Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry17
What exactly would you teach?
I'm curious because the lack of formal education in personal finance management is a common excuse raised by people who have had debt issues. Schools are not equipped to teach investing nor does that seem to be the goal. It basically comes down to wanting to have the school system tell people that they shouldn't spend more than they make and that buying things on credit will end up costing more. That doesn't really need to be taught as it is self-evident.
I also think that advocating for having this taught in schools ignores how political of an issue money is. The backlash from parents would be considerable.
I'd teach your basic personal finance concepts.
This is an asset. This is a liability. This is a bank. This is a market. This is why you save money. If you want to retire someday, this is a 401k/IRA. This is why you should have an emergency fund. etc.
You'd be surprised at how many people don't know these basic concepts. It's not common knowledge, especially among the poor who need this knowledge more than anyone else. Have you noticed the the number of payday loan places in this country? The places that offer loans with 200-1000% interest rates with very low risk to the lender? The only reason these places can exist is because there are people who don't know a thing about finance willing to go there. And business is thriving.
I have a crazy job where I get to work alongside both Ivy League grads and High School dropouts from small, rural towns on a daily basis. Trust me, many of these dropouts simply don't have a clue about money. They weren't taught in school. And what they did learn they picked up from their parents who also didn't have a clue. Many people don't grow up in a world where good personal finance is the norm.
And I just don't see the political backlash.