Financial Literacy Classes

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Applying for loans, balancing a checkbook, or filing taxes. If a high school senior heard those words, chances are they wouldn’t know what they were let alone how to accomplish them. The lack of financially literate young adults is becoming a major problem in America and can affect today’s youth for the entirety of their life. How to pay for college, saving for one’s family’s future, or planning for retirement are all things that most people will face in their lifetimes, and few know how to successfully accomplish these. This is why high schools should incorporate financial literacy classes into their curriculums so that young adults can be more prepared for life, long after high school.
Generations of American people have dealt with financial …show more content…

While it is true that there are many classes that may be more important for a student to graduate, it would still be beneficial for students to have a financial class offered to them. Many states across America agree, in fact five states require a personal financial class to graduate and seventeen states require students to take an economics class during the course of their high school career (Jones-Cooper 2-3). While most states and schools will agree that it would be hard to add another required course to the already busy schedule, these states see that it is also more beneficial to a student’s future to have a financial class that will help them be more prepared for their future after high …show more content…

Investing at a young age when you are able to take advantage of compounding interest rates can help you make substantial funds in the future. According to Christine Giordano teens should invest in companies that own stock across the market so then they are exposed to the whole market as a whole. Even though teens want instant gratification from newer companies such as FitBit or Facebook, investing more than 50% in these wide-range companies will benefit the teen more in the long run (Giordano). Another benefit of a financial course is being taught about retirement planning. Not many students know what a 401(k) or an IRA plan is. Along with learning how to invest, students would be taught what these retirement plans are and how to go about saving for their retirement with them. Allowing students to be exposed to financial courses can help them better prepare for their future and help them be more successful in their future investments as

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