Why Personal Finance Should be Taught in Schools

Even in academic programs in higher education, these skills are only sometimes taught. How often have you heard in the classroom how to invest for retirement, save for a house 🏡, or use credit effectively instead of abusing it? How many programs teach how to handle a bank account and keep up with bills? 🧐

There are other things, too, such as life insurance decisions, whether buying a used versus new car 🚘 or using an alternative is better. Is it cheaper to eat out, or should one cook 🥗healthier at home to improve health and save money? Another decision is whether buying durable clothing that will last forever is better than buying things just because they are in fashion.

Students need to learn these things from somewhere. I was fortunate to get these at home. However, if not, these must be taught and reinforced at school. Financial experts should teach these lessons in junior high, high school, undergrad, and beyond so that, as a society, we make better financial decisions and set ourselves up for the best outcome possible.