Financial Literacy

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

Investing was not the only vehicle used to accumulate wealth. Saving your money effectively is one of the strongest vehicle for wealth. It is not how much money you make it is how you manage it that counts. The best rule of thumb to use the 5% percent rule. This is where you save 5% of your check before you even spend it on bills. So if your check is $100 you save $5, then you will pay your bills. The reasoning behind is that percentage you are saving is going towards you and not anything else for your personal gain. From 5% you will work your way up to as high as you want as long as you can also pay your bills. Financial literacy is a problem in this country which is affecting the nation negatively. If we knew how to use our money properly

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

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.

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.

Financial literacy is essential in living in today’s society, therefore it should be taught at a young age because people have been going bankrupt more than ever before. According to Kelly Walsh, “Students between ages 18-25 have at least one credit card. By the time they graduate half of them have four or more credit cards that have an average balance of $3,000” (Walsh). If students were taught at a younger age how credit cards actually work; they would better understand the consequences of debt. For instance, if students were to research different credit

A lifetime of financial success is a consequence of financial literacy. By the time my immigrant parents started saving money, they had to pay for my college expenses. Now that I have student loans, being financially literate is essential to manage my financial affairs with budget planning, debt management, and credit management. With financial literacy, I could devise a budget plan to pay back my college debt, fulfill parents’ wishes and maintain excellent credit scores to receive loans at low-interest rates for my entrepreneurial venture. My long-term goal is to start a generic pharmaceutical company and to serve my community in the form of affordable medications. Since a large amount of money has to be invested in the company, financial

Studies have shown that writing down your goals and aspirations significantly increase your ability to accomplish them; and this includes financial goals. The Financial Literacy Course taught during my junior year provided insight and information as to how money, and the financial economy, impacts individuals, businesses and communities. This course included chapters on personal credit, financial planning, the stock market, checking accounts, loans, mortgages, insurance, and financial planning. The course also stressed the importance of setting short term and long term goals. My short term goal focuses on my first year in college, while my long term goals are for five and ten years from now.

As the years go on, more and more states require their students to complete a personal finance or financial literacy course. For example, in the state of Tennessee it is required that all students must take a half credit, or one semester, of personal finance to graduate high school. However, some people may ask themselves, do required financial literacy classes actually help students? The answer is yes, required personal finance and financial literacy classes do help students and young adults in their futures as they graduate high school or college, and they should be mandatory across the U.S. Requiring students to take a personal finance course does help students make better financial decisions later in their lives.

When students go to college, often times they forget about how their decisions affect their future. In “Money Mistakes College Students Make,” Tracey English explains this fact when it comes to making decisions about their money. When students first start going to college, they often wind up in debt. They spend money without really thinking about how to budget it. Often times it’s spent on things that are more of a luxury than a necessity, such as dorm decorations, or parties. As a result, students end up in debt because they didn’t account for necessary expenses (food, laundry, etc.). The causes for this irresponsible spending is usually linked to the independence that students feel when they first arrive on campus. They have the freedom to

After completing the financial literacy quiz my score was 5 correct answers out of 5 questions.

The first decision adults are forced to make, even before they are considered an “adult”, is what is their plan after graduating high school. In a sense, millions of high-schoolers every year are forced to decide how much debt they are willing to obtain. There are many options available for graduates such as; military, college, or going straight into the workforce. Many individuals choose a college before determining their future finances. In the past 50 years, college tuition and costs have increased 15%. In 1975, a public four-year university tuition amount was $2,387 now in 2016, the cost for

The biggest challenge college students have today is to pay for college or university. Every year college and university tuition goes up, by thousands of dollars. Majority of students can’t afford to pay for that, so they have to get jobs to pay off their debts or just to get buy or pay for school expenses. Because many students don’t get enough financial aid to help them cover the majority of their school cost, some students don’t bother going to school, and drop out working minimum wage jobs for the rest of their lives. The students who do choose to go to school have to take out loans until the day they graduate school. Which can become very stressful as the loans amount increase.

Students attend college and university every year after completion of their high school graduation. One of the many issues students face is the reality of adulthood and how this impacts themselves on a financial scale. For instance, many students have not had to save their money nor do they have much of it (however, it depends on the family situation). With that said, they do not know how much one year of post-secondary education is going to cost them. Therefore, some students do not save any money until the summer of or year before they leave for post-secondary. Students in general are young adults that have had little to do with saving their money and more about spending it on items they want. This causes issues for students while in college or university because they do not know how to save for their school year fees and costs. During the academic year, students who have not developed responsible money habits will struggle with financial debt which leads them to worry about not having enough financial security. Furthermore, students who either did not save enough money or are in a position that they could not save their money due to being from a low-income family most likely have to get a government student loan or a student line of credit through their financial institution. Therefore, when the post-secondary term starts students will be on their own for probably the first time in their lives. Many of them do not know how to set budgets, be responsible with their money

Building one’s credit is a lot easier said than done, and while credit cards can be a good solution to this problem, they can also be a burden if one is not careful when using them. Not only can it be detrimental to one’s financial budget but it can leave a huge impact on a College student who is already in debt from financing their college tuition and living expenses. Entering into College students are not incredibly aware of how credit cards actually work and don’t have the financial background to understand the repercussions that credit card debt can bring. Which in turn can result in high credit card balances that will take a sizeable amount of time to pay off. Not only does this affect the students financially but in other ways as well. For example, the dropout rate in students with higher debt is a great deal higher than students with low, or no credit card debt (Norvilitis 635). Research has also shown that it creates a lower self-esteem and a decreased feeling of financial wellbeing which can create higher stress levels which can result in the eventual drop out of a student due to the additional stress (Norvilitis 635). With this being said, we can see that there is a need for some type of reform and education around credit cards for College students. Hence, we can say that while credit cards are a great way to help build credit, they can also be very dangerous, leaving students with an enormous amount of debt if they are not careful, could education on the use of