Financial Literacy

Americas debt has doubled over the past several years, and most Americans do not know how to manage their finances. One of the only solutions that come to mind when thinking of how to make the economy better is financial literacy courses. [Thesis] Students should be required to take financial literacy class before graduating high school because [Reason 1] people need to learn how to logically make financial decisions, [Reason 2] and also to prepare people to make important economic decisions in an ever changing economy.

They must understand budgeting, taxes and banking while avoiding traps like payday loans that prey on the poor and uninformed. Despite this, only five states require students to take a stand-alone semester financial literacy course, so school districts simply don’t offer one. Campaigning for FBLA national office, I was surprised how few students, all enrolled in high school business courses, had access to a financial literacy instruction. I experienced the results of this shortcoming firsthand after my parent’s divorce. Lacking a personal finance education, my mother initially struggled with basic budgeting and understanding mortgages and taxes. By expanding financial literacy education in high schools, we can lay the foundation to challenge wealth

The idea of adding a financial literacy course into schools curriculums and requiring students to take it before graduating is a current decision being considered by numerous school districts. Supporters of this idea say that it would have a positive effect while the people who oppose this idea state that financial courses don’t work.

Throughout unit three of the Financial Literacy lesson, payment types, I learned many things. To begin, I learned about credit. Credit is an agreement where a borrower receives something of value now and agrees to repay the lender at a later time. This is very useful, because it not only allows you to make large purchases, but it allows you to make purchases with ease. When considering getting a credit card, it’s important to research some information about them. This includes the interest rate charged by your credit card company, special fees, rewards, and the maximum amount you can charge to your card. While credit cards can be fun to use, it’s important to use them responsibly. You should make your payments on time (this will help you stay

The Federal Reserve statistics indicate that the average U.S. household has a credit card balance of $7,283 while the average indebted household has an outstanding balance of $15,611 (Bricker, et al., 2014). Only home mortgages and student loans exceed credit card balances. If consumers hope to create an appropriate level of wealth to support themselves in the latter years of life and avoid counting on government programs as their primary source of income, consumers will need to save more of their income. Servicing credit card debt required approximately 13.9% of consumer’s disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2008 (Wilcox, Block, & Eisenstein, 2011). If these dollars were available as contributions into a retirement account on behalf of the consumer, countless people would be confident about their ability to save for an appropriate lifestyle in retirement. The abuse of credit card usage may be caused by a lack of spending discipline, lack of information or a lack of financial literacy, or a combination of the three. These shortfalls are examined to determine if policy makers can intervene to motivate consumers to generate improved decisions regarding the use of credit cards. The first step in this process is having a basic understanding or knowledge of financial matters. The need for improving financial literacy in America continues to grow as financial products and services continue to become evolve in complexity. The Great Recession has recently proved that financial literacy in this country has room for improvement at all economic levels. The CARD Act required The Secretary of Education and the Director of the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the Treasury to coordinate with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy to develop a strategic plan to improve, expand and support financial

It is no secret that the financial system in The United States of America is incredibly complex and difficult to fully understand. As more and more people go into debt each year, it becomes clear that every American needs some help when it comes to financial literacy. However, the implementation of a financial literacy course is not a good solution. A course in financial literacy would end up being a waste of time and money because the class would cost the school board a large sum of money that it already does not have, and the students would not actually acquire much benefit from the class. Schools are getting less funding from the government every year and most school budget are pushed to their max.

In the article “Why American Teen’s Financial Literacy isn't Improving,” Annamaria Lusardi, writer of the Wall Street Journal, argues that young adults financial literacy levels are low and the differences in the teens levels is alarming. She develops this claim first by showing the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores and tells us the low scores and the gap between students scores. The financial literacy rate in the U.S hasn't moved in the past three years in the recent findings in May. As those teenagers turn into adults and go to college they have to make many financial decisions and if they are not educated to make well thought out decisions that will improve their financial future then they could end up with

Being able to manage your money is an important skill to have as an adult, but the current education system does not make financial management a required class to take. While some people think that parents are the ones responsible, this should not be

First, with 13 states already having a mandatory financial literacy class, many studies have shown that those classes are not working but might give them false hope that they know what they are doing. Tara Siegel Bernard quoted Annamaria Lusardi in a New York Times article that schools need to start teaching the basics of economics so that the students can “‘make financial decisions” on their own. However, this is just giving the students false hope because in another article from the Chicago Tribune, by Greg Burns, he says that there is more and more evidence stating that the classes are not only not working but “worse, they may actually hurt,” the student. He continues

Many believe that financial literacy classes are helpful and a good tool for you in the future. Finance is a waste of time and the classes do not help you in any case. The material taught in these classes are not used in everyday life and the methods used in the class are not helpful in any way.

It’s no secret that a majority Americans struggle with all things finances. The jargon alone is enough to leave many confused, and with the complexities of modern economy becoming an ever increasing tangled mess, Americans are looking to do something about it. One popular suggestion is financial literacy classes for high school students. While the idea sounds promising, the reality of these classes is rather farfetched. People praise the thought of implementing financial literacy into our school system in order to help kids in their future. This praise is filled with good intentions, but the sad fact is that this is not in a student's best interest.

With this intention one of the most important classes in my opinion should be taught are personal financing. This will give students the ability to set realistic goals and make good financial decisions before they are deceived into making multiple mistakes about their finances, and also it allows them a chance to understand real life budgeting . And while some would disagree in providing these types of classes because it would cost more money to supply and time, it would however improve not only us but

Financial literacy should, without a doubt, be a requirement to graduate in every high school. Every year, thousands of high school students graduate and are forced into the real world with no knowledge of financial literacy. How could they be expected to succeed? High schools prepare students to find the perimeter of a garden, write in MLA format, and always keep their shirts tucked in, but fail to prepare students for loans,car notes, or taxes.

Opponents of teaching financial literacy may argue that it has a negligible impact on society, but that is not the truth. Knowing about financial literacy before college is ‘too important to ignore’(Frost,3). It’s crucial for making suitable financial decisions for the future and all of the students are going to use it in real life. In real life, students need to apply this knowledge

This statement is rather shocking but proves why high school students should be taught financial literacy. Financial literacy is the ability of learning how to manage money. Financial literacy should be taught because, more people have been going bankrupt at a younger age, they have more debt options, and lastly are unable to manage money because they have never been taught. This is not just a problem for an individual, but potentially a huge problem in this country’s future.