a couple of hours on Youtube. If you're not willing to sit down and do that now as an adult then you definitely weren't the kind of kid who would have paid enough attention to learn them in class.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

if you took algebra, which basically every high schooler in america does (most getting past calculus), then you should understand how compounding interest works, and how spending more than you make will keep you poor. it's a lack of discipline more than anything

by Anonymous 2 days ago

My HS didn't have a full financial literacy class. But there was a 1 week project that was lumped into one of the history or health class. It was a budgeting project. For whatever you're inspiring to be, search for that entry level job salary. We were given a list of things to budget within your imaginary salary, apartment, car, grocery, utilities. You have to provide pictures of to prove the $ you write down. Go to Walmart and figure out how much 1lb of ground beef cost, google apartment prices, you can share your imaginary apartment with classmates, the works. At the end of that week, the teacher would randomly give you a "life event". Car broke down in 3 months, cost $2000 to fix was mine. You get the gist. I think a lot of kids in my class were already financially struggling in the imaginary land before the "life event". Looking back I think this was a really good intro to financial literacy project. I'd like to think it taught everyone how to budget and save for life events, did everyone budget in their life after graduation though? I'm not so sure.

by Christianreinge 2 days ago

Funnily enough, my state made a financial literacy class a graduation requirment, and most of the class blew it off so I think you are 100% correct.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

My school had a required financial literacy. Most people took it over the summer online (such as myself). I would play the videos and leave the room to multitask. People who took the class during the school year would spend the hour taking BuzzFeed quizzes. 16 year olds aren't known for being the smartest or having the best attention span. All to say that I agree with you 100%.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I'm homeschooled and my dad started teaching me about finances at 6. I remember all of it.

by mylene08 2 days ago

I took that class. It was completely useless to the point I just ended up skipping it and just asking the teacher for all the work at the start of the week. And I agree, even though many of these people took this math class in 11th grade these same people I were classmates complained about not learning about how to fill out taxes when I was there with the teacher helping people fill out a sample 1040ez which absolutely to this day blows my mind how people can't figure out.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

So I had classes that taught compound interest, taxes,saving, stock market, etc....and it didnt mean much to me. I also had access to sailing/kayaking, all sorts of sports, drama, music, etc and I did very little with it. Part of it is just being older. Im in my 40s. And whether me or friends, many of us look back and regret our attitudes. I look now and I think, what incredible opportunity. What missed opportunity. But I give myself a little grace. I was 12 when i started high school, I was just a kid with no real mentor. I think what a difference a mentor of sorts would've made. But you're also bombarded with so much at that age. It was the 90s, music, movies, cars, girls, video games, you're kind of shy, youre trying to fit in, trying to stay out of trouble, some old lady is talking about Shakespeare, some other guy got in a fight with your friend, this other friend saw that girls boobs at a party Friday, now you're drinking but you dont know if you like drinking but youre trying to fit in, then teacher wants you to figure out French sentences, etc. I felt very alone in school and during those years. I had friends, but always trying to be accepted, trying to fit in, trying to process everything, and no real guidance from anyone. I wish I took more opportunities, but im fine with how things were. I was spared a lot of trouble that was going around as well. It wasnt all bad. But I think of that saying, when the student is ready the teacher will appear. That's me. Whether literature or stocks or saving or whatever, talk to me in high school and im ignoring you. 5 years later and I was a sponge.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I literally had a financial literacy class as a requirement for graduating high school.

by Ok_Resort6172 2 days ago

Unpopular opinion: Educational illiteracy causes the belief that financial classes shouldn't be taught. If you understood the educational system, you'd see why it benefits people in the long run. Yes people forget things. There's a TV show that shows this well. "Are you smarter than a 5th grader".

by Classic_Source 2 days ago

I agree. The real skill they need to be taught is accountability instead of making excuses and justifications for mistakes and delusions.

by gorczanymilton 2 days ago

The financial "illiteracy" that keeps some lower income people down isn't the financial literacy that well off people think they need to learn. It's not budgeting or compound interest. It's impulse control, delaying gratification, doing things yourself, basic repair, prioritizing usable things over fleeting experiences, de-emphasizing image/aesthetics.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I mean I'm 19 and I turned 25k into 200k+

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Kids in high school are too young to be interested in "financial literacy". There are far more immediate problems they will deal with, such as getting into college, graduating college, dating, etc. While the intention is good, it's simply unrealistic to expect high school kids to care about financial literacy. And let's face it... Most of what we consider to be "financial literacy" is really just common sense. Some people have it and some don't.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Disagree, I believe a basic financial class should be mandatory for everyone. Teach them how to budget, save money, as well as investing money. These are life skills you need in life. Also should be mandatory is basic cooking. You be surprised on how many people don't know how to cook eggs

by Bulahmorar 2 days ago

Isn't that just math XD

by katelyn30 2 days ago

Agree completely with this take. Most any student who has mastery of state math and reading standards should have very little barriers to gaining financial literacy. Most students who can't meet those standards will likely face a lot of challenges with financial literacy even if they receive direct instruction on it.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

The class already exists it's called math and noone pays attention in it XD

by katelyn30 2 days ago

One class is insufficient, being good with money is a behavior problem, not a knowledge problem. The most effective way would be a series of classes starting in middle school and going all through high school where each year you need to budget and plan, but like you said so many kids would ignore it or not take it seriously. The issue with things that are behavior issues is that people often either never learn, or they need to learn it themselves when they are ready

by SeparatePin 2 days ago

The average person doesn't need financial literacy as much as enough money

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Totally agree and this is not a poverty shaming thing - this is strictly about the acquisition of financial knowledge - I know lots of poor people who do what they can / are super frugal and make conservative investments even if its just fractional shares. But again , they were self motivated to do so.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Yeah, let's get education advice from the lowest rung banking employee.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

no need to be a dick about it

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Aww, are you upset that people don't take an entry level employee's advice on finance and education? Poor thing.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

nah u just petty af

by Anonymous 1 day ago

lol this is my porn account idgaf , jackin off to big tiddy goths after this You need to chillax with the hate - are you one of the people who says stuff like "i wish i had a finance class?" It's not a personal attack bro - dont take it that seriously - its just an opinion. If you reply again with an insult than addressing the point or hit with another ad homineim im going to assume mental illness.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Schools are there to teach you the basics. Stuff you can apply overall in some way to your future. Its never meant to do niche things. "BuT woodwork, cooking, agriculture ". Think about that. And reply after 10 minutes of what my first paragraph actually means.

by Edenluettgen 1 day ago

ah but those classes are typically options , again my point is centered around the idea of "everyone should be mandated to take this!ree!" , I think that would be a waste of resources. if motivated students want to pursue an option by all means

by Anonymous 1 day ago