Financially Educating the Young

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   RobertoPortalesposted 12 years ago

   Many of my young peers are clueless when it comes to personal finance.  In fact, the reason I joined HubPages was to help educate young people on how to get off to a good financial start.  Where are we as a society failing when it comes to the financial education of children?  Who should have the responsibility of financially educating children?  Please give me your thoughts.

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      sandyvoitposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Issue is that fr the most part personal finances are not adequately taught well (or at all) by either schools or parents. Most people learn by the seat of their pants, and often suffer the consequences. Ideally it would be taught both at home and at school. There are concepts and skills to be learned and practiced. We started when our oldest daughter told us she had to have this pair of $140 jeans. I rolled my eyes, but the light bulb shone bright. We decided to give her a $600/year budget for her clothes, $50/month. She wound up buying that pair of jeans, and quickly figured out that her money would run out soon if she didn't change her ways. She quickly learned the value of clearance sales, Value Village, and garage sales. This was the first step towards her taking control and managing her own budget. When she got to college she managed all of her finances, and between work and scholarships, graduated debt free.

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      Emmanuel50posted 11 years agoin reply to this

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   Julesterposted 12 years ago

   I think home finance should start at home - so parents have the main responsibility here.

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3. 66

   claptonaposted 12 years ago

   Where else but the home?
   The government is handling it's finances well - NOT!
   Talk to a teacher and 9 times out of ten they talk of "value' being based on what one believes. (Who in the heck ever came up with that definition?)
   Home is where it all begins and ends.
   If you do not teach morals, finance and truth in the home, no one will ever have much of a chance to teach your children these things outside the home. Because outside the home there is little morality, little truth and very little understanding of finance.
   Cheers

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      Emmanuel50posted 11 years agoin reply to this

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      Emmanuel50posted 11 years agoin reply to this

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   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   I agree that too few young people receive adequate education in personal finance; but as a not-so-young person, I've also seen that "all the education in the world" isn't always enough to prevent some of the most financially devastating things from coming in and un-doing even one's most educated and informed efforts.
   
   Also, a lot of the "mistakes" young people make aren't particularly mistakes at all.  Instead, they're things people do, believing they're being "financially educated" and/or "knowing" that they will not let some things ever happen in their financial lives - only to discover (as young people often do) that things can, and do, happen to even them (or people as educated and conscientious as they are).

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   jberretta7posted 12 years ago

   The only thing taught in school is how to make money, not what to do with it once you have it.  In my opinion, the only way to have hope is by teaching at home.  Compound Interest is the best lesson in my opinion.  For every dollar your child can save, add a nickel to it or a dime if you really want to get them amped up about it.  I don't recommend a quarter since no return will ever be 25% but this teaches how to save in a very easy and exciting way.

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      Emmanuel50posted 11 years agoin reply to this

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   Shanna11posted 12 years ago

   High School didn't teach me anything about financial responsibility. It was my parents that taught me to work hard, not buy anything unless I had the money and to get a job. The way my parents handled their finances taught me a lot about how to handle mine as well. My mother is meticulous with bills.
   
   I think the fact that I had a certain allowance I had to work for every week was helpful- 40% of it was automatically taken away from me by my parents and deposited into a college account (hated it then, love it now!) and anything I wanted, I had to work for.

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   Eric Newlandposted 12 years ago

   It's almost crazy to me that they teach math in school but skip over one of the most direct real-world applications of math that everyone, regardless of their career, will have to deal with.
   
   It's amazing how much of an eye-opener it can be just to study compound interest and realize how bad debt can really affect you

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      Emmanuel50posted 11 years agoin reply to this

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