We face many important financial and life decisions even at just 17 or 18 years old. At that age, we barely know what we want our lives to look like one month down the road– let alone 10 years into the future. Personal finance should be taught prior to college so that people can make informed and educated decisions. It’s hard to look at the big picture without even knowing how the world of personal finance, loans, budgeting and debt work.
While there are always people to reach out to for help, such as school faculty, it’s important to truly understand financial decisions because personal finance is relevant to everyday life.
Financial decisions made at any age can alter the course of your life. College is a financial burden that can cause debt to follow you around for years. Not knowing financial literacy regarding loans and debt can have crushing consequences. In recent years, students are leaving college with more debt than ever before. Currently in 2024, there is $1.75 trillion worth of student-loan debt, with the average borrower owing $28,950. Without having an understanding of loans, college students can get trapped into difficult situations because of student-loan debt.
According to a survey by U.S. News and World Report, one in four college students say they have credit card debt. With interest rates on the rise, students making minimum payments could be in debt for years to come. It doesn’t come as a surprise that so many students are going into credit card debt. Without being taught about how quickly finances can get out of hand, it’s simple to open a credit card and put off payments until later. Unfortunately, high school and college students are primary targets for credit card companies. Companies know the lack of knowledge among young people can lead to poor purchasing decisions and in return, financial gain for corporate finance enterprises.
As of 2023, 18 states require some form of personal finance education before students graduate high school. The importance of personal finance is starting to spread to more states, but there is still a long way to go before the majority of schools require it. Many individuals are having to teach themselves personal finance along the way because they were never given the formal opportunity to learn it. Many young people want to learn financial literacy exists, but the amount of opportunities to become educated are few.
Many of us learn about finance after we have already been forced to make decisions or have potentially made financial mistakes. If we were taught personal finance in high school, many young adults’ stress from financial decisions would be limited. There’s no better time to learn it than in high school. Personal finance should be a top priority in terms of mandatory classes or at least be offered as an elective. It could save young adults from getting into debt that will impact them for the rest of their lives. Having to teach yourself finance along the way should not be how the average adult goes through their life.
