Like many college students approaching graduation, I am apprehensive about being financially independent in just a few short months. It worries me just how little most students are prepared to handle their own financial futures. In high school, we take classes on things like English and history, but not on the more practical aspects of navigating adult life. Fortunately for me, I grew up in a family of accountants, meaning budgeting and savings accounts have always been a part of my life.
Growing up, my parents would give my brother and me an allowance of $10 a month, which we promptly had to split — 10% to give, 20% to save and 70% to spend. They taught us the value of budgeting, the dangers of debt and how to set up savings accounts as soon as we landed our first jobs.
Because of this informal education, I was probably one of very few 12-year-olds in the country actively contributing to a mutual fund (thank you, babysitting money). As I read more and discussed these topics with my financially-conscious family, I was amazed that there was no requirement to teach these concepts in the public school system or within public universities.
All too many financial horror stories start with ignorance. When people aren’t taught how to properly manage their money and believe common falsehoods like “everyone has debt,” “you have to have credit cards” or “it’s normal to live paycheck to paycheck,” they are set up for failure. Personal and business bankruptcy filings rose a whopping 10% from 2022 to 2023, and our education system is largely to blame.
We are exposed to constant marketing efforts that urge us to spend more money, achieve a particular lifestyle and rack up debt. This is why we need personal finance education in schools; if no one teaches you how to develop these skills, you won’t.
Things like investing and retirement funds sound daunting, but are actually incredibly simple once they are broken down. The earlier you start investing in your future, the greater it pays off down the road. Everyone who understands investing understands this, so why wouldn’t we want our students to start as soon as possible? If students were given a personal finance education, they would be set up to succeed as soon as they graduated.
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are the three most financially literate countries in the world. What do they all have in common? They have programs in place to offer financial education in schools.
The United States is nowhere near the bottom of the list when it comes to overall financial literacy, but in a nation that prides itself on its financial systems, shouldn’t we be more concerned that 77% of Americans are financially anxious? Financial issues contribute heavily to divorce rates, depression and even suicide, yet we are somehow still okay with the fact that the average American household is in over $100,000 worth of debt. And that’s just the average.
There is a lot of talk about government spending and the national debt in the news, and these issues are hitting Americans on a more personal level every single day. If implementing personal financial education into American schools and universities could ease this national burden, why not do it? It would certainly cost a lot less to the country than the thousands of avoidable bankruptcies happening each year.
Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it sure can buy peace of mind, and it’s my opinion that this peace is something worth teaching in school.
Liv Briley is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major from Lemont, Ill.
